Forever Home Found - (Warning Pictures)

[Andrea]

Remember these two litte shy guys?


I picked up George & Bruce with their Mom & sisters after they were dropped off in a tupperware container @ animal control.
The two boys were pretty shy, didn't like to be picked up and hid alot. It's been almost 3 months now that i have been fostering this Degu family.

Well things have changes ALOT,
These are the boys now....




"what's that flashing thing you have?"

We love Sholder Hopping...


One good lookin guy, Bruce


George


This is their folder - gallery.hot4x4.ca/album471?page=1


Attention seekers, affection givers, these two are just super sweet and happy little critters.
I know they will be happy in their forever home.... i know b/c they are not going anywhere ;D
Yes I am a sucker....

[hamwolf89]

awwwwww so cute! How do you tell them apart? Which type of rodent are they?

[Die Fledermaus]

Nice photos! Charming degus. Wish I could find some around here.

I posted elsewhere and long ago photos of degus at the Bronx Zoo. A big display of them, like in a small room. I got a kick out of how they loved to climb - and loved to push each other off branches!

[Andrea]

hamwolf89 said:

awwwwww so cute! How do you tell them apart? Which type of rodent are they?

Degus are related to Cavies (Caviomorpha) - Guinea Pigs & Chinchillas.
Personality wise I can tell them apart, but right now George has a spot on his back with no fur, his Dad went through a power grooming bit with him the last couple months.

Nice photos! Charming degus. Wish I could find some around here.

I posted elsewhere and long ago photos of degus at the Bronx Zoo. A big display of them, like in a small room. I got a kick out of how they loved to climb - and loved to push each other off branches!

Thanks
Degus seem to be pretty popular around here, but all the people who get them say "cool i want one" and well the animals don't live long b/c the people don't know about their diets and such.

When I first put the boys into this cage (It's like 38 inches tall) they would push each other off, tank goodness for the hammock near the bottom.... silly boys.

[Die Fledermaus]

Ah, a hammock to catch them when they fall! Photo?

Dimensions of cage? Is that minimum or ideal? I want to know in case I ever get them.

[hamwolf89]

humgg I want to see one!

[Andrea]

zouave said:

Ah, a hammock to catch them when they fall! Photo?

Dimensions of cage? Is that minimum or ideal? I want to know in case I ever get them.

This is the cage i have 'put togther', it's two cages stacked on one another. Plastic bottoms are not ideal for Degus, like gerbils they are BIG chewers, but I have not had a problem, so i think it depends on the degu & what else it has to chew on



There is a jean hammock near the bottom (with hay in it) and then a small one in the top right hand corner.
Lots of levels and tubes for them to climb on.

Though this is in german, they have AMAZING Degu homes built - www.degus-online.de/kaefig_gaeste.htm
I only wish i had the space/money to make somethign like those, very cool.
Great Degu information on this site - www.degus-online.de/english.htm
they say -

Your degus are rodents, notorious chewers – with body and soul. This fact should be kept in mind choosing the right cage. Many commercially available cages have plastic base areas, never buy any of these cages; your degus will soon eat their way out of this type of cage!! Not to mention that plastic fragments are not very healthy…
What are the alternatives?

Degus are extremely active and like to climb; therefore, we recommend cages with the outer measures of at least 100 x 50 x 100 cm /39" x 19" x 39" (width x depth x height) for 2-3 degus.
You may find cages measuring about half the size we recommend in older publications, but our experience showed that a spacious, diversified accommodation is of great importance for the degus' well-being.

Aquariums do not provide the necessary height, but they may be used as basis for a self-made cage if the base is large enough (about 100 x 50 cm/39" x 19" inches). As second hand aquariums are often quite cheap, an aquarium based cage might be a good choice. One idea is to fit a mesh extension to the aquarium.

My cage is 39 inches tall, 17 wide and 18 across. From seeing what other people house their's in, this seems to be a very decent space for 2 Degus. I let the boys out all the time too, to run around on me, or outside on the lawn in a cage top, they LOVE being outside.
The Girl Degus are in my 50G aquarium with tubes hanging from the top, and a shelf for a second level. They are doing quite well in that space, and it definetly keeps the mess down, Degus spray inside & outside their cages, it's not realy smelly but it looks bad.
I'm making a guard to go around the sides of the boys cage, as my other animas cages are getting sprayed on, and so is my wall.
Some people use a 20G or larger Aquarium and build a cage topper for it. So there are many options for housing.

Girl Degus -

This set up has changed some (added a wheel, new water bottle ect.)

I put the dust baths in every day to every second day. I find the boys I can leave it in longer as they don't make a huge mess of it, but the girls just use it as a toilet. If I had the money to spend on dust bath for everyone, I may have the baths in more often/longer even 24/7 but right now I just cannot afford to.
I use a small strainer to clean out the poops and 'stuff' in the baths so that the bath lasts longer.

;D

[Die Fledermaus]

Very impressive. Of course I will likely refer back to this for reference, when I get degus!

There are hamster-sized timber hideaways available twice the size of the one you have in the last picture. If needed.

[Die Fledermaus]

Oh. Never any bites?

You scoop them up to hold them?

[Andrea]

I scoop them kinda like a gerbil. Some of them hop right into my hands.
So far no bites, i sometimes get a nibble, like baby gerbils do when teething, I probably have handled something yummy when that happends.

I have made some houses out of popsicle sticks, i just need a multi dremel to cut openings in them.

[pinky]

Why did you warn us about the pictures? Your degus are adorable! And probably quite happy!

[Andrea]

pinky said:

Why did you warn us about the pictures? Your degus are adorable! And probably quite happy!

For dial up users, so they know this page will take some time to upload.

Thanks

[Die Fledermaus]

This was not bad for dialup compared to many which were totally insane - one page I saw had over fifty photos.

[Lillith Rose]

so that is what a degus is? i have heard of them but never really saw what one looks like before. they have a really neat coloring to them.

[Die Fledermaus]

Yea, they look like really big chubby gerbils.