Cleaning My Degu Cage

[JoleneKostiuk1]

Hi I currently have 2 little female degu's myself, and am trying to decide on how to build there new cage. They are still very young and have lots of room but would like to give them more to do and since I cant do that with this cage Im going to build them a new one for xmas. Although I still have a few questions that have yet to be answered in all the searching I have done. Is there any possible way for you to email me at Jolene.Kostiuk@gmail.com and maybe help answer the questions?

[NightwishRaven999]

@JoleneKostiuk1

Very glad to hear you plan on building a cage.

I have sent you a message, please check your inbox : )

[suiteangel45]

How did you put back the shelves and take it off? I screwed mine but I don't know what u did with urs.

[TinaMelk11]

dont you clean their toys too? they often pee on them ...

[JulietTurner1]

What are the names of your degus?

[JulietTurner1]

I wish my degus had a tank like that! It's so cool!

[lewiswillingham]

Hello Friend!

I was just wondering how often should I clean my degus cage and where I can put my degus because I dont have another cage to put theem in and I'm not very comfortable with letting them run around the room

Thanks

[ImNotAfraid96]

Est-ce possible que l'urine pénètre le bois et que celui-ci pourri ? Du verni non toxique empêcherais cela de se passer ? :-)

[NightwishRaven999]

@ImNotAfraid96

Non...en utilisant beaucoup de copeaux de bois et du foin, l'urine ne penetre pas dans le bois.

Les cages comme celles-ci sont absolument ideales pour un groupe de degus.

[amykay1564]

@NightwishRaven999 how do your shelves not get icky??

[livvydibby11]

my degu is very young like 14 weeks old and is very FAT! would she be pregnant or should i go get her checked out????

[gurkinz]

where do you put the degus while your cleaning them out? and how many do you have? :)

[NightwishRaven999]

I have four female degus.

I either let them run around in a room or place them in their old cage.

[degu4ever]

Hello all Degu lovers, I have just brought my very first two Degu's today from a well known pet store in the UK, I have been told that they are both male and have lived as a pair for awhile now, One of them is a little bigger (fatter) than the other and i am a little worried that the 'bigger' one may actualy be a pregnant girl Degu!! Can anyone help??

[MCG2k6]

we had this problem but both turned out to be female but one was pregnant!! the problem we had was that she had been inpregnated to young and unfortunately all the babies were deformed and had died. luckily we got her to the vets intime and we saved our degu but not the babies. my advice is to get her checked by a vet or someone who specialises in degus. Our local pet shop had a specialist and she was very helpful. good luck.

[xkaylangelx]

@degu4ever

i brought 2 female degus 3 months ago and one seemed fatter and kept eating all the time, i didnt really think anything of it! but i had a shock yesterday as she had 5 pups! so if shes always eating and gets any fatter, id go get her checked out

[akidlikeme]

where do u get them

[NightwishRaven999]

Where do you get degus ? In a pet store.

Ideally a pet should be adopted from a shelter, but degus are not popular enough in Canada to be available in shelters or such.

The only way to get degus here is in pet shops. Most pet shops here still do not carry degus, so I do not see some very often.

If you live in Europe, degus should be up for adoption since they are quite a bit more common...especially in Germany, France and the surrounding countries.

[MrMatisrand]

are fermales more calm than males?

[MrMatisrand]

if u live in the us, you can get them at an exotic pet store . thgey will most probably carry them

[darthtater7777]

Talk about vaccuming, I have to vaccume my room every 2 days, because 3 hamsters and 3 guinea pigs can get quite messy, lol! Great vid mate, keep itup! :)

[xToXiCaTe]

i have a few questions i need answering asap.

1. how often do you clean out your degu cage.

2.i see you have 3 degus i only have 2 does this mean i dont need as much bedding and does this mean i dont have to clean it out as much

3. when your cleaning the cage where do you put your degus i cant think of a safe place i could put them while cleaning the cage unless i buy another cage.

[NightwishRaven999]

At the moment I have four degus. I do a little cage cleanup every week, by removing all the bedding on the levels and replacing it with new bedding.

