Important Degu Information!

[girlrazor]

I don't know how you guys feel about this, but I'm a little concerned that many people are housing their degus in enclosures that are much too small for them.

We don't have much information on degus in the English speaking world as they are relatively new to the pet market, however, there is information out there that doesn't seem to have reached the regular degu owner.

I'd like to know what you guys think. Obviously the amount of time that they get to run around out of the cage diminishes the need for a huge enclosure, but they still need to be given adequate space.

Here are some links that I thought were generally useful:

Housing Degus
Degu cage calculator
www.DeguForum.de :: Thema anzeigen - Minimum Cage Measures suitable for Degus
Degu guide
Degu Cages.

Feeding Degus
Degu guide
Degu World-Feeding

Entertainment and Exercise
Degu Environmental Enrichment

Sexing Degus
English Degu-Site - Information about Degus - good pictures.

Introducing Degus
Degu Information Sheet.
Introducing Chinchillas, Degus and Guinea Pigs.

Breeding Degus
Degu guide
Degu Breeder list
Degu Breeding

Common Health Problems
Degu - diseases - comprehensive
Degu-Krankheiten - Häufige Erkrankungen bei Degus - good pictures, google can translate this page for you, well worth looking at.
Degu Health

Degu Vets
Degu - FAQ

[Sammy H]

Nightmare!

According to the calculator:

Evaluation of your cage:
Length: 94 cm
Width: 48 cm
Height: 81 cm
Base: 0.45 m2
Capacity: 0.365 m3
Your cage is too small to keep Degus in it.
Details:
The sides are not wide enough. They should be at least 50 cm long.
The volume of the cage is too small. It should be at least 0,5 m3

But I can honestly say i have hardly seen any cages much bigger over here!

[Sammy H]

I tried to upload a pic... but it wasn't working. I've posted some on here before though, and the cage on the fourth link you gave is the same cage!

[girlrazor]

Don't worry, I share your frustration, I'm currently looking into custom building a cage, it's just getting all the materials. I have set my heart on doing it though, and I'll make sure it's done.

I don't know about you, but I find the cages that the people in Germany have built are AMAZING, I don't know how they do it! :o

[Amethystbelle]

Sammy the cage you have is big enough for 2 - 3 degus max with access out of the cage, i have the same cage (I just checked Paulas degu page (fourth link) to be sure, i thought you had the same cage as me ) and its the fixed shelving that makes it smaller. We re did our cages with wooden shelves and ledges and the difference is huge as it gives the degus scope to be able to hop and leap around more so having a much more natural environment

I use the cage for a singular degu but i have bigger cages and they are available mainly online. Steph (purplebunny) got a gorgeous cage for her four at xmas from online, i'm sure she has posted some pictures on here, its huge

The custom made german cages are amazing and once we move we are hoping to build something simular for our resident boys which will free up the cages for rescues. The german cage sites are so inspirational on ideas, we already have an idea what we want already

[candyraver]

I don't have any degus& didn't previously know much on them (great links!!) but it does bother me when animals are kept in too small enclosures in general
It's like a prison...so not cool
Thanks for posting!!

This thread would make a good sticky,for future reference

[girlrazor]

Yay! I'm really glad you've found it useful!
Degus are fantastic pets to keep, but they're an animal you've got to do a lot of research about before taking on.

[Amethystbelle]

I have taken in 2 lots or rescues in the last year that have been kept in hamster cages or "glorified hamster cages" it is worrying how many people know little on what cage is suitable, commonsense with some people doesn't prevail as some of these cages i wouldn't keep a hamster in let alone 2 adult degus. I'm sure some of you will remember when i took in Bertie and Herbie and they was kept in two hamster cages and kept apart with no toys just hay and straw I always think when buying / designing a cage what i would like if i were an animal

[candyraver]

I find some hamster cages even too small for some hamsters :|
I don't know why theres such small cages on the market.
Seriously.

But then again,people should have the common sense to research& find out those cages are wayy too small for such& such a pet.

