Care products for degus: the basics for every day

With degus, daily care revolves around a few fixed things: unlimited fresh hay, a fixed portion of sugar-free degu food, always clean water and a sand bath for coat care. With good care products, you give all of those things a fixed, clean place in the enclosure. That gives your degus routine and calm, and you can see at a glance whether everyone is eating and drinking properly. You should also have a transport box at home for when you need to go to the vet.

In this category you will find five subcategories: food bowls, water bottles, transport boxes, sand and sand baths, and hay racks. With Zooply Bathing Sand and the Zooply Aluminium bottle holder with magnets, there are also products from our own brand. When choosing for degus, always keep their gnawing teeth in mind: they gnaw wood and plastic to pieces, so ceramic, glass and metal are often the best choice here.

At a glance

• ✓ Give food, water, hay and sand bath each a fixed, dry place in the enclosure.
• ✓ Preferably choose ceramic, glass and metal; degus gnaw wood and plastic to pieces.
• ✓ In a group, provide more than one eating, drinking and hay spot.
• ✓ A sand bath with fine, low-dust bathing sand is always a must for a degu.
• ✓ Keep a lockable transport box ready for the vet or an emergency.

What will you find in the Care & Grooming category for degus?

Sand & sand baths

Under Sand & sand baths you will find Zooply Bathing Sand: 100% natural, filtered sand from Europe which, according to the product information, is suitable for degus, hamsters, gerbils and chinchillas. You can choose 1 kg or a 3 kg bucket. You will also find heavy ceramic sand baths from Trixie, including one with a rainforest look. For an adult degu, choose the largest size, so it can roll over completely.

Water bottles

Under Water bottles you will find glass bottles of 250 and 500 ml, Classic plastic bottles, the Zooply Aluminium bottle holder with magnets for glass enclosures up to 4 mm, coolers and a cleaning brush. With degus, hang the bottle so that only the metal spout is within their reach, or choose glass.

Food bowls

Under Food bowls you will find heavy ceramic bowls, from a compact bowl of ø 7 cm to an oval 600 ml bowl for a small group. Ceramic doesn't tip over and can't be gnawed to pieces. Ideal for the daily portion of Zooply Degu Food.

Hay racks

Under Hay racks you will find a metal hay rack to hang up, which degus can't gnaw to pieces, and wooden racks with a lid to stand on the floor. A rack keeps the hay clean and dry, so your degus eat more of it.

Transport boxes

Under Transport boxes you will find transport boxes and carriers from Trixie in four sizes, from a box for one degu to a roomy carrier for a small group. Lockable and ventilated, for the vet, the sitter or a house move. Always put some hay and bedding in it, so your degus have grip and can smell something familiar.

Fixed places bring calm

Degus love routine. If the food bowl, the water bottle, the hay rack and the sand bath are always in the same place, they know exactly where to go. That brings calm to the group. It also makes keeping things clean easier: the eating zone, the sand bath spot and the pee spot are fixed, and you know where to look every day.

Do keep the spots apart, though. The water bottle shouldn't hang above the hay rack or the food bowl, or the food will get wet. The sand bath shouldn't be next to the hay rack, or hay will fall into the sand. And none of these items should be in the spot where your degus prefer to pee.

Care in a group of degus

Degus live at least in pairs, preferably in a small same-sex group. Every group has a pecking order. With one small food bowl, one water bottle or one hay spot, the dominant degu can chase the others away. So in a group, provide at least two eating spots or one roomy bowl, two drinking spots and more than one hay spot. Watch closely in the first few days whether everyone can eat and drink.

Watch for signs

With fixed care spots, you quickly notice if something changes. Is a lot of food suddenly being left, is the water bottle hardly emptying, is less hay being eaten or has a degu stopped using the sand bath? Then take a close look at your animals. If a degu is eating less, is lethargic, losing weight or its coat changes, contact a vet with knowledge of rodents. With a transport box ready to go, you can leave straight away.

