# New owner of 3 degus, any advice will do.



## lucygoode (Aug 23, 2012)

Hi, yesterday i adopted 3 male degu's (brothers) from a pet charity due to previous owners moving. When we went to collect them the member staff told us that one of them is blind in one eye due to poor diet, any advice on what to do. Also I haven't thought of any names so any ideas for 3 male names would be highly appreciated, also any additional advice for degu care would be helpful.

Thanks Lucy.


----------



## Lavenderb (Jan 27, 2009)

Are they in a chew proof cage? anything that is chewable will be chewed. All metal cages are best for Degu's.

As for the one with the poorly eye, well I would suggest taking him to the vet and ask them to look at it. It could be infection that needs treating. 

Have you handled them yet?


----------



## lucygoode (Aug 23, 2012)

hi , and yes I've got a 3 tier metal cage for them and the memeber of staff said he is blind so should I still him just incase , and I've have had them out of the cage running about and sitting on my hand but not stroking yet


----------



## HazelandDan (Apr 22, 2012)

Congrats on your new boys!

This site is brilliant for degu information: DEGUTOPIA -(')')- For all your degu needs

hopefully you'll find all the information you need there


----------



## lucygoode (Aug 23, 2012)

thankyou for the website and any personal advice from experience with them that could help me , also any idea of names because ive got not clue what to call them, atm its blind guy, grey dude and psycho so i dont think those names are very good, so any help would be highly appreciated 

Thanks Lucy


----------



## fuzzymum1 (Aug 22, 2012)

If the blindness is due to diet then it may improve with a good diet. They need lots of hay, small amounts of fresh food such as kale, broccoli etc and a good Degu food, I use Degu xtravital. Avoid anything with sugar, so no fruit and limit carby foods like oats to occasional treats. My lot get a very varied diet, they have a mix of dried plants/herbs/flowers from the hay experts, some Degu xtravital, three types of hay, and a mix of finch seed with barley grains, sesame seeds, a few sunflower seeds and a very few oats mix in, and some apple branches when I can get them. One of my group started to develop a cataract but the eye has cleared since reducing the amount of carbs in their diet. 

I avoid having anything plastic in their cage at all, chewing it can cause fatal blockages. A large metal (if possible) wheel a minimum of 12" across will give them the opportunity to run - my lot run miles!

Most of all, just enjoy them, they are amazing animals and I adore mine. They like to be handled on their terms, ie allowing them to climb onto you rather than picking them up, if you have somewhere suitable to free range them then they love to run around and explore. I sit on the conservatory floor with mine and they run up to see me, run off to play etc and have a great time. (the cats sit the other side of the door and watch


----------



## lucygoode (Aug 23, 2012)

hopefully his eye sight will get better, and they are in a 3 tier metal cage so they are all secure and i have them out everyday let them run about. Have you got any preferences on what to feed them because i have tried broccoli and lettuce but they turn their noses up at it and i want to give them variety in their diet but if they dont eat it how can i do that ive only had them since wednesday and they eat Degu xtravital and timmothy hay and some herb hay as well. Ive enjoy them alot already and ive only had them for 2 days they are very comical and also each one is completely different in personality. Also have you got any ideas on names because im am stuck on what to call them.

Thanks Lucy


----------



## fuzzymum1 (Aug 22, 2012)

I like old fashioned human names for degus, my original four girls were called Nancy, Agatha, Dorothy and Billie - though Agatha turned out to be a a boy and has been renamed Norman. For three boys I would probably name them something like Norman, Arthur and Henry  My children named the three youngsters we kept (Norman had been very busy before we realised he wasn't Agatha!) and we now also have Twinkle, Charlie and Pedro.

Many degus dislike fresh food, especially if they weren't introduced to it at a young age. As long as they're getting a variety of other stuff then they'll be fine - they should be eating mostly hay and other dried plants etc and the xtravital should be a supplement to that. My currently mix of dried food is: 
Burns Meadow Mix, Chamomile Herbage, Coneflower, Country Garden Herbs, Dandelion, Dandelion Delight, Excel Birch Bark Herbage, Ginko Plus, Herbal Garden, Mountain Meadow Herbs, Plantain and Wood Picnic all ordered from the hay experts website. Don't worry too much if they don't take to the fresh veggies - degus can do very well without it.


----------



## finzifan101 (Aug 25, 2012)

Hi, I have 4 female degus, Wispa, Button, Rolo and Mel (Caramel)  Degus make awesome pets, but you may have to spend a while with them and bond with them for them to get used to you  your cage sounds good, its like the one I have from the sounds of it, make sure all the flooring is either solid or covered up to stop foot problems. I feed mine pets at home degu nuggets, with bits of dandelion leaves, broccoli and occasional cabbage, just cause i dont wanna make them bloated with too much cabbage lol. Also make sure they get lots of fresh hay. If he's blind in one eye due to diet, it may be because of cataracts if his previous diet had too much sugar in...just be prepared that if it is cataracts it wont get better, hopefully this isnt the case. As for names, I know people that go with themes, like simba timone and pumba, and icecreams like ben jerry and haagen ^^ or even a black adder theme like percy baldrick and ed lol  but i agree that degutopia is a great website if youre stuck


----------



## lucygoode (Aug 23, 2012)

hello and your degu names are really good , and ive only had mine since wednesday the ride home with them was a nightmare, they put them in cardboard boxes and i heard they chew threw them like nothing, so we got to the counter to pay for them and they had already chewed a hole threw their boxes so we had to pay for another ones and in the car on the way back they chewed a hole that big they could fit through it i was craping my self we tried everything to keep them in, but since then lovely pets so comical and also very interesting. Well we brough a mesh cage and then covered the mesh with wood so it wouldnt hurt their feet so that all sorted. If it is cataracts will his life span become shorter or will he be affected in any way. Im still totally stuck with names because every name i come up with family members are like no so its hard . Anyway thanks for the advice very helpful 

Thanks Lucy


----------



## finzifan101 (Aug 25, 2012)

Hey, that sounds awesome, i know what it's like trying to get everyone to agree on names haha. They do chew alot, its funny to watch them destroy toilet roll tubes and things  If it is cataracts, which it may not be, but if it is, he wont be affected too much if his other eye is still ok, since he will still be able to see. The degus at my college, one has cataracts in both eyes and he's absolutely fine, they just change the objects in the cage around less often so he doesnt stress out and knows the layout of the cage by memory. He just may be timid if approached on the blind side if he cant see you coming. As for life span, it wont affect how long he lives for. They live for 5-8 years on average if looked after well, so be prepared to have him for a while


----------



## lucygoode (Aug 23, 2012)

Hi, its really hard to agree on names someones will say 3 names and the others are like noo dont like them etc. I was panicking so much when i was in the car when they tried to escape it was terrible. Aslong as it doesnt affect his personality or health any more then thats fine and he is the most adventurous one out of the three he loves to be stroked. I have a grey one that tries to fight my hand alot, i dont if he is scared of he is just trying to protect his food. He'll do the same to my hand as they do to each other but i dont know if its normal or not... 

Thanks Lucy


----------



## finzifan101 (Aug 25, 2012)

Mine used to do that. If they turn their back to you and make like a wailing sound, it's usually because theyre defending their food. I put my hand in the cage with treats on and they squeal at eachother fighting over the treats. Have you seen them box yet? When they have minor squabbles/play fight they slap eachother standing on their hind legs...its hilarious.


----------



## lucygoode (Aug 23, 2012)

Ohh so its not just mine I thought mine didn't like me hehe , I haven't seen that yet , its sounds hilarious mine just play fight and mount each other


----------

