New and NEED HELP - Paw Talk

kokuhaku14 · #1 06-29-2008, 03:57 AM

First off my name is Nate. I've been reading as much as i possibly can and I THINK I've got it all covered except for a few things. I was looking for food and a cage mainly, found a decent sized cage that will almost certainly work for the two degus I plan on getting. The only problem with it is that the floors in it (apart of the pull out tray) are the wire mesh. Is there anything i can cover it with (wood perhaps?) that would make it better for them. The other thing is how much can I expect to pay for food each month? I have a limited income and so that is a pretty big concern. Also what type of food? Could it be something like this?

( http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...ductId=2753455 )

Any and all other tips/suggestions would be fantastic.

Thanks, Nate

MzKityLvsBrdsTo · #2 06-29-2008, 04:15 AM

Hi, Nate. Welcome to Paw Talk. I could not get your site to work that you posted. Just to let you know, you can go into the Degu section and read up on alot of the posts to get alot of information here. But, you will need to feed your little degus Timothy hay each day, along with timothy pellets as a main staple. Make sure that they have clean water each day (and I use filtered water for mine. No chlorine, etc.) I also use a mix for mine, I'll have to look it up as for the name on the bag. But you just have to stay away from anything with molasses or sugar in it for them. No pine chews or pine shavings either. I think that those are the main things. It is really late here, and I am tired. I will try to post more later. But, go into our Degu section and read some of the older posts. That is how I learned alot about my little degus. And, again, WELCOME. You're gonna like it here!

kokuhaku14 · #3 06-29-2008, 04:54 AM

Sorry for the bad link, it was a typo.

( http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...ductId=2753455 )

I still need to know if I would need to cover the wire-mesh flooring though.

P.S. I already checked before posting and the food does NOT contain molasses, I was just checking to make sure if it would be ok as far as the essentials go other than the Timothy Hay.

Thanks for all of your help (MzKity and everyone yet to reply)

MzKityLvsBrdsTo · #4 06-29-2008, 05:22 AM

That looks o.k. to me. Looking at that picture reminded me, you will also need to get some of that chinchilla bath dust for your degus and a bowl too. Degus need dust baths too. I like the enclosed baths that they have just for chinchillas that are pretty cute. My little degus really get into their dust bath time and really get that dust to kicking up! LOL. You will love them when you get them. I'm not sure what you mean with the wire, so I will leave that to the experts to answer for you . I'm still pretty new at this stuff. I purchased an aquarium for my bottom of my cage and purchased a cage topper from Martin's cages for the top that sits on the top of my aquarium. They just love it and it creates layers so that they have more room to play. Best of luck to you. Oh, and you can find Martin's cages on the web. If you can't find them, PM me and I'll help you if you want them. They also have cool beds and accessories you can't find in stores.

jackdaniels007 · #5 06-29-2008, 05:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kokuhaku14


	First off my name is Nate. I've been reading as much as i possibly can and I THINK I've got it all covered except for a few things. I was looking for food and a cage mainly, found a decent sized cage that will almost certainly work for the two degus I plan on getting. The only problem with it is that the floors in it (apart of the pull out tray) are the wire mesh. Is there anything i can cover it with (wood perhaps?) that would make it better for them. The other thing is how much can I expect to pay for food each month? I have a limited income and so that is a pretty big concern. Also what type of food? Could it be something like this? ( http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...ductId=2753455 ) Any and all other tips/suggestions would be fantastic. Thanks, Nate

ceremic wall/floor tiles work well I have used wood before but it really don't clean up very good

I spend about £10 a month on food but i buy in bulk what lasts 3 months. I feed them JR Farm degu special and JR Farm Degu snack/field herbs (with treats now and again and fresh veg every few days. I order this from www.zooplus.co.uk but don't think you are able to get that where you are

kokuhaku14 · #6 06-29-2008, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackdaniels007


	ceremic wall/floor tiles work well I have used wood before but it really don't clean up very good I spend about £10 a month on food but i buy in bulk what lasts 3 months. I feed them JR Farm degu special and JR Farm Degu snack/field herbs (with treats now and again and fresh veg every few days. I order this from www.zooplus.co.uk but don't think you are able to get that where you are

How many degus do you have?

MañasMom · #7 06-29-2008, 10:39 PM

Ceramic tile is a good thing to use, you can disinfect it easily, plus it would keep the floor cool in the hot summer!

You could also use many layers of newspapers. (Enough layers to make the floor firm.) Then you could put your bedding/litter on top of that. You'd have to change that out very regularly, but it could be a starter until you get something more permanent - or you could do that permanently.

That food looks like it should be just fine. I've never seen it before, but it's the same brand of pellets I buy for my parrot. I would imagine that 3lb bag would last you quite a while. I'm guestimating maybe 2 or 3 months, depending on how much they eat each day. I think that hay make the best staple for their daily diet, even better than pellets. So if you invest in good quality hay, the good food is the icing on the cake.

Timothy hay is the most important of the hays, but Degus generally enjoy a variety of hays. You can share a bit of brome, orchard, and meadow hay, and other hays too. They can also have a bit of alfalfa hay, not too much though as the calcium content is just a bit too high.

Sounds like you have all the basics down! I'm glad you're aware of the sugar situation with Degus. Sounds like you're almost ready to go. I hope you can get your Degus soon, I know you'll enjoy them!

kokuhaku14 · #8 06-30-2008, 12:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MañasMom


	Ceramic tile is a good thing to use, you can disinfect it easily, plus it would keep the floor cool in the hot summer! You could also use many layers of newspapers. (Enough layers to make the floor firm.) Then you could put your bedding/litter on top of that. You'd have to change that out very regularly, but it could be a starter until you get something more permanent - or you could do that permanently. That food looks like it should be just fine. I've never seen it before, but it's the same brand of pellets I buy for my parrot. I would imagine that 3lb bag would last you quite a while. I'm guestimating maybe 2 or 3 months, depending on how much they eat each day. I think that hay make the best staple for their daily diet, even better than pellets. So if you invest in good quality hay, the good food is the icing on the cake. Timothy hay is the most important of the hays, but Degus generally enjoy a variety of hays. You can share a bit of brome, orchard, and meadow hay, and other hays too. They can also have a bit of alfalfa hay, not too much though as the calcium content is just a bit too high. Sounds like you have all the basics down! I'm glad you're aware of the sugar situation with Degus. Sounds like you're almost ready to go. I hope you can get your Degus soon, I know you'll enjoy them!

Thank you sooooo much. That really makes me feel good about myself (more geared toward my understanding of care for degus

) the newspaper idea is great. That would be perfect. I'll do that for sure until I can remove the mesh floor and install a solid metal floor or two(or more). Tomorrow I am picking up the cage and food then and am very looking forward to getting the degus a day or two after that!

Thank you again!!!