Cleaning

Change the water every day and clean the bottle with a bottle brush at least once a week. Rinse the food bowl daily and wash it thoroughly weekly. Fill the hay rack with fresh hay every day and remove old leftovers. Scoop out the sand bath regularly and, according to the packaging, replace the bathing sand about twice a week. Don't use strong-smelling cleaning products and let everything dry thoroughly before it goes back into the enclosure.

A fixed care routine

With a fixed routine, you won't forget anything and you will quickly notice if something is off. A practical schedule:

• Every day: change the water and check the spout, rinse the food bowl and give a new portion of degu food, top up the hay rack and remove old leftovers, scoop wet spots and droppings out of the bedding and the sand bath, and check briefly that everyone is eating, drinking and active.
• Every week: clean the water bottle thoroughly with the bottle brush, wash the food bowl thoroughly, brush out or rinse the hay rack, check accessories for gnawing damage and thoroughly refresh the pee spot.
• About twice a week: replace the bathing sand, as the packaging of Zooply Bathing Sand indicates, or more often if it is visibly dirty.
• Regularly: weigh your degus. Otherwise you will only notice a degu gradually losing weight late on.

Summer and winter

In warm periods, degus drink more and the water warms up faster. Move the enclosure out of the sun, check more often whether the water bottle is still full and, if you like, use a cooler around the bottle. Store hay and food extra dry and cool at that time, so it doesn't go musty. In winter the enclosure is indoors, but watch out for draughts by windows and doors. Don't put it right next to the radiator; a stable room temperature is the most comfortable. If you transport your degus in winter, make sure the transport box isn't standing in the cold or in a draught.

Useful combinations

Care products are only complete with what goes in them:

• Degu food: Zooply Degu Food, sugar-free, for the food bowl.
• Hay: Zooply Meadow Hay, German Herbal Hay and Austrian Alpine Hay for the rack.
• Dried herbs: sugar-free Zooply herbs such as dandelion leaf to mix through the hay.
• Bedding: Zooply Hemp Fibre or Wood Fibre, also for the transport box.
• Cages: a spacious enclosure with room for all the fixed zones.

Frequently asked questions about care products for degus

What do I need at a minimum to care for degus?

A heavy food bowl, a water bottle (or two), a hay rack, a sand bath with bathing sand and a transport box. Plus unlimited hay and a sugar-free degu food. With those basics, you can organise the daily care well.

Why ceramic, glass and metal?

Degus gnaw wood and plastic to pieces. A plastic food bowl or a plastic bottle within their reach gets damaged quickly, and then sharp edges and bits can form. Ceramic, glass and metal can't be gnawed to pieces and are easy to clean.

Do degus really need a sand bath?

Yes. Degus keep their coat clean by rolling in fine sand. Without a sand bath, the coat can become greasy and sticky. According to the product information, Zooply Bathing Sand is especially suitable for this.

How many feeding and drinking spots do I need for a group?

With two degus, one good spot is often enough, possibly with a spare. With three or more degus, provide at least two feeding spots or one roomy bowl, and two drinking spots in different places in the enclosure.

Which material is best for a hay rack for degus?

A metal hay rack lasts the longest, because degus can't gnaw through it. Hang it on the outside of the mesh, so your degus pull the hay through the bars. Wooden racks with a lid are also suitable as a second hay spot; they do get gnawed, though, so check them regularly.

When do I use a transport box?

For a visit to the vet, when your degus go to a sitter, during a house move or briefly during a big clean. Make sure the box is always ready, so you can leave straight away in an emergency.

How do I know if my degus are eating and drinking enough?

Through fixed spots and fixed portions. Give roughly the same portion of degu food every day and check whether it is finished. Watch how much hay disappears from the rack and how much water has gone from the bottle, and check that the floor under the spout stays dry. Weigh your degus regularly. If you see a degu eating or drinking less, or losing weight, contact a vet with knowledge of rodents.

Buying care products for degus at Knaagplaza

At Knaagplaza, the webshop of 't Knaagplein, you will find everything for the daily care of your degus, from Zooply Bathing Sand to heavy food bowls and hay racks. Zooply is our own premium brand, which we use every day for our own animals in the shop and breeding facility. That way you have a fixed, clean basis for every day.