# Degu Trio rehome cage reccomendations



## sharpstrain (May 24, 2008)

Hi - I have been asked to rehome a trio of degus - this is due to a house move and the people cant take them with.

If I do it I would like to make sure that they have a decent cage - the one they are in is the pets @ home cage which is about 90cm wide X 50 x 50 ish. They seem happy and healthy but I would liket offer bigger if it would be better - can anyone link me to any good degu cages that I could consider? Lots have plastic coated bars which I think isnt a good idea - but would love to hear/see from someone who has what they consider to be a really good cage

Ta:no1:


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## bampoisongirl (Mar 28, 2008)

These are the best cages to use for degus imo. As you said avoid the plastic coated ones, give them lots of shelves, a silent spinner and some hide boxes and they will be happy as larry


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## sharpstrain (May 24, 2008)

bampoisongirl said:


> image
> 
> These are the best cages to use for degus imo. As you said avoid the plastic coated ones, give them lots of shelves, a silent spinner and some hide boxes and they will be happy as larry



Ta lovely - do you know what it is called and where I can get one?:notworthy:


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## JustJack (Apr 19, 2010)

Chinchilla and Degu Cage by Thickets House | Pets at Home this one. When I did work experiance in Pets at Home, this was the one sold most often for degus, also was used out the back for the chinchillas and degus before they go in the smaller shop floor cages.

But personally I would ad another shelf or something, and loads of hanging tubes etc.p


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## bampoisongirl (Mar 28, 2008)

Savic also make them, as do pennine


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## JustJack (Apr 19, 2010)

bampoisongirl said:


> Savic also make them, as do pennine


The one you pictured seems to be a lot bigger than the one I linked, so maybe that would be a better option if you have the money/space


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## sharpstrain (May 24, 2008)

bampoisongirl said:


> Savic also make them, as do pennine



do you know the name of the one you postes?


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## bampoisongirl (Mar 28, 2008)

sharpstrain said:


> do you know the name of the one you postes?


That one is a Pennine one

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pennine-Chinchilla-Cage-69cm-3000g/dp/B003TL0520

This is a smaller Pennine one

Flatpack 2 Story Ferret/chinchilla/rat Home Black 69x43x46cm (27x17x18 ) - Galaxy Stores - Cages


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## Smithomatic (Sep 15, 2013)

Hello sharpstrain,

Thanks for your reply in the questions area.

Regarding degu cages: I myself come from a degu specific community, over the last 5 years we have been studying the needs and requirements of degus. One of the main things we have learned is that there are no comerically produced cages that are appropriate to a degus needs (without modifications). We have begun to put a large emphasis on building home made enclosures. For around £100 you can build a wooden enclosure suitable for 3 degus. I will elaborate soon when I have more time.


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## sharpstrain (May 24, 2008)

Smithomatic said:


> Hello sharpstrain,
> 
> Thanks for your reply in the questions area.
> 
> Regarding degu cages: I myself come from a degu specific community, over the last 5 years we have been studying the needs and requirements of degus. One of the main things we have learned is that there are no comerically produced cages that are appropriate to a degus needs (without modifications). We have begun to put a large emphasis on building home made enclosures. For around £100 you can build a wooden enclosure suitable for 3 degus. I will elaborate soon when I have more time.


Hi - having spent a lot of time researching appropriate caging over the last week I have to say I abosolutely agree - I have collected the rescues now and they are of course in a cage but it is not ideal = although it is much better than where they came from - and they are having fun, a healthy diet and stimulation.

I have already come to the conclusion that a home build is a must and have sent you a pm:0-)


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## Smithomatic (Sep 15, 2013)

Sharp - I have PM'd you and would be happy to discuss this topic in further detail with you.

Regarding degus. We have found that wherever possible degus should be kept in groups of 3; this is to prevent one animal dying, leaving the other alone (degus require social interaction with other degus to maintain mental health). We have also developed a chart that describes the enclosure needs of degus.

For 3 degus - we recommend a sq.cm footage of 18,000. Further more, the minimum dimensions for an enclosure should be 100cm(L)x50cm(D). At this minimum size you would need 4 levels to achieve the recommended floor area. Ideally you will have either an enclosure base that measures 100cmx60cm with 3 levels or a base that is 120cmx75cm with 2 levels.

