When deciding to purchase or adopt degus, there are many important points to consider - for example:
No. of degus you are going to adopt
Where to get your cage or are you going to build one yourself
Is there a local vet? Do they know about degus?
How your family will respond to keeping degus
Do you have the funds for food, housing and emergency vet bills?
... and the list goes on.
One of the key things to consider is where you are going to home your degus. After the break are pictures of where I keep my degus and things to consider when choosing a location.
Even before I brought my degus home, it was clear to me that I would be housing them in my garage.
Security
The room is attached to the main house and has strong doors at the front and back; this makes it more secure against break-ins. Some people may choose to keep their degus in a separate building or out-house; if this is the case its important to ensure they are secure. Of course, people will not be interested in breaking in to steal your degus but they may be inclined to release or harm them for fun.
The front door of the garage is controlled by a remote and the door linking to the house is secured by a double lock. This is useful because you can lock the room when you have guests over. This prevents young children exploring the house from having access to your degus without your supervision.
Finally the room is also safe against cats, dogs, rats etc..
Light
My garage has a large remote door that can be lifted to allow a flood of natural light into the room, which is of course great for the degus. Unfortunately there are no windows in my garage, so natural light is very restricted when my family and I are not in. This is definitely something to consider that I did not. You can improve this situation by adding lighting to your enclosure, or moving the enclosure nearer to a window.
Clean
It is important to keep the room where you are keeping your degus clean. Garages are naturally dusty places. The large garage door helps in promoting good air circulation. I sweep and dust the room roughly every 2 months. Its also important to ensure there are no liquids on the floor or near the enclosure and no food crumbs that are not degu suitable.
When selecting a room - expect lots of wood shavings and hay to end up on the floor whether the enclosure is sealed or not. A non-carpet floor is good as the mess is easily swept away.
Organisation
The room where you keep your degus should be as tidy, organised and clutter free as possible. If the degus escape, the less places in the room they have to hide in the better. You do not want to risk items falling and being knocked over unnecessarily. The garage where I keep my degus is generally a room used for storage. I have however managed to move most of the tools and equipment to the opposite side of the room. I keep the room as neat as possible.
Room usage
Following on from organisation, it is easier to keep a room tidy and clean if you are making use of it. I keep my pool table and some drinks in the garage (its become my "mancave" which are becoming more popular of late) so its a room that is used fairly often. I will usually invite some of my friends over for a couple of drinks and some pool.
Degus seem to enjoy a busy room and enjoy activity happening near the enclosure through the day. This is why hallways and corridors make popular choices as a location. They tend to be clutter free, clean, and frequently used by the family. Living rooms and kitchens are also popular locations for the cage. Bedrooms are less often chosen due to degus waking their owners.
Temperature
Degus should be kept at roughly room temperature. My garage can get quite cold during the winter, often dropping to -2 or -3. The degus do not seem to mind this temp as long as they are supplied with plenty of bedding. We have also purchased a radiator if we feel the cold temperatures are becoming too extreme. During the summer the room tends not to reach the high temperatures outside and tends to remain just a bit warmer than room temp.
I would say that generally as an owner, hotter temperatures are more concerning than cold temperatures.
Supplies
This is probably the least important point as your degu supplies can be kept anywhere in the house where there is space. For the sake of ease, I keep all my supplies close to and around the enclosure.
Providing detailed guides on how to construct and build degu enclosure, vivariums and cages. This blog has a focus on stimulating and creating more natural habitats for degus...