# degu help - covering wire floors



## pocket (Jun 1, 2009)

Hi there,

I have just got a rescue degu, and am housing her in a tall wire rat cage. 
The top two floors are just wire, and I have read all about bumble foot, and obviously want to cover them with something! 

Could someone recommend me a good covering please? I have been researching it online, and I'm worried to cover it with wood in case its treated (is it easy to tell if its been treated?!) cardboard is apparently noisy, and coconut mats have been suggested. Does this mean coconut door mats? and are they not too rough ?! 

I would just like to know what people on here use please, and how to obtain and cut it!


Thank you


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## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

I don't know anything about degus I'm afraid but would carpet offcuts work?


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## CRL (Jan 3, 2012)

use laminate, like the flooring stuff. cut it to size. you can also cover the laminate with fleece to make it softer, but it would need to be washed or changed every few days if they decide its a nice toilet


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## pocket (Jun 1, 2009)

CRL said:


> use laminate, like the flooring stuff. cut it to size. you can also cover the laminate with fleece to make it softer, but it would need to be washed or changed every few days if they decide its a nice toilet


thank you very much - is laminate definitely safe for degus then? chemical wise?
thanks for the help!


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## CRL (Jan 3, 2012)

i would assume so yes, my mum uses it for her cockatiels. and i know some people use it for there rats.


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## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

i wouldnt use laminate for degus, they will chew anything you put in their cage.

also you said you have them in a rat cage, rat cages tend to have a plastic base, degus need to be in a all metal cage as they will chew, and if they chewed on the plastic base, not only will they escape but the plastic could kill them

your best bet would be to remove the wire shelves and replace them with wooden ledges, kiln dried solid pine is safe and the easiest to acquire


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## Wobbles (Jun 2, 2011)

What about some of them chinchilla marble slabs? They won't be able to chew those.


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## Guest (Dec 26, 2012)

CRL said:


> use laminate, like the flooring stuff. cut it to size. you can also cover the laminate with fleece to make it softer, but it would need to be washed or changed every few days if they decide its a nice toilet


I wouldn't use laminate, the goos would be through that is seconds :lol:

I used grass mats to cover any wire shelves with my goos, they need replacing regularly but it worked great for us 

Do you just have the one goo?


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## Wobbles (Jun 2, 2011)

Won't they chew the grass mats too? I bought a giant one for my chinchilla once thinking it would last him ages. He ate the whole thing the first night I put it in the cage.


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## Guest (Dec 26, 2012)

Wobbles said:


> Won't they chew the grass mats too? I bought a giant one for my chinchilla once thinking it would last him ages. He ate the whole thing the first night I put it in the cage.


Yes they do, which is one reason I said they needed replacing regularly  Also grass mats are safe to chew, where as lino would cause a blockage


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## Tomskrat (Aug 11, 2011)

> I have just got a rescue degu, and am housing her in a tall wire rat cage.
> The top two floors are just wire, and I have read all about bumble foot, and obviously want to cover them with something!


i think pocket might be describing a critter 2/3 cage 
i covered mine with kiln dried pine and tiles, although yes they did have lots of fun chewing the wood.












> and coconut mats have been suggested. Does this mean coconut door mats? and are they not too rough ?!


they could be refering to coconut matting used to line hanging baskets etc that you can get from garden centres.

Nests & Nesting Materials at zooplus: Hemp Floor for Small Animals
i've used these with some success, although with a big cage they can be quite expensive


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## Guest (Dec 26, 2012)

Tomskrat said:


> i think pocket might be describing a critter 2/3 cage


I thought that too, hate those cages with a passion but I know they can have their uses


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## Tomskrat (Aug 11, 2011)

> I thought that too, hate those cages with a passion but I know they can have their uses


mine lasted only 4 months before i threw it, awful things .
but i did chop it down to a critter 1 as they make excellent hospital cages.


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## Wobbles (Jun 2, 2011)

Aww Tomskrat, your degu's are really cute, I like their setup. I bought one of those cages for my chinchilla thinking it would be great as it was totally chewproof. Only it was almost owner proof too, I couldn't get the door to open properly to get the chinchilla out. It lasted all of a month before I was sick of trying to lift the whole top off all the time, and threw it in the dump!


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## pocket (Jun 1, 2009)

Tomskrat said:


> i think pocket might be describing a critter 2/3 cage


yes her cage is similar to yours with a metal base. Is is necessary to cover the metal ramps as well, or are they too tricky?



B3rnie said:


> Do you just have the one goo?


yes I only have one. she was rescued and brought from pets at home, but then fought so badly with any degus she was put with that she needed a new single degu home - which is how I acquired her. She has a chunk missing from her ear and everything, so although they should be in groups - this individual seems to be unable to do so sadly.

thank you for your help everyone. I now have lots of leads to go on. I am leaning towards the mat rolls from garden centers as they looks easier to cut to go around the ramps that some of the other suggestions. At the moment Ive covered the floors with cardboard, but I doubt it will remain unsoiled for long!


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## Hannahmourneevans (Dec 16, 2012)

I would second the grass mat idea! They do chew through them so buy them in bulk!!


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## pocket (Jun 1, 2009)

Hannahmourneevans said:


> I would second the grass mat idea! They do chew through them so buy them in bulk!!


when you say grass mat, do you mean the ones sold in pet shops (they looks difficult to cut!) or garden centre ones? thanks


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## emzybabe (Jun 30, 2009)

I wouldnt used the garden coconut matting it will contain fungicides to stop it going moldy. 

The grass matts from petshops are defiantly pet safe and you can buy them online quite reasonably. If shes got good quality hay to chew she wont attack the grass matts to quickly.


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## emzybabe (Jun 30, 2009)

actually I just had a thought following on from the tile suggestion. These would be quite safe and if you used the unglazed side wouldnt be so slippery. You could also get some free samples. use the tiles on the areas where they fit and grass mats elsewhere


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## DeguFan (Apr 20, 2012)

We bought a length of kiln dried pine from a hardware store and cut it down to make shelves. I also bought some stainless steel trays from ebay to use as ledges. The wood and the trays are secured in the cage with heavy duty stainless steel bulldog clips. It makes the shelves easy to remove for cleaning and easy to move the shelves around so their home gets changed up regularly


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## pocket (Jun 1, 2009)

DeguFan said:


> We bought a length of kiln dried pine from a hardware store and cut it down to make shelves. I also bought some stainless steel trays from ebay to use as ledges. The wood and the trays are secured in the cage with heavy duty stainless steel bulldog clips. It makes the shelves easy to remove for cleaning and easy to move the shelves around so their home gets changed up regularly


what a great idea! thank you very much


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