The reason for the 100cmx50cm minimum is that this is the space required for a degu to reach top speed while running. We have also found that in most cases enclosures that are smaller than our minimum recommendations result in degus fighting each other and becoming incompatible (resulting in the need for separate enclosures). We of course suggest that an owner gives the most space they are able to contribute however - bigger is always better :2thumb:

I hope this info has been useful to you, feel free to ask any further questions! :2thumb:

Joshua


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## samurai (Sep 9, 2009)

bampoisongirl said:


> image
> 
> These are the best cages to use for degus imo. As you said avoid the plastic coated ones, give them lots of shelves, a silent spinner and some hide boxes and they will be happy as larry


I personally hate this style of metal cage. They are hard to keep clean, rust easily, all the animal mess spreads across the floor outside the cage, access to the animals is tricky due to the door placement and the mesh floors end up entwined with dirty litter and hay that then ends up on the floor when cleaning out and can't be nice to walk on. I had a large cage this style when I was first given my chinchillas and was glad to be rid of it.




Smithomatic said:


> Hello sharpstrain,
> 
> Thanks for your reply in the questions area.
> 
> Regarding degu cages: I myself come from a degu specific community, over the last 5 years we have been studying the needs and requirements of degus. One of the main things we have learned is that there are no comerically produced cages that are appropriate to a degus needs (without modifications). We have begun to put a large emphasis on building home made enclosures. For around £100 you can build a wooden enclosure suitable for 3 degus. I will elaborate soon when I have more time.


I have found this for chinchillas too (usually housed in the same style cages as degus) so I designed some better cages that are easier to clean and provide more usable space than any that can be bought. My OH built the new cages which are chew proof and longer than tall as they just sat at the top of their tall cages and never really explored the lower parts of the cage. All I would change if we made them again would be to have them bigger but space restrictions meant they could only be 6ft x 2ft x 2ft (which was the same floor space as their shop bought cage), they have lots of furniture to jump around on. I got some of my inspiration for my cages from looking at degu sites, there are some really nice home built cages around


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## bampoisongirl (Mar 28, 2008)

Each to their own, I like them them. For the mesh floor it's recommended sometimes that the bottom is covered with something for comfort


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## kymberley (Jun 8, 2012)

Liberta Explorer Rat, Ferret and Chinchilla – Next Day Delivery Liberta Explorer Rat, Ferret and Chinchilla

my friend has 4 degus in this cage with loads of toys etc gr8 cage and massive


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## kymberley (Jun 8, 2012)

bampoisongirl said:


> Each to their own, I like them them. For the mesh floor it's recommended sometimes that the bottom is covered with something for comfort


Agreed my friend uses cardboard  as the mesh can cause bumble foot


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## kymberley (Jun 8, 2012)

kymberley said:


> Liberta Explorer Rat, Ferret and Chinchilla – Next Day Delivery Liberta Explorer Rat, Ferret and Chinchilla
> 
> my friend has 4 degus in this cage with loads of toys etc gr8 cage and massive


Edit: my friend attached wood round the bottom to stop bedding coming out :2thumb:
Also found this free delivery massive gr8 cage 
AVENTURA - Tall ALL METAL CHEWPROOF Rat Ferret Chinchilla Degu Large Cage #1152 | eBay


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## sharpstrain (May 24, 2008)

I am having a custom cage made for them I will put proper pics up when it is complete. the little chaps are doing really well, eating a healthy diet, full of energy and their coats and eyes are so much better. They were very shy to start with, but now are really inquisative and come belting to the door when I open it. one is very brave and will come out and climb up me and onto the top of the cage to find a hiddem treat. I am working on the others


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## samurai (Sep 9, 2009)

bampoisongirl said:


> Each to their own, I like them them. For the mesh floor it's recommended sometimes that the bottom is covered with something for comfort


Absolutely agree, I don't like them at all but that doesn't mean they don't work well for others. I used to put tiles on the mesh shelves of my old chinchilla cages (ones a bit like the ferret nation) and that worked ok to avoid discomfort, there's always more than one way of doing things 



sharpstrain said:


> I am having a custom cage made for them I will put proper pics up when it is complete. the little chaps are doing really well, eating a healthy diet, full of energy and their coats and eyes are so much better. They were very shy to start with, but now are really inquisative and come belting to the door when I open it. one is very brave and will come out and climb up me and onto the top of the cage to find a hiddem treat. I am working on the others
> 
> 
> image


That looks really nice


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## sharpstrain (May 24, 2008)

*Nearly finished*


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