The bottom stays cleaner for much longer, so I only take a portion out and replace it with a fresh layer...no need to trow it all out.

During this time, my degus are either free to roam the room or are placed in their old cage or in their plastic transport bin.

Putting them in the bathub may also be an option.

Hope this helps...

[AridSea]

@NightwishRaven999 Im very intrested in degus, because it is too hot for chinchillas here. How much do they cost? Although you made the cage, if we arent a cage making artist, what can we use? aquariums?

[NightwishRaven999]

Hello, glad to hear you are interested in Degus. I will send you a pm answering your questions, shortly.

[LenxKat]

What kind of bedding do you use? It seems so expensive to cover all of those levels with several inches of bedding. Do you go through a bag of bedding a week, or...?

[NightwishRaven999]

The bag lasts a couple of weeks...sometimes more of less.

I also use the bedding for the guinea pig cage...and that takes a lot more of bedding than the degu cage.

I use kiln dried pine or sometimes low dust pine shavings in combination with timothy hay.

[freshymcfreshpants]

just a few questions, do you find that the base is very soiled or weakened from the degu's "mess" ?

I have to use soap and water for my ferret's cage (plastic levels) do you need to wipe down the surfaces of your cage with anything?

your videos are very helpful! we are now thinking of building a cage for the new degus!

thanks again!!

[NightwishRaven999]

Degus do not drink much, so they urinate very little in comparison to other rodents like rats or guinea pigs. When they do...they urinate in very small ammounts.

The cage bottom and even the bedding always remains dry. Degus can appear rather smelly in a wire cage, but in a cage like this, where bedding can be used in ample ammounts...the degus will not smell and the cage will always remain dry.

Glad to be of help : )

[FireKudan]

I have degus in a cage atm, and I want to put them in something that makes less mess but glass is heavy and I thought they would surely chew through anything other than that or metal... is your vivarium mostly wooden? how long have you had it and arent they chewing holes through it?

[NightwishRaven999]

There are alternatives to glass. Plexi glass or metal mesh are both lighter and do the trick well. I have had this cage for almost a year and have kept my four female degus in here ever since.

Degus cannot chew through a flat surface.

I will send you a pm with more details about this.

[FireKudan]

I was thinking of using plexiglass, or maybe some glass, just for the doors like yours. Do you know if plexi is cheaper than glass?

What sort of finish does the wood have on it? it looks shiny and wipeable, I dont wood that would soak up urine and end up smelly etc.

Are you sure they won't get through wood...?? My 4 chewed through a wall XD (however it was through the gaps of a cage, so I guess thats how they got leverage hehe)

[NightwishRaven999]

Plexi glass is a bit more expensive than glass, but holds several advantages, being more lightweight.

I will send you a detailed pm about the cage in a bit. In the mean time I suggest you watch some other videos relating to this cage, it might help answer some of your doubts and questions.

Talk to you in a bit.

[FireKudan]

k, thankyou :D sorry for pestering you through comments

xx

[savetheboobies]

i am thinkin of gettin degus, i already have a cat and a rabbit, who both get on well, im wondering how easy degus are to catch and how easy ther are to train to be friendly. any advice would be greatly apreciated, please reply, nice cage by the way, thanks for your videos.

[FireKudan]

My degus are very easy to catch, they love coming out of the cage you just have to open the door. Some degus like fuss more than others, some just like to use you as part of the landscape, but both kinds are tame in that they won't bite.

I was pleasently suprised by how easy they were to tame especially considering i got mine from a pet store which is ideally not reccomended.

[chancharocks]

While you are cleaning your degu's cage , where are your degus ? (In Where ?) Please Reply me !

i have degus in home too ;)

[NightwishRaven999]

In their old bird cage or running free in the washroom.

[chancharocks]

but in this video ?

[NightwishRaven999]

Yes, in this video.

What is wrong ?

[mackleydu]

I have a hug cardboard box filled with hay for them to run around in, i put that in a room with all doors and windows shut because of my cat.

[akidlikeme]

are they jumpers bcz i see theres no stairs for the levels

[NightwishRaven999]

Degus can jump, but are not renown jumpers. They climb and sometimes leap.

