How to attach a cage to the aquarium...

A cage is more suitable than an aquarium, because the air can circulate better in it and you can put branches in it. Furthermore, degus can climb on its walls. There is just one disadvantage in the case of using a cage - degus can throw the shavings or other bedding outside it. That's why it is better to buy a cage with a high bottom. The best way of avoiding this is to make an aquarium the bottom of a cage. You then have the advantages of both: you can look at the degus even though they're in the bottom of the cage, they can climb on the cage walls and the air circulates well. In addition, sometimes they can chew through plastic bottom of the cage, I've heard of couple of such cases. If you replace the plastic bottom with an aquarium, they sure can't chew through it.

Cages should be large enough - the larger they are, the better. I can't give you any exact measurements, but I've read on other degus homepages that the cage should be 100 x 60 x 60 cm. Some people have them in big 5-floored cages. The degus must be very happy there, but can also be happy in smaller cages if you let them run around freely in a room every once in a while. Our cage is about 40 x 60 x 60 cm and although it is not very big, I've seen degus in much smaller cages and they looked happy because they could run freely around in the room from time to time. Cage bars should be situated in 2 cm interspaces. If you plan on your degus having children, it is better if the interspaces are 1 cm. Otherwise, newborn babies could crawl out and get lost in the room. The cage should be made of something that degus can not nibble (I think that only leaves glass and iron).

Put some strong branches (about 5 cm in diameter) into the cage, so the degus can climb and nibble on them. If they fall down, you could fix them to the cage bars with some wire (like I do). Be careful not to put any poisonous twigs like yew, laurel, cedar or chestnut in there. Degus like branches from fruit trees the most, but you can use also

How to make a cage...

branches from a pear tree, maple tree, ash-tree, beech or oak. Also, put some floors made from wooden boards or glass (not from wire, it's not good for the degus' steps) into the cage - make floors where the degus can lie down. Degus love heights, so they will often sleep on the highest branch or floor. When making the floors, you can also use cardboard, but be sure that such a floor will be there for just for about a month… as the degus will nibble on it. Wooden floors can last for half a year.

For bedding, I use wood shavings with a little hay, but you can use also bedding from recycled newspaper etc. (it's up to you, what you think smells less). Some of the hay the degus eat and some of it they use for building a nest. Instead of this, give them some napkins and paper for nest material. Clean the cage about once a week. The more degus who live in a cage, the more often you will have to clean it. You will see it yourself when the cage needs cleaning.
Some people told me that recycled paper shavings are very good as bedding. I don't know them, it's not sold in Czech republic, but they say it absorbs odor very well.

The pets also need a water bottle. The best are those with a metal tube with a metal bullet in it which obstructs the dropping of water. Bottles made of glass which leech onto an aquarium are not good because they can shatter and hurt the animals. Don't place the water bottle above the food dish, as water can drop down on it and the food would get ruined.

The food dish should be heavy and made from pottery, so that it can not easily be turned over. Or you could have a food dish fixed to the cage bars - so it doesn't take up place in the bottom of the cage uselessly and the degus can't throw a lot of shavings into it (as they would into a food dish on the cage floor).

Place the cage in a calm place. Don't worry too much, as the degus will get used to your voice and also to TV and radio. But they can get scared of other pets, so don't let them get to the degus. Give the degus some calm. If they often look scared, cover the top of the cage with some cardboard. They're afraid because birds are predators for degus in nature, so they are very much scared of movements above them.

Degus need a normal room temperature - about 20 degrees Celsius. Never put the cage in direct sunlight, because they can die from it even if the air is not that hot. They can stand the cold more than the warm temperature. Also, don't let air blow directly on them - they could get pneumonia.

Degus also need a nest box. They use it mainly when they get puppies, or if they feel in danger. If you have had them for just a few days they will probably often be in there - just until they get used to you. They can live without it, but it's better to give them a nest box just to let them know they can hide somewhere at any time. They will feel more satisfied then. The nest/house should be large enough for the degus; mainly closed, but of course with an entrance. It is better if the roof is flat, as they can lie down on it if they like it. You can be sure that the degus will nibble on the nest box. The nest box on this photo is rather suitable, although the entrance should be smaller and the window is useless. It's measures are: width 21cm, depth 17cm, height 14cm. If you are not able to make such a house, you can use any shoe box in which you can cut out an entrance. It won't last for long, though.

If you don't have the possibility to keep a large cage, let them run freely a little bit. The easiest way is to put the cage with an opened door (so that they can come back anytime) to the floor in the hall, where there isn't any carpet and a lot of cables.

Game
To avoid the degus getting bored, put a running wheel into their cage. They will be very grateful for this. They will be running in that wheel very often. They like the exercise, and the running also help them to keep fit.

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It must be large - diameter at least 25 cm (otherwise degus can't run in it - people then think that degus don't like running in the wheel, but that's not the true) - and made from metal. If you have very young degus, put the wheel away for a while. Otherwise they could hurt themselves on the wheel.

Another favourite game is the sand bath. You can buy special sand for chinchillas. Put it in a dish or a big jar. Heavy jars and dishes are better because they can't be turned around that easily. The dish should be large enough for a degu to lie down and roll in it. Degus can have sand baths like this twice or three times a week for 20-minute periods. You shouldn't leave the dish in for a longer time if you don't want the animals using the dish as a toilet. After a few baths you should change the sand. This bath is not only useful as a game, as it also helps to keep their fur clean.
Another tip: you can try to leave the sand in their cage, some breeders tell that then degus don't scent at all, because they use only sand as a toilet (and no other parts of the cage).

Some degus are not interested in sand baths. Don't worry about them. Try to give it to them from time to time (once a month or so) when they are out of cage or put it in some jar into the cage and leave it there for about an hour. If they need it, they'll use it and if they don't, then never mind.

Some people let the sand box stay in the cage all the time, as the degus will use it as a toilet. These people say that the cage then doesn't smell so much and as long as they change the sand, they don't have to clean the rest of the cage that often. Some change the sand once every three days, some just once a month. You can try it if you like, as it will not harm the degus and you will have less work to keep the cage clean. It is said that the degus are smart enough to put the dirty parts of their nests into the sand box because they want you to take it away.