Terracotta Toys

Once again I shall start by saying that this piece was something inspired by a long tome poster on Degu World and Degus International, so thank you for the steer smithomatic.

Degus love to dig, nest and hide in tunnels.
A popular misconception is that they need trees to climb where as they are largely a ground dwelling creature.

Our girls love rooting around in the wood shavings and kicking it all over the place.
People who have built large custom enclosures for them (like smithomatic) often include deeper areas as digging pits and this is an ambition of mine as they need constant and varied entertainment.

smithomatic used reclaimed terracotta roof ridge tiles to create little eras they can dig, nest, hide and generally root around in and this weekend we ended up near a reclamation yard and on a whim popped in.

After scouring the site we found a suitable sized tile and claimed it for our girls.

We have also been buying them wicker/rope three way tunnels from Pets At Home for the upper level. The problem is that they enjoy the tunnel but can't resist shredding the cardboard inside.
Once this has gone there is a mess of rope all over the cage hindering them moving around and us from performing spot cleans.

At this point Bex pointed out a load of terracotta pipe work including some three way drainage connection and suggested it would be a good permanent solution.

Acquiring both for £10 cash was a bargain as the Pets At Home tunnels are nearly £6 a time and the last one lasted less than a week.

we took them home and soaked them in boiling water before scrubbing them with Pet Safe Disinfectant and then boiling them again.

We placed the roof tile downstairs with the wood shavings and the 3 way pipe upstairs. It was a great hit with the girls as they can climb on it, nest in it, spirit things away from their sisters etc.
Plus for us it has the advantages of being nearly indestructible, money saving and it will help keep their claws down, saving our arms!

Pimento and Serrano enjoying the 3 Way Pipe



Jalapeño exploring the roof tile tunnel.



Check out smithomatic's own Degu blog Degu Chronicles

Boxing Clever - Part 2

And so to the construction work!

The Blueprints.



Ready to start - I cut the remaining MDF into the relevant pieces.



Next job was to make the top and bottom structures and line with pine brackets.





Then the sides were added.



I miscalculated one of my cuts trying to rush the job as I had to go to a friends house that evening which meant I had to creatively use the remaining MDF off cuts to recreate the back.
Once I had stopped kicking myself - top tip don't try and do this on a deadline unless you are a carpenter!




Support was then added for the vertical plain.
The finished Degu enclosure that will go on top will stand 1.6m x 0.95m x 0.55m so this is going to be no lightweight thing!



Adding the top.



To make it a little more living room friendly I decided to paint it the same colour as the lounge but first I needed to fill the gaps.



Then prime it.



Colour it.



And finally, probably a redundant feature but for the original coffee table we bought some non slip material. I dug this back out and nailed it to the top which will stop the cage and later the box slipping.



When the whole project is finished I will add doors to the front but as you can see now it gives us the perfect storage space for their food, carry cage, large sandbath and other assorted toys.
I should point out at this stage since spending time on Degu World we have stopped using the ball as entertainment and would rather play with them in or out of the cage... but we like hoarding stuff clearly.



As you can see this new set up allows the Goos to lord it over the room again and is a much better height for us to interact with them.

Boxing Clever - Part 1

I think two things have been all consuming for the past year of my life: Degus and DIY - both have a symbiotic relationship in my mind as doing DIY to sort the Degus lead to the electrical rewire of my house and subsequent rebuild and redecoration and the Degus themselves have created their own DIY projects.

Without labouring the point we completed the rebuild of our lounge last month (finally!) and with the DIY box in the back of my mind I knew I did not want to put them on a raised shelf again, partly to aid Bex's back and partly because I didn't want to make a mess of my new walls!

So we put them on the floor.



They hated it with a passion.
Having lost their vantage point to the room it meant that we once again loomed over them and they skitted every time we surprised them.

We hated it too as we couldn't watch them easily, we couldn't get the table out to play with them properly, we had to constantly bend down to get to them and there was always the danger that they could fling themselves out and be let lose in the non-Degu proofed lounge.
Not to mention the alcove looked half empty.

We also took the opportunity to move them from the alcove near the door and the foot traffic to the other side of the room.
This had two advantages:
Firstly with the cage there and not blocked it would give the room the illusion of more space and secondly they would be relatively secure knowing they wouldn't have people walking passed... plus they get the sun in the afternoon.

Fortunately I was able to source some breeze blocks for a more human friendly shed moving project I will be undertaking soon so I cut down their old shelf to fit the new alcove and put cardboard down to protect the floor before building the make shift, rustic looking table.



This was fine for the short term but having spent since the New Year working on the lounge it was irritating to have this ugly monolith in the corner so I figured whilst I couldn't afford to build the whole box after my elaborate proposal to Bex, I'd at least get started on the cupboard it would sit on so we could have a nicer looking living room and put all their toys away, finally!

So having come up with a master plan to maximise the amount of MDF I could make the most out of for the least amount of money I made the what seems like weekly pilgrimage to B&Q.

Having a tiny car I took advantage of the free cutting facility.



Mission impossible.



The ride home was interesting - It was a good job Bex was off on a friend's Hen Do.



I shall detail the whole building process in Part 2.

Making a Flying Saucer Wheel

First off:
Credit where credit is due - this DIY piece is pretty much a rip off of the post Stormsong put up on Degu World Proboards and Degus International Forum so a big thank you for the inspiration and the how to guide!

What is a Flying Saucer Wheel?

Essentially developed for Chinchillas the FSW is a different type of exercise wheel which requires a different technique of running.
They can also be good for Degus to add variety to their environment and if you have more than two as we do, you find that one jumps in the normal wheel and kicks one of the others out...

These can be picked up quite cheaply when they are made of plastic.
However given that our girls not only wear out plastic like there is no tomorrow, but also like to chew things that are bad for them if opportunity arises (like plastic) the only solution to add one of these is to find a metal one.
However one of these can set you back £80+.



Given that is a sizeable investment when I built the extension to the first Thickets cage for approximately £100 this would seriously eat into my DIY box budget.

So I embarked on this project.

The first task was to get a Lazy Susan from Ikea.



Due to the fact it would cost £20 to go to Ikea in Bristol and then buy one I found one on Ebay that would be delivered for £12.
Bargain.
Next it was off to B&Q for some more kiln dried pine as I eventually intend to put this in their home.



I cut the pine to a 40cm length so it is just slightly longer than the Lazy Susan.



Next I pre-drilled through the wood so later it could be secured it to the spinning base of the disc with wood screws.



In order to make the disc stand at an angle a leg of 10cm was made and a foot to add stability.



These were drilled and screwed together.



The leg was then attached to the 40cm piece of Pine.



Which was then secured to the base of the disc.





In order to give the Goos grip I ordered a wicker matt from Tesco direct.
It is a little smaller than the whole disc but it was something like £3.95 for two delivered so now we have something to stand hot dishes on in the centre of the dinning table as well.
I applied a decent amount of child friendly glue and stuck it to the disc as centrally as I could.



And weighted it down with bricks whilst it dried.




And here it is!



I would love to end this with a story of how the girls love it, but in truth it barely fits in their cage, I have to remove their nesting box to place it.
Given that my concern is that the CARA they have is not adequate for them I decided not to leave it in.

Also I need to train them to use it as at the moment they think it is food!

I hope to post up a video of them using it at some point in the future and make it a permanent addition to their DIY home.
Still all in this cost me just shy of £20 so cheaper than driving up the motorway and considerably cheaper than buying a metal one!