They use branches, logs and their agility to get to the higher levels. Degus are very agile pets, they reach the top of the cage in mere seconds.

[MrJilkes]

Brilliant cage, very impressive. What do you use for bedding material? I see you also retain some bedding when you clean them, why do you do this?

[NightwishRaven999]

I use a mix of kiln dried pine or low dust wood shavings for burrowing and mix it up with timothy hay. Degus do not urinate enough to soil the bottom bedding.

The bottom of the cage holds several inches of bedding. Throwing all that bedding would be a waste, since it is always clean after a week or two.

Instead I take part of it out and mix in new beddding and new hay.

[Seonaidlove]

wow brilliant, i'm really wanting Degu's but only two so would i still need a cage as big as your's i know i could never afford it... :(

[NightwishRaven999]

Thank you for the comment.

No, this cage is suitable for 4-6 degus.

A pair of degus dont need this much space, although the bigger the better ; )

Two degus should have atleast a 100x50x100 cm size cage. If you cannot find this, then try 100x50x80 (LxWxH) but dont go smaller than this.

A degu cage should also have levels and ledges and enough roon for them to run.

They are really active animals.

[bluetagg]

That is a FABULOUS cage and you clearly love your degus! Shouldnt degus have a layer of deep burrowing material?

[NightwishRaven999]

Yes. Degus love digging and burrowing in bedding. You can see my degus digging in some of my other videos.

The bottom of the cage is covered with about 6-7 inches of bedding and the levels are covered with about 2 inches.

Thanks : )

[tjmama42]

cool hut!!

how do ya make it??

& Mine sleeps in a flower pot too!!!

[NightwishRaven999]

You mean their cage ? I made a video of that. Look for "How to build a degu cage"

[tjmama42]

thanks!!

[yoyomax12]

I wondered how you did that! I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who cleans up messes after the cage cleaning!

[tileyw1ck3d]

Absolutely bloody fantastic cage! Melissa (Degutopia)

[NightwishRaven999]

Thanks Melissa : )

[princessp714]

good video!

[NightwishRaven999]

Thanks Patty

I will catch you on msn later...we talk soon : )

[xbeckieboox]

great vid, so does fish take longer?, i know i can spend a whole day sorting out my pets sometimes lol

[NightwishRaven999]

Depends, I only do a very big water change and remove everything once or twice a year in my bigger tanks. I prefer to do daily 20% water changes and pass the gravel vaccum every few days. Apart from the general maintenace of the tanks (prunning plants, cleaning algae...) it doesnt take too much time. The Degu cage only takes me long when I do a major clean up in it, (once a month).

I enjoy doing this though : ) I do not view cleaning the tanks and cages as a responsability. Its my hobby : )

[dchan19362]

why only clean out half of the bedding?

Sure for fish, you only clean replace less than half of the water.

[RandomvilleMedia]

love the music

[shyroethehamster]

What an excellent video :D Bravoo

[Kribensis007]

awesome vid. It'll be very helpful for anyone wanting to know how to clean a degu cage

[NightwishRaven999]

Thanks for that comment.

Although it wasnt made for that, since obviously, this isnt a typical degu cage...but I am glad to hear it is helpful.

Thanks : )

[enricoweinhold]

It is interesting how others clean their cage. Very nice. Thanks for this video. Where are your Degus in this time?

[NightwishRaven999]

I keep them in their old cage...the one you can see in my older videos : )

Either that, or I let them run in the washroom while I do this.

[Seahawk7356]

Nice video, Jordan. =]

[NightwishRaven999]

Thanks Derek...but I am dissapointed.

I wish people would wait until its finished to rate. It wasnt even finished processing yet the video was rated twice.

Now I am trying to get the Audioswap to work before everyone else watches it.

[NightwishRaven999]

I have been asked many times " How do you do to clean that thing ?" and "how long does it take ?"

Rather than writing a 2000 word essay on the subject, I thought I could answer by making a video of the steps involved when I clean my own degu cage.

Note, that I am NOT showing you how to clean your own degu cage !

I just want to show you how I clean mine.

Hope you enjoy !

Take care and have a great day : )