Does anybody have a Degu?

jetta_wales

Saw two of these yesterday and my gosh they're little characters, so cute and with lovely tails but not like rats tails. Actually one only had half a tail bless him but that's besides the point.

I don't know if it's at all possible or practical for us a pair but it's ever so tempting so I'm looking into it.

Does anybody here have Degu's or know anybody that does? They're a bit like hamsters for grown ups I guess lol.

Like I said really just entertaining a fancy at the moment, far far from seriously committing to getting some and would never do so on a whim. I wonder what Bunny would think of them?

laurz

i used to have 2, they're great fun, need nearly daily handling. they're diet is similar to chinchillas and they also love a sand bath. there's usually quite a few in rehoming centres. they're much better than hamsters or chins cos they are happy to be active during the day - i used to let mine run about the sitting room.

jetta_wales

laurz wrote: »

i used to have 2, they're great fun, need nearly daily handling. they're diet is similar to chinchillas and they also love a sand bath. there's usually quite a few in rehoming centres. they're much better than hamsters or chins cos they are happy to be active during the day - i used to let mine run about the sitting room.

Oh I wouldn't have thought to look at a rescue for such a pet but that's a good idea.

I love chinchillas too but being nocturnal and having a 40 year lifespan is definitely an issue.

meritaten

my daughter has three at the mo - there were four but one of them was such a vicious little bully they had to return her to Pets at Home.
they are really really cute and entertaining little critters!
BUT - they require a reallly really large cage, a lot of time to socialise them and daily handling (after over a year one of them will still nip for no reason).
Food is no prob - PAH and most pet shops sell suitable food.
They like to be in clean environment and if YOU dont clean up they usually start chucking the bedding etc out of the cage!
They can be noisy too, but they will use their voices to communicate with you - my daughter now knows degue for 'Its dinner time', 'the water bottle is empty' and 'how about a treat?' lol!
Like any pet - they need a lot of care and attention and although they look cute - a couple of generations ago they were wild animals (or actually rodents)!
and they are incredibly fast if they get free!!! although the kids are highly entertained by the processs of mum catching them!

jetta_wales

I think the sensible part of me was wanting lots of negative coments to put me off but now I'm even more tempted

Will give it lots of thought, though they would need looking after when we go camping and such so need to consider that too. What I really need is for a friend to get some so I can play with them whenever I want to but without having to commit to them myself.

Pupnik

I used to have some years ago and they were very cute. More like gerbils and jirds then hamsters, they like to climb and are very active. If you get some make sure you get a nice multi storey cage like the large rat ones or even a chinchilla one so long as the bars aren't too far apart.

danaharrison

they r great little charaters but one thing u need to be aware of is their tails. if they get them trapped or u grab them by it then they will de-glove (the skin will rip off). it is a defece thing, if a predator get its then it can sacrifice the skin on its tail to escape. its incredibly painful for them and takes ages to heal and the tail will always be stunted afterwards. if i were u i would go for a rat, they are much easier to look after and imo far more friendly.

mustangsal

jetta_wales wrote: »

Oh I wouldn't have thought to look at a rescue for such a pet but that's a good idea.

I love chinchillas too but being nocturnal and having a 40 year lifespan is definitely an issue.

Chinchillas in a home environment will adapt to being awake more during the day and less at night. My two have. Their life span is closer to 15-20 years if they're well bred and healthy. I don't understand how a long life span would be an issue though. :think:

jetta_wales

mustangsal wrote: »

Chinchillas in a home environment will adapt to being awake more during the day and less at night. My two have. Their life span is closer to 15-20 years if they're well bred and healthy. I don't understand how a long life span would be an issue though. :think:

Because in 20 years the kids will be grown up and probably having their own kids by then and we probably won't even be in the UK anymore by then, I definitely can not commit to pets like that for such a vast lifespan, we already have the dogs who are very much a part of our family but adding a couple more for such a very long time is just not an option.

mustangsal

I see where you're coming from now. Good to see someone actually putting thought into the decision to be honest.

Rummer

We had degus and they were very lively and interesting pets. However they needed a lot of stimulation and could get agitated if they did not have new things to do and explore. Ours only lived for 4 years and died within a couple of days of each other.

If you want entertaining animals with a shorter life span then I would highly recommed rats, they are lots of fun!