Degus

[Lynternette]

I was just curious to know if anyone had ever had degus. I've seen them in P@H and they seem incredibly friendly.

[racinghamster]

They are very cute and intelligent, but they live a long time (around the same as guinea pigs) and are not for everyone. I took on two from someone who wasn`t able to care for them anymore years ago and they had been kept in a shed. I ended up with a male and a female, but luckily, the male was older and never bred with the younger female. He also had to have his penis put back in by my vet and treated twice for a urinary tracy infection. He eventually ended up with a very nasty abscess and when operated on, he sadly had to be put to sleep as his front leg would have to be removed as the tumour was so deep. My suspicion was that the female bit him and caused the abscess to form, which ended up infected. He was a lovely lad too and the friendliest of the two.

I was left with the feisty female, who I had to (reluctantly) rehome to people who kept chinchillas as degus can co-habit with chinchillas but only if you know how to do introductions and have experience of keeping both species. I didn`t want her to live alone and decided it was in her best interests.

Here is a link to Degutopia for anyone needing anfo on these lovely animals: DEGUTOPIA -(')')- For all your degu needs

Also, Degu Information Sheet.

Degus are best kept in same sex pairs of small groups. Pets At Home and other places sell them, but unless you have the time, money and space to keep them, it could be a costly mistake and they are not the easiest pets to rehome, even though there are commited people who love them. My friend took on two babies because they were `free to good home` and ended up rehoming them to someone on a farm that she knew and got her daughter two guinea pigs from a breeder instead. I did pre-warm her before she took the baby degus on, but it went in one ear and out the other. Degus are much like chinchillas. They can be affectionate and trainable, but they don`t like being held and will growl or give a high pitched squeal that frightens the life out of me if they are nervous or allerted about something! Not a pet you want in your bedroom!

[samzyzg]

I believe everything has been mentioned just thought it'd share my opinion that they can make good pets although troublesome at times, my step-mums used to get behind the fireplace...

[Lynternette]

Wow! and they come up to the bars to have their noses stroked as if butter wouldn't melt.
I think I'll stick with hamsters.

[racinghamster]

They would cost more at the vets aswell because they could be classed as `exotics` by some vets. Some vets don`t know a lot about degus and they as a species also need a no-sugar diet due to being like chinese hamsters and can be prone to develope diabetes. The vitamin C issue isn`t such a worry, but they are closely related to guinea pigs, so who knows...

[samzyzg]

Hmm i never realised they were closely related to guinea pigs... that is news to me.

[Lynternette]

I should have said how sorry I was about the male degu. Poor little guy. xxx

[racinghamster]

Thanks. He was a great wee guy actually and would hop onto my shoulder and take a treat and then hop back into the cage if I sat at the cage door. The female on the other hand would nip and be more interested in getting onto the room floor and making an escape!

[PICKLES09]

Originally Posted by Lynternette

Wow! and they come up to the bars to have their noses stroked as if butter wouldn't melt.
I think I'll stick with hamsters.

Your comment made me laugh! I too thought the same about Degu's, have read up on them and sadly aren't the right pet for me... It's sad, as lots are up for Adoption in pet stores near me... Definitely look like butter wouldn't melt.

[Amethyst_ice]

im degu sitting next month for a friend, i always wanted them but the diet element bothered me..im hoping they will teach me much, thanks for the links, i want to do a little read up for my own benefit before they come x