Degu Playtime on a Sunday Afternoon

Today is the 3rd time since my Degus moved in that they've been out of their cage to play. The girls are still a little nervous around people so it was a bit of challenge when I let them out to play the first time but it's getting easier.

Until they are tamer I am using their dust bath (a large plastic sweet container) and a large plastic storage box to transport them to their play area on the stairs landing. I put the sweet jar in their cage and as each one enters I gently take it out of the cage and they climb out in to the storage box. Then it's just a case of carrying them and some toys and food upstairs.

One thing is for certain. Degus are incredibly entertaining to watch and practically fearless. I lost count of the number of times they went up the leg of my brother's shorts as he sat guarding the way down the stairs.

Degus are funny little creatures... Well, mine are. When they are in the cage they all run a mile when you go anywhere near them. Well, mostly they do. Sometimes they'll take food or sit on your hand but that's it. Get them out of the cage and it's a different story as they're quite happy to use you as a climbing frame! I just don't get what's going on their little brains.

I've also noticed that they never seem to stop eating, or pooping, or eating their poop. Yes, they eat their own poop. Nasty I know, but it helps with their digestive function. By the way, that's degu pellet in the picture and not poop!

I'm not quite sure who this degu is (still having trouble identifying them) but she loves her celery…

…and when she's not eating it, she's trying to steal someone elses!

I think they were out for about an hour and a half investigating and thankfully they didn't try to destroy the carpet like they did on Friday. Before I go here's a quick update on the sneezing situation. They are all still sneezing but it is mostly what I would call 'normal dry sneezes' from sniffing about in the hay etc. The degu who was worse than the others is sneezing much less and they don't sound as 'wet'. I on the other hand have a blocked nose and dry throat from shaking the dust from the hay the other day. Next time I think I'll be wearing a mask!

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The Degus Have Moved In

This morning 3 little degus became the newest members of my family and they're the 3 cutest girls ever! I was up until midnight filling and dressing their cage ready for them to move in and they are loving it. 2 of them still think that there are only 2 floors and not 4, and all 3 have spent most of the day running in their wheel. Just before I settled down to write this they were all in a 'goo pile' on top of their cabin. It's a little dark in the room for a decent photo and I don't want to use the flash so I'll have to wait until there's a little more light to get a photo of them huddled together. They are all still a little flighty and scared of the camera but I managed to get a few decent photos of them. Don't have any names yet as I'm waiting to see what kind of personalities they have. My brother wants to call them Penny, Amy, and Bernadette… The Big Degu Theory! UPDATE — Here's a little video my brother recorded. :)

The Big Degu Cage Build - Part Four

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My 3 degu girls absolutely love eating fresh herbs. Mint, basil, and chives are their favourites and chives seems to be the one they like the most. I've been thinking of ways to enrich their environment so while I was eating my birthday breakfast this morning I set about making what I like to call the Fresh Herb Degu Eatery. A portable herb garden that can be put in their play area for them to nibble on. To make the Fresh Herb Degu Eatery you will need: An empty 2 litre ice cream tub and lid. Wire mesh with holes approx. 13mm Wire cutters Thin wire Pliers Craft Knife Thick Needle Scissors Fresh herbs or herb seeds of your choice Soil or compost It takes approximately an hour to make and can be used straight away with fresh herbs. Of course, if you decided to plant seeds you will have to wait until they have grown. Let's get started… Step 1 — Prepare the Lid & Mesh The first thing you need to do is cut a hole in the ice cream tub lid. I used a c...

The Degu Diaries

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