Moving Day - Part Two

As I have hinted at last time, the dismantling and rebuilding of the cage took a good few hours.

We left the girls in their double decker Thickets cage to make sure they had plenty of room to run around in, but due to the construction having the wheel bolted to the back they were without their beloved toy for the duration of the move which probably took 4 odd hours to attach it, move the box into place and then repopulate it with shelves and accessories.

As the day wore on I ended up removing their toys, hammock, branches etc from the cage for the new home, by the time we came to fill the new house with substrate we had three very confused little Degus in now what looked like a huge, largely empty space.

To their credit they were patient and fairly well behaved (for them).

Needless to say by the time I came to collect them for the move they all but threw themselves into the carry cage.

We put them in the top with the wheel and Serrano went straight back on her comfort toy - and stayed there for ages, whilst Jalapeno went straight for the chewing sticks and gnawed on them for 20 minutes!

Eventually Pimento found the entrance to the lower levels and tentatively made her way down.

 Being used to having just two levels Pimento didn't venture any further down for a while.

When she did though she moved extremely quickly!

That blur in the tunnel...? that's Pimento...

Exploring the cut out hidely hole.

Discovering what real stones are for the first time.

Taking advantage of the full length sandbath that they now have permanent access to.

Managing to stand still long enough to get a decent shot.

Playing with cut up bits of pine.

Pimento can be going flat out on the wheel and then stop when you approach to watch you - it is hilarious as the wheel swings from side to side but she sways with it and keeps an eye on you.

Jalapeno did eventually leave these sticks alone and go exploring.

Some more digging pit action.

Exploring the next level down.

Serrano action shot.

Making full use of the ledges (and eating more sticks).

Tasty hay.

Trying to roll the ball.

Being nosy as usual.

Getting to grips with the new levels.

Peekaboo.

Ladder storage.

The ladder in full daylight the next day.
IMPORTANT: Degus are small, but tough creatures - however the ladder we have, whilst carefully designed for our cage is quite high. I shall be updating the blog to include cage modifications and play time pictures  in due course, but we do not allow our Degus to come out on the ladder without having a plump cushion underneath it in case they knock each other off. 
 Falling from a height like this onto a hard surface would undoubtedly cause sevre injury.
These pictures were taken as a demonstration shot for the man who very kindly built the ladder for me as he hopes to sell them to other interested parties.

We left them to explore the house for a few days without really making too many demands on them so they could settle into their new environment and feel more secure.
Their behaviour has changed since we rehomed them - Serrano was quite dominant and bossy towards the end of their residence in the Thickets whereas now she is quite timid in comparison.
Pimento has really come to the fore and is fairly fearless now.
Jalapeno is, well just Jalapeno really - she hasn't changed but then she was never as close as the other two sisters so still throws herself out of the cage at us.
They have all become much more curious about life outside the house though which is great.