Degu's and Cages for them

Diagro

Diagro

Diagro

Soldato
Joined
3 Jun 2012
Posts
11,266
hey

I am looking at getting a pair of Degu's tomorrow, the local shop sells them with a horrible wire cage with a wooden base, and charge a crazy price of £90 for it.

I'm looking for a Pine cage, which is well built and much larger with sliding glass/plexi doors but am finding it incredibly difficult to find.

Does anyone know of one or if not does anyone make them?

I am up for some DIY cage building if required, The Local timber yard or B&Q will have a supply of Pine i can use and i have lots of Plexi in the shed i can use for doors.

Does anyone here keep Degu's? How do you find them?
We are used to owning hamsters but they die far to fast (2 years the last one lasted) so we are up for a pet that will last much longer.
 
Is the pine exposed to the inside, they have some teeth on them.

Interested to hear how you get on with them, I've fancied a pair myself.
 
Efour said:
no apostrophe needed
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Ok Mr spelling police.

scorchisio said:
i would hold off on getting them if you aren't 100% confident and you haven't read up on them, do some forum searching tonight on proper pet forums

http://www.ehow.com/how_2059842_care-pet-degus.html

http://www.petsathome.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Info_10601_caring-for-your-degu_-1_10551
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Well i am confident i can look after them well, Its just the cage. I don't feel they should be kept in a cage like the ones they sell. For a temp cage I'm sure its ok, but long term I'm not so sure

chief barker said:
Capital N needed.
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?????
 
The link I gave are appropriate safe cages for degus! John Hopewell is a well respected cage maker amongst chinchilla and degu owners, he also has his own chinchillas and degus.
 
The missus spotted these a few months ago and has been at me to get a couple. I havnt read up at all on them but I must admit I do like the little buggers, remind me of a tiny MeerKat.
 
I always check out the degu's when I'm in the local P@H. If I got some I would like a really big cage for them with lots of interesting things to do.
 
I have a couple of Degus, and have this cage for them. The cage is actually designed for Degus and Chinchillas, the base can be in two different positions, either with the wire exposed for Chinchillas, or a solid base for Degus.

Degus like to chew a lot, so anything wooden they will chew through - I have the scars on my hands to show for their chewing skills (separating them while they were fighting...).

The wire cage is perfectly fine - fair enough for wanting to build/have a nicer cage for them though, just be aware that they'll chew their way through it with time and you'll be fine. Oh, and of course if you're going to build a cage for them, be sure to use untreated wood.

Here is a good source for most aspects of Degu care. Top tip, don't buy the freestanding wooden exercise wheel from Pets @ Home, its very annoying! But the plastic wheel that clips onto the side of the cage. Biggest one they do, £17 or so.

Email in trust if you have any further questions :)
 
Well We got 2 baby girls today, They were born at the shop and were available today for purchase.
Was an adoption process though.
They are less than 1/2 the size of the others in store but in perfect health and oh my they do like to move quickly.
Also they were happy to be picked up by the staff at the shop as there were born there.

We got a cage, its tall but not got a very big footprint so i am not too happy with it, I have decided to build my own from MDF and Pine for the inside.
Plexi doors and a mesh roof for air flow.

Will update with pics later :D

Unfortunately myself and the missus arent too keen of handling them just yet, From our experience with hamsters who always bite we are a bit scared when they turn to face our hands. I'm sure we will gain the confidence later on.
 
We used to have 3 before we moved to the US. Very cute and vocal and supposedly the second smartest rodent behind rats. Ours never liked to be handled though, so weren't very interactive. They also have some dietary restrictions, as I'm sure you know. Fun pet though.

Gerbils are still my favorite though :)
 
Diagro said:
Well We got 2 baby girls today, They were born at the shop and were available today for purchase.
Was an adoption process though.
They are less than 1/2 the size of the others in store but in perfect health and oh my they do like to move quickly.
Also they were happy to be picked up by the staff at the shop as there were born there.

We got a cage, its tall but not got a very big footprint so i am not too happy with it, I have decided to build my own from MDF and Pine for the inside.
Plexi doors and a mesh roof for air flow.

Will update with pics later :D

Unfortunately myself and the missus arent too keen of handling them just yet, From our experience with hamsters who always bite we are a bit scared when they turn to face our hands. I'm sure we will gain the confidence later on.
Click to expand...

Do a bit of research on the wood - certain types of wood are toxic to Degus! Have a look at the link in my previous post.
 
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