Degu Cage is finished! Bottom level looks like a forest..

Hey everyone, I know I have not posted for a long time but I have been really busy with my degus lately. Please see below some pictures of the bottom level of my finished degu cage.

 I have added Birch tree and Oak tree branches (with the leaves still attached) to the cage. It helps the cage look much more natural, it gives the degus something to clamber on, they can chew the branches and they love to tear and rip at the leaves! They will often eat these leaves too.

 When introducing a mini-forest to your degus you must be careful. You must remember that nearly all degus are born and raised in pet shops and often do not have access to these materials. Most degus will be completely fine with Birch and Oak (Degus are adapted for a high tannin intake) but precautions must be taken when introducing these items.

It is best to introduce the new woods and leaves slowly. I began with introducing the Birch first. I added a few leaves removed from the branch mixed in with thier hay and a few twigs of Birch littered around the cage. I then monitored thier reaction to it over a week, once I was happy with the "all clear" I began to introduce hole branches of birch with the leaves still attached. Increasing over time. I repeated this entire process for introducing the Oak Branches. They have gone down a treat!

 I used some slabs of Oak and some Bark to create this small shelter in the corner of the cage (below). They are currently using this as thier nest, it is crammed full of leaves they are using as nesting material. On the bottom level they also have access to clay roof tile tunnel (above). These make fantastic tunnels as they are a great shape, durable and easily cleaned. Bury these under your bedding as your degus love to dig and uncover these tunnels!

This is just the bottom level of my degu cage guys, I will hopefully post some more pictures soon of the hole cage. I would like to do this level by level so I can talk a bit more in detail about each one.

Many thanks,

Smithomatic - Have a great weekend!