The degu, a rodent originally from the Andes Mountains in Chile (South America). The degus are friendly animals that live together in large groups there. Many people think that the degu is a squirrel-like animal, but they are closely related to the guinea pig.
The first degus were discovered by Europeans in the middle of the 18th century. Shortly after their discovery, they were caught and imported to zoos in Europe. In the middle of the 20th century, many labororia degus kept. There they were examined for their social behavior and whether they could be used for possible medical purposes. Not so long ago it was discovered that the degu can also be kept as a pet.
Behaviour
Degus are social animals. In the wild they live in large groups on rocks. Like guinea pigs, they make a beeping sound to communicate. They are active during the day and retreat to sleeping places in the evening. At dawn they look for food. In the afternoon they are a bit quieter and by the end of the afternoon they are already fully active. Degus are often kept alone, but they prefer to live in a group. Degus are very active and love to scramble and climb.
Housing
Degus are best kept in a glass container with a mesh lid. You can put wood shavings on the bottom, provided they are dust-free. Since they like to climb, they also need climbing capabilities in their housing. The box or cage must be at least 40 cm high. In addition, they need branches in their cage for their teeth, such as willow wood. A sand bath can’t hurt either, it keeps their coat shiny. For the rest, such as a house, they also need, they often make it their sleeping place, but it is also a bit ‘private’ so that they can withdraw for a while.
Nutrition
In nature, degus eat everything; grains, grass and seeds and everything else that is available and edible. As a pet you can get degu food, but this is not for sale everywhere, so it is also possible to give guinea pig or rodent food. In addition, they also like to eat fruit and vegetables, but they should not be allowed to eat too much of it, if they ingest too much of this it can cause intestinal problems. There should be hay and fresh drinking water at all times.
Care and reproduction
Degus are fairly tame animals, they require little care. They should be fed every day. They are very curious and easy to tame. You should never take a degu by the tail. Females are sexually mature from 3 months of age but not ready to breed until 5 months. They are fertile about once every 2 to 3 weeks. A litter consists on average of 5 young, but 3 or 10 is also common. The young are allowed to leave the mother at the age of 8 weeks and then live on average between 5 and 8 years old.