General Information:
Domesticated degus are scientifically known as Octodon degus, but they're informally referred to as the common degu. They're native to Chile and can live between 6-8 years in captivity, although ages up to 10-13 years have been reported.
Degus usually live in groups referred to as ‘herds’. As a small but vocal rodent, you'll frequently hear degus ‘chatting’ to their companions – sometimes even their owners too. The more experienced you become, the more you’ll recognise their different calls – ‘degu language’ can be difficult to understand but not impossible.
Care:
Housing/Enrichment:
Their cage should have plenty of height and be made entirely from metal to prevent them from gnawing out of their cage.
Degus are highly intelligent, active rodents and require a lot of mental stimulation.
Provide a suitable wheel, branches, ropes, wooden shelving, hammocks, and nesting areas such as chinchilla boxes and other secure housing. As prey animals, they can become stressed without a 'safe-space' to retreat to.
Providing your degus with soft and clean bedding can help prevent common foot issues from occurring. We currently use cardboard bedding and have previously used hemp floor mats in the past.
The ideal temperature for degus is roughly 21°C, try to avoid excessive humidity levels.
Diet:
Degus have complex dietary needs; don't be put off by their dietary requirements, most owners will easily manage.
Degus are herbivores: they're anatomically and physiologically designed to eat plant-based materials.
The most important part of your degu's diet is hay as it provides them with fibre and gnawing material. Their should have unlimited access to grass hays such as timothy hay.
The next part to a degu's diet is their pellets. Fortunately, degu pellets are easily accessible online or in-store. An ideal degu pellet should contain high amounts of vitamin C, high amounts of fibre, and low sugar.
Degus enjoy a wide variety of dried flowers/leaves/herbs as a healthy treat.
Your degu may also eat their own faeces; this is normal behaviour called coprophagy.
Degus are prone to developing diabetes mellitus as their physiology makes them intolerant to dietary sugars. Feeding your degu a high-roughage diet with no high-sugar treats will help prevent the disease and keep your degu in good health.
Socialising:
Unlike many rodents, degus are diurnal, meaning they’re most active during the day. This means you’ll get plenty of opportunities to socialise with your degu.
Degu companionship is one of the more difficult topics to discuss as each degu has its own unique personality. Although, we will mention a few common factors which apply to most degus:
Be observant; learn your degus personalities and the dynamics of the herd:
Most of the decision-making regarding degu socialisation and is down to being responsible by understanding general degu behaviour, but also about knowing your degus too.
Lone degus can become extremely attached to their owner and can build a very strong bond. Degus can adjust to living happily on their own, however, we think all avenues should be considered before you make a decision. Remember, they're highly social creatures.
Bathing:
Degus need to maintain their coat. In the wild, degus will manage their coat condition with sand baths. In captivity, it's still important to help your degu maintain their coat.
Provide your degus with a suitable dust/sand bath for approximately 20 minutes, 3 times a week. You can buy suitable bathing sands and dusts online and instore.
Never:
Please feel free to ask further questions.
Domesticated degus are scientifically known as Octodon degus, but they're informally referred to as the common degu. They're native to Chile and can live between 6-8 years in captivity, although ages up to 10-13 years have been reported.
Degus usually live in groups referred to as ‘herds’. As a small but vocal rodent, you'll frequently hear degus ‘chatting’ to their companions – sometimes even their owners too. The more experienced you become, the more you’ll recognise their different calls – ‘degu language’ can be difficult to understand but not impossible.
Care:
Housing/Enrichment:
Their cage should have plenty of height and be made entirely from metal to prevent them from gnawing out of their cage.
Degus are highly intelligent, active rodents and require a lot of mental stimulation.
Provide a suitable wheel, branches, ropes, wooden shelving, hammocks, and nesting areas such as chinchilla boxes and other secure housing. As prey animals, they can become stressed without a 'safe-space' to retreat to.
Providing your degus with soft and clean bedding can help prevent common foot issues from occurring. We currently use cardboard bedding and have previously used hemp floor mats in the past.
The ideal temperature for degus is roughly 21°C, try to avoid excessive humidity levels.
Diet:
Degus have complex dietary needs; don't be put off by their dietary requirements, most owners will easily manage.
Degus are herbivores: they're anatomically and physiologically designed to eat plant-based materials.
The most important part of your degu's diet is hay as it provides them with fibre and gnawing material. Their should have unlimited access to grass hays such as timothy hay.
The next part to a degu's diet is their pellets. Fortunately, degu pellets are easily accessible online or in-store. An ideal degu pellet should contain high amounts of vitamin C, high amounts of fibre, and low sugar.
Degus enjoy a wide variety of dried flowers/leaves/herbs as a healthy treat.
Your degu may also eat their own faeces; this is normal behaviour called coprophagy.
Degus are prone to developing diabetes mellitus as their physiology makes them intolerant to dietary sugars. Feeding your degu a high-roughage diet with no high-sugar treats will help prevent the disease and keep your degu in good health.
Socialising:
Unlike many rodents, degus are diurnal, meaning they’re most active during the day. This means you’ll get plenty of opportunities to socialise with your degu.
Degu companionship is one of the more difficult topics to discuss as each degu has its own unique personality. Although, we will mention a few common factors which apply to most degus:
- Most degus prefer companionship.
- Bickering between herd-members is normal.
- Pay attention to any abnormal behaviour, particularly escalating aggression. Minor injuries can be normal and injuries can be accidental. Monitor the behaviour closely.
- Avoid pro-longed separation wherever possible. If your degus have to be separated for days, gradual introductions will be required as your degus may behave aggressively towards each other if suddenly reintroduced.
Be observant; learn your degus personalities and the dynamics of the herd:
- Who is the alpha?
- When is their breeding/hormone season? Typically a hormone season is during early winter-late spring, but not always.
- Would separation resolve the issue?
- What are the genders and ages of the degus?
- What are they saying?
Most of the decision-making regarding degu socialisation and is down to being responsible by understanding general degu behaviour, but also about knowing your degus too.
Lone degus can become extremely attached to their owner and can build a very strong bond. Degus can adjust to living happily on their own, however, we think all avenues should be considered before you make a decision. Remember, they're highly social creatures.
Bathing:
Degus need to maintain their coat. In the wild, degus will manage their coat condition with sand baths. In captivity, it's still important to help your degu maintain their coat.
Provide your degus with a suitable dust/sand bath for approximately 20 minutes, 3 times a week. You can buy suitable bathing sands and dusts online and instore.
Never:
- Use play sand in your degus dust bath
- Use building sand in your degus dust bath
- Bathe your degus in water.
Please feel free to ask further questions.