[Ruthy]

After over a year of not having anything small and furry in the house i have tonight taken in two female degu's and two female Robo Hamsters. They where dumped at my mates dog grooming parlour and i was the only one she knew who could take them in and had experience with rodents. They seem good, the robo's didnt have a cage but the degus have one (think its one of those critters 3 ones, the all metal with slide out tray) which i have had to hose down as it was wall to wall with poo and black! Horrible! Anyway its scrubbed up well and has some branches, wooden toys etc. Going to get a hammock tomorrow (or make one) and they have a large rope toy that came with the cage currently drying off on our washing line after a good scrub. I have managed to find a 2ft tank for the Robo's and its filled with wooden toys etc.

Here are some pics:

My question is, i havent kept Degu's for a long while, and Robo's even longer, any tips on keeping them? I need to get some chinchilla sand for the degu's sand bath tomorrow!!

 

[corny girl]

Ideally i'd cover up the floor of the Goo's cage with some plywood as they can suffer from Bumblefoot when kept on wire. Also they need a sugar free diet (which i'm sure you know anyway). I used to give mine a mix of Gerty Guinea & Russell Rabbit & they did very well on this :2thumb:. Shame you are not near me as i have a nearly new container of sand you could of had (lost my last Goo a little while ago & not getting any more). I don't know anything about Robo's as i've never kept them so can't help there, sorry.

 

[Ruthy]

Thanks for the adice, i know about the sugar free thing thankfully, though unbelievably i had to be reminded of it by my husband who has learned all of his crittery knowledge from me! Shows how out of practice i am!! I amm have a look for some bored, or cover it with newspaper for now so they arent directly walking on the mesh.

 

[Ruthy]

Bumpz

 

[Amalthea]

The 'gus look great, Ruth! And luckily, it's not a Critter cage... They are horrible things! That is one of the chinchiller cages they sell at [email protected]. Think they're called Thickets.

 

[Jacs]

pop on degutopia, will refresh ur memory
the only problem i had with my robos was as they hit maturity they started fighting, so keep an eye out for that the goos look gorgeous! if you can try to keep track of their weight incase they have any teeth problems xx

 

[Kare]

The 'gus look great, Ruth! And luckily, it's not a Critter cage... They are horrible things! That is one of the chinchiller cages they sell at [email protected]. Think they're called Thickets.

What is wrong with the Critter cages? I dont understand. I have a critter 2, brought second hand, so had no centre shelf, I have added my own made from correx, and would say it is a 100x better than a Thicketts they have a deep base for some substrate and the wire base is removable. Unlike the Thicketts which is attached, and makes the cage possibly escapable if removed. So has to be covered and therefore the substrate tray is useless or else the animals risk bumble foot. Is it much smaller or is there a hidden flaw I am missing that makes up for a small animal walking on wire?

 

[Ruthy]

Thanks guys! I quite like the degu cage actually, they now have a hammock up and a rope toy! The Robo's seem ok together, but if they do start fighting then i will happily split them!

 

[Amalthea]

I absolutely HATE critter cages with a passion *lol* They end up falling apart and I am sure they jump out at you when you're walking past them just so you end up looking like you self harm.

 

[Jacs]

ooh another little random tip. i found my goo boys get bored of rope toys etc after a while, i hang an old eggbox in their cage filled with hay and yummy things make sure its tied shut they spend ages working out how to get in it then ages pulling everything out of it makes a bit of a mess but keeps them entertained and makes them think hehe

 

[Kare]

Ooow I may do that for mine, I have a couple empty.

 

[Amalthea]

Toilet roll tubes work, too Just fold in the end, fiull with fun stuff, and then fold in the other end

 

[Kare]

I don't get spare toilet roll centres, my retriever has a habit of eating them off the holder :blush:

 

[Amalthea]

*giggles*

 

[Jacs]

lol if using toilet rolls be careful, one of my boys got himself stuck in one... as funny as it was i did panic lol, if they have them in their cage now i always cut them down the middle to avoid anymore "oh no help me im stuck" situations hahaha

 

[Jacs]

and when i say stuck i mean stuck front legs one end back legs the other... still managed to climb up the top of the cage tho haha