When choosing or building a cage, remember that it is the degu's home. You wouldn't want to live in a crappy house, and your degu doesn't want to either.

Personally, I believe that the larger the cage, the happier your degu will be. Smaller cages or ok if the degus are allowed to run around the room from time to time, but if you don't plan on letting them out often, a large cage is much better.

This was the cage that came with our first three degus:

This cage measured about 1 foot X 1 foot X 1 1/2 feet. I thought the cage was much too small for three degus to comfortably live in. There was barely enough room for a nest and their wheel, let alone room for them to run around.

My boyfriend helped me design and build a bigger cage for our degus:

The new cage measure about 2 feet X 1 1/2 feet X 3 feet, and now comfortably contains 5 degus. The bottom is made of lucite to prevent bedding from being kicked out. The frame is made of wood, which was all we could afford at the time. I don't recommend wood as degus will chew through it. We are planning on revamping the cage in the future, using a metal frame.

Within the cage, a comfy layer of bedding is essential. I use a corn cob bedding which is very absorbant. I have heard that pine or cedar shavings can cause health problems in degus, so I don't recommend those types of shavings.

Degus are active little critters, so their cage must be full of things for them to do. Our cage contains two large branches for the degus to climb or chew. We also have shleves at different levels for them to look out from. Their is a little log cabin that they use as a hide-a-way, as well as a wooden tunnel and a ceramic boot for them to hide in. Occasionally, I'll place an empty tissue box in the cage for them to chew up. They love this! It keeps them occupied for hours! Their favorite toys, however, are thier wheels. Degus love to run in their wheels! Our cage has two wheels, and it seems like theirs always a degu in at least one of them.

Degus also love having sand baths. Our degus get a sand bath every 3 or 4 days. Place a large bowl with chinchilla sand in it, and watch the little critters go nuts! Sand baths keep the degus' coats nice and healthy.

Food dishes and water bottles make up the rest of the cage's essential items. Dishes should be heavy enough that they won't tip over, or attached to the side of the cage. The best water bottles are those that contain a metal tube and ball, as they cut down on the dripping.

The cage should NEVER be placed in direct sunlight. Doing so can cause a degu to overheat and die. Degus can stand the cold more than heat, but blowing air directly on them can cause pneumonia, so be careful. The ideal room temperature for degus is about 20 degrees celsius.