T'is like those turtle lagoons for instance...have you ever seen one? I wouldn't even house a guppy in something of that size.

Research is VERY important!

[girlrazor]

I blame large chain pet stores too though. Here in the UK we have a chain called Pets At Home which is part of the American PetsMart chain. They recently started stocking degus. It drives me mad though, because they don't even sell degu food!

How can you stock an animal, but not stock the appropriate housing, food etc for it?

They've got their priorities all wrong. I have complained, but to no avail, I think something needs to be done on a larger scale.
I posed as a potential customer once and asked for more information, they refered me to an out-of-date book dating to the days that degus were first introduced to the UK as lab animals.

Cages etc - About these, that makes me so angry. I mean, I hate the size of my cage and it's 3ft tall! (just under 1m tall) As I said I want to build a big one, but that's besides the point.

Hamster cages?!?! I've seen pictures on the internet and on a few forums, people even congratulate some people on these cages, they are completely clueless. Just because an animal fits in a cage doesn't mean that it's necessarily big enough!

My other pet peeve is people who buy plastic cages / rodentrails for their small animals. THESE ARE DANGEROUS! Some people don't appreciate how much these tykes like to chew. Oh yes and pine/cedar bedding. But these things all make for other threads...

[Amethystbelle]

I hate Pets at Home selling degus too especially as they want £50 a pair for them and due to this they tend to not sell. I've spoken to my local pets at home store about the degus and they put me on to the manager and they now feed the correct diet etc... Supa guinea excel and/or P@H Chinchilla pellets (they are mollasses and sugar free) and plenty of hay. They don't stock any degu food and even there own brand guinea pig mix has sugar in it so is no use. So it is worth speaking to them if you get past the front of house people so to speak.

[Skratikans]

i love all your links, they are very useful

i am soo glad that some people care about the size of the cage their animals are in, i find a lot of mice cages and hamster cages that are way too small and it bothers me how their owners are fine with it

[xoerikae]

I know this is ancient, but is there any way we can possibly update some of this? Hardly any of the links worked for me

[StargirlJ]

Quote: Originally Posted by girlrazor I blame large chain pet stores too though. Here in the UK we have a chain called Pets At Home which is part of the American PetsMart chain. They recently started stocking degus. It drives me mad though, because they don't even sell degu food! How can you stock an animal, but not stock the appropriate housing, food etc for it? They've got their priorities all wrong. I have complained, but to no avail, I think something needs to be done on a larger scale. I posed as a potential customer once and asked for more information, they refered me to an out-of-date book dating to the days that degus were first introduced to the UK as lab animals.

My local pets at home is brilliant. Maybe they did listen to you suggestion because degus are now £30 each and they sell degu food and all there bedding and materials have guides on the back as to what it is safe for and degu is listed. I am new to this and degus. But they were really helpful when I adopted my 2 gorgeous boys from there 2 weeks ago. I feel my cage is big enough for them and it does have a plastic bottom but it is designed for ferrets and rats so they will not be able to chew through it. I have seen evidence of there chewing as the little travel cage (I had from when I had rats) that I place them in when cleaning them out has been chewed through and they can now escape. Looking for a small metal one now just to use for when cleaning them out. I will post pictures of my cage But I feel its adequate for them and I am only using half of it as its meant to be 6ft but I feel that is to big for just the 2 of them.

[Waffel Theif]

I agree with you GirlRazor! People more than often get their degus way too small cages! It's like a prison to them. They say, "What did I do?" They NEED bigger cages. I got false information from this one vid on YouTube. That person should get banned for giving false information! I am sooo glad I did more research on Degus! They did nothing to deserve animal cruelty. I blame the people that post things on the internet and on YouTube that are false. It just isn't fair to the little creatures God has given us!
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Owned by:
Sammy (Energetic golden retriever)
Bobbio (Cute little dwarf hammie)
Winni (Fat, old guinea piggy)
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God has given us free life. Why not except it?