The Degu Diaries

I am hoping that the sneezing one of my degus has seemingly developed overnight is an allergy to the wood shaving. They have all been sneezing a little here and there but it seems worse in one of them. She keeps grabbing her nose as if something is irritating it. I must admit that when I first filled the cage the wood shavings affected my own nose something rotten so it's hardly a surprise if this is an allergy. My local pet store doesn't have any Carefresh animal bedding or alternative dust free recycled substrate I can use so until I can get down to Pets at Home I have temporarily filled the cage with straw and hay. I may continue with the straw, as they seem to love hiding in it, and use a small amount of absorbent material beneath it to help with soaking up the pee. She seems happy enough in herself but I will keep an eye on her just in case. UPDATE August 25, 2012 — Both the straw and hay were considerably dusty, which I didn't realise, but I have since clea...