Post by fred on Nov 14, 2011 13:42:38 GMT
Because of the rather strange “debate” on a different thread, I am now posting this almost final version of the forum's cage size recommendations which will go up shortly (subject to a few improvements in language and clarity, but no changes in substance).
This forum's cage size recommendations
These cage size recommendations have been developed through discussions by the community on this forum. Degus are very active ground living animals and need sufficient possibilities to run in their cage. Rather than volume as used by others, our recommendations are based on running space which we call CARA (cumulative available running area). In general, the larger the cage the better it will meet our degus' needs.
In addition to the minimum CARA values for a given number of degus, there are also minimum values for individual dimensions:
Length and floor area. The cage should be 100cm long and have a floor area of not less than 5,000sq.cm. Since we recognise that there are few suitable metal cages available, we consider for these a length of 90-100cm acceptable, a long as the floor area is 5,000sq.cm.
Height. For a three tier (floor and two levels) cage, height should be 100cm. For other numbers of tiers, the average height of levels should be about 35%. The height of a level should not normally exceed 50cm to avoid injury in case of a fall.
Example cages which give design ideas are found on octodondegus.weebly.com/
How to calculate CARA? This is easy:
- take the measurements for all levels of your cage
- for each level multiply length by depth
- add up values for all levels
This is an example for a four tier cage with a depth of 50cm
If have you questions, need help, or want to give us feedback, please to here [ link to new thread ]
The cage size chart below gives two recommendations how many degus can be kept in a cage of a given size. The first is for minimum cages and these values need to be met (the minimum size for two degus is based on measures advised by the RSPCA). The second is recommended by the forum and should be considered as a sensible compromise between the absolute minimum and ideal conditions like a full room which remain unrealistic for most degu owners.
This forum's cage size recommendations
These cage size recommendations have been developed through discussions by the community on this forum. Degus are very active ground living animals and need sufficient possibilities to run in their cage. Rather than volume as used by others, our recommendations are based on running space which we call CARA (cumulative available running area). In general, the larger the cage the better it will meet our degus' needs.
In addition to the minimum CARA values for a given number of degus, there are also minimum values for individual dimensions:
Length and floor area. The cage should be 100cm long and have a floor area of not less than 5,000sq.cm. Since we recognise that there are few suitable metal cages available, we consider for these a length of 90-100cm acceptable, a long as the floor area is 5,000sq.cm.
Height. For a three tier (floor and two levels) cage, height should be 100cm. For other numbers of tiers, the average height of levels should be about 35%. The height of a level should not normally exceed 50cm to avoid injury in case of a fall.
Example cages which give design ideas are found on octodondegus.weebly.com/
How to calculate CARA? This is easy:
- take the measurements for all levels of your cage
- for each level multiply length by depth
- add up values for all levels
This is an example for a four tier cage with a depth of 50cm
If have you questions, need help, or want to give us feedback, please to here [ link to new thread ]
The cage size chart below gives two recommendations how many degus can be kept in a cage of a given size. The first is for minimum cages and these values need to be met (the minimum size for two degus is based on measures advised by the RSPCA). The second is recommended by the forum and should be considered as a sensible compromise between the absolute minimum and ideal conditions like a full room which remain unrealistic for most degu owners.
Your instructions seem clear and easy to follow.
