Chinchilla Large Double

Should I rescue a Degu? (Basic care information)?

My local shelter has had a few (2) degus for quite some time and I was wondering if I rescued degus are tamable the listing says that they're young. I know the basics to degu care, but housing is a concern of mine on how big the cage should be I know they are messy i was wondering if a 10 gallon aquarium with the wire top would be large enough? Here is the link (the measurements doubled would be actual size): http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=6067+10431+17073&pcatid=17073 It would be for two degus. Feeding I have read that Chinchilla/guinea pig mixture 1:1. Then grass, hay, sweet potatoes, twigs (to grind teeth) but I don't get which twigs are okay can I buy branches from a pet store or?? Any care information would be great and any links to care, cages etc would be much appreachiated!!
Okay no clue what I was thinking but 10 gallon is way too small! I have no clue why i thought that.

We took in one boy degu, and bought a girl degu. We then thought the pet store made a mistake and that it was really a boy (the anatomy is similar) and housed them together. Now, 4 litters later, we are down to ONLY 12 of them! Four boys and 8 girls!
That said....
Keep only boys or only girls do not put them together!!! Even for just a minute, trust me.

Anyway, a lot of information we found was on www.degus.org. The site is no longer updated, but they keep tons of info on it. Also some plans on how to build a cage. The bigger the better. Also try PawTalk.net . They have message boards also.

Degus eat lots of timothy hay, and we feed ours guinea pig food, not chinchilla food (has dried fruit) NO FRUIT, sweets, sugar ect... they are diabetic and their bodies cannot process much sugar and it will kill them. Check that label on your guinea pig food, the sugars should be low on the ingredient list. Molasses, sucrose, sugar, honey… all those are not good for a diabetic animal. The smaller the amount the better. If you are unsure ask a knowledgeable sales person at a pet store. Exotic pet stores may know more about them as they are considered an exotic animal here in America. And always, always fresh water!

We use paper based bedding, never any wood, pine or cedar chips. And give them a lot of toilet paper to make nests.

We buy apple wood sticks from the pet store for them to chew and other wooden pet houses, coconut houses, cardboard boxes, tubes, ect for them to chew.

They like the hay ball houses made out of some type of woven hay. My daughter made hammocks from old towels and hung them at the tops of the cages and they LOVE it! That is where they almost always hang out now. They have a few wheels and boxes to play inside their cages.

They like to climb and the higher the cage the better. We installed little wooden shelves or perches at different intervals up the cage for them to climb up on and take naps on. We staggered them so they can hop from one to the next.

They are friendly, cute have adorable personalities and love snuggling with each other. They will all pile in a big heap and sleep. Like a degu pyramid! We block off a room and let them run around and get more exercise. Make sure their are no hazards in there that they can squeeze into, things that will fall when they climb, or anything you don't want chewed up- they WILL chew electric wires- be careful! The bathroom might be the best option if mom & dad are ok with that. Make sure the vent is closed to the furnace and you may have to stuff a towel under the door if there is a gap they can squeeze in. Otherwise any empty-ish room that you can easily clean up after remember to check for hazards.

They make "wee wee wee" sounds like a piggy, and chatter and squeak when roused or if the dog comes near the cage. They are escape artists, especially the boys in the boy cage and have figured out how to lift cage doors, and help each other escape-so secure those good!

We bought tall bird cages, they are cheaper than rodent cages, and have smaller spaces in the wire than some large small mammal cages. But they don't have multiple floors. I made some out of old cages and attached them to the big cage.

However -they are messy! The poop a lot and when they run around they drop it every where. They throw hay and poop all over and out of the sides of the cage. If it is near a wall and they have a wire cage, your wall will be peed on. They are quite messy. Keep a dust buster hand vacuum nearby and save your parents some grief by cleaning up around them DAILY!!! It isn't healthy otherwise. And you or your pets can get sick.
They are scared of a real vacuum; it is so loud, so try to move then to another room while the regular vacuuming is done in their room.

Some people opt for fish tanks with a metal mesh top. Remember, they will chew through screens and thin wire.

You need a top as they are good jumpers. The tank will contain the mess- but the bigger the better again.

But if they tank isn't huge, those are very expensive, they will need daily exercise to run around. Hamster balls work well also.
Look around town at garage sales for used tanks. Even one with a small crack that cannot hold water will be way cheaper that a new one. Have your mom or dad seal up the crack with packaging tape so you or the degus don't get cut.

It is hard to catch them once they are out, so we lure them with the chinchilla dust bath house with the sand, (they need it and love it) and when they climb in, after they are done rolling around in the dust, we put the opening up to the cage door and in they go. Clean, happy and sparkling!

One of ours, the momma is a biter to everyone but "her mommy", my eldest daughter. And she squeaks at you when you get near her. But the rest are very tame. They like to run around and "steal" crayons and other strange things and squeak at you if you take them away. The baby girls like my gym shoes for some reason and climb all over my shoes and pull at my laces when I am in the room.

If they haven't been handled much, it may take time to get them used to you. So slowly introduce your hand to them bearing gifts such as sweet potato, handfuls of hay, or give they a stalk of hay to eat from your hand, small amounts of fresh carrots, lettuce, green beans, ect... look it up on those sites to make sure you are choosing the correct veggies- they cannot have certain items, and don't use canned veggies!

Gently pet them and scratch under their neck. NEVER PULL THE FLUFF ON THEIR TAIL (looks like a lion tail), it may break off!
Scoop them up with two hands, kind of cup them like you are getting water in your palms. Or gently grab them around their middles with one hand and slide another hand under their feet/ bottoms and pick they up that way. Don't pick them up by the back of the neck or tail. They are heavier than other small rodents and that will really hurt them!

Move slowly around them they can be skittish and jumpy.

But please do consider a degu or two, they are smarter that a hamster, have more personality than a gerbil, they are beefy and make cute sounds like a guinea pig and all have their own personalities like a dog or cat. The can live five years or more, longer than most rodents. And please consider getting more than one, as they get very lonely without a friend.

So, check out those sites, do you research and take careful responsible care of them and I bet, you and your pets with have many happy years together!
Good luck!

-Wolvie w's mom

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 10th, 2010 at 8:48 pm and is filed under Supplies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.