Scramble Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 Does any one on here keep degus? They're like chinchillas if that helps. A friend of mine saw them at pets at home and fell in love so now she's getting set to buy them. I was just wondering if anyone had any experience as she wants everything they to be taken care of and she was wondering about treats and how often you let them out of their cage. She's done lots pof internet research but it's just about their general welfare. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joojoo Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 Hi Jessie We've got 3 Degus . They are absolutely lovely pets, although they do have VERY specific dietary requirements. This forum is quite useful http://www.myhomezone.co.uk/degus/ and http://www.degus.exotic-small-furry-pets.co.uk/engels/e_info.html If I remember correctly, P@H sell books that give quite a lot of information about their needs etc too. Your friend probably won't be able to buy specific Degu food so they should be fed Chinchilla feed. Re treats, she will need to be very careful as they are diabetes dormant which means that treats have to be kept to a minimum. Mine have a bag (from P@H) of natural foods (for Chinchillas) which lasts them months as they only have a very small amount every few days. They love carrots which we give them once a week. It sounds quite harsh not to give them many treats but it's best for their welfare. Hope this helps. If you want to know anything else, please don't hesitate to ask me Jue x Also, make sure that the cage has a solid base as one with a wire base can cause a very painful condition called Bumblefoot Redfrock (aka Claire) has also got Degus so I'm sure she will be along at some point too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scramble Posted January 4, 2009 Author Share Posted January 4, 2009 HI, thanks alot for that. She'll be thrilled! She wasn't sure what to feed them actually she thought guinea pig food and hay but I'm glad that you've cleared this up, am also very glad about the cage, she has just ordered one with a wire bottom, she'll have to put some plywood or something down. Thanks again, will give her the websites, and I'll know who to contact if she has any queies Jessie x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joojoo Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 If she buys the Pets@Home Chinchilla Pellets (the bag is purple and silver), they have got everything in them that the Degus could possibly need on a daily basis and then the naturals range (for Chinchillas again) which has got all sorts of nice things in like rosehips - but these should only be given once or twice a week at most. There are loads of nice wooden toys that you can get from Pets@Home, but be warned they will only last a few days. The might only be small but they've got teeth like beavers!! Mine like old socks to play with. We stuff them full of hay and they take them to bed with them Everytime we tried to take it back out of the nest box they got very upset and dragged it back in. It was quite sweet to watch One more thing, which hopefully Pets@Home insist on is they need to be in pairs at the very least as they are very social animals and live in groups. Lonely degus die alot earlier They are lovely to watch and make the most hilarious noise - much like a squeaky dog toy!!! Some nights ours sound like they are being murdered in their beds!! But as I said, they are totally adorable Jue xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joojoo Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 Here are some photos of mine This is Pippin. She was rescued by the RSPCA 2 years ago. We don't know how old she is, but she is missing the lower half of her tail as someone tried to grab her by it - they can shed their tails like lizards if they are caught by it. She also has a chunk taken out of her ear. She had been kept on her own and was desperate for contact. The RSPCA advised us not to put her with any others (she was our first), but after reading up on how they need to be kept in groups we got another two to keep her company. What a difference!! She went from craving human contact constantly to grooming and playing with her new cage mates. She is absolutely lovely and a real sweetheart. She was on the RSPCA Christmas Cards last year too so she is famous This is Chutney. We got her and Muffin from a local Agricultural College who have a breeding colony of Degus for research (non harmful to the Degus). They were absolutely tiny when we got them but they soon grow. I'll see if I can dig out any more pics - I haven't got any of Muffin on Photobucket at the min. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickvic Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 They are absolutely gorgeous Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurmurf Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 Your friend should check her local RSPCA if she wants some, rather than a pet shop as I know our local York RSPCA was over run with these gorgeous creatures (as well as gerbils, rats, mice, etc!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joojoo Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 (edited) Lauries's point about contacting the RSPCA is a very good one. Ours only had Pippin and they really weren't very aware of what her needs were other than dietary ones, but they did say that there are a lot out there that need rehoming. I think that one of the websites I mentioned earlier has got a rehoming section too. Edited January 4, 2009 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scramble Posted January 4, 2009 Author Share Posted January 4, 2009 They're brilliant Joojoo:D She's definitely wants 2 but she wants to be able to tell them apart, so she wants a normal coloured one and either a black or gold one. She has also changed their names about 50,000 times she's just excited tho, all your information is really really helpful, thank you so so much She's going to be thrileed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joojoo Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 You're welcome Let me know how she gets on with them and let us see some photos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
