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What you should know about Degus
Avoid sudden movements and loud noises, so your degus will trust you
and let you handle them easily. Degus are full of curiosity, and may
sniff or gently nibble your fingers. Children should always be
supervised when holding degus, to prevent accidental falls and
injuries. Regular exercise outside the cage, in a degu-safe room, is
vital to good health, and a bath in Chinchilla Dust 2-3 times a week
will be greatly enjoyed.
Degus relate well to humans, but due to their highly social nature
it is far better for their welfare to keep them in same-sex pairs or
more. Two or more males may be kept together, provided they have
been housed together from an early age. Keeping degus in pairs is
very popular; degus bond strongly with other members of their
'group' and this is often extended to include humans who spend a lot
of time around them. Degus should be kept in large roomy cages with
lots of frequently changed straw and sawdust, for the animal to dig
in. Hay should be provided freely as this helps to keep their
digestive system healthy, and enables foraging behaviour.
Plastic-bottomed cages will often be destroyed due to gnawing
(although this can sometimes be avoided by supplying other materials
for chewing) so housing degus in all-metal cages is required. Also,
because of their gnawing nature, plastic toys and other objects must
be kept out of a degus reach, because some plastics contain
components such as plasticizers that are toxic when ingested.
Finally, the social nature of Degus can make them lonely, so humans
keeping single specimens should take care to talk to their pet a
lot, place the animal where it can take part in daily life of the
household, and get them frequently out of the cage (degus like
cuddling with humans, and can sit still and even sleep on laps if
comfortable, but shouldn't be left running freely). The recent
upsurge in interest in the degu as a pet has had both positive and
negative results. The increase in popularity has created a deluge of
degus being put up for adoption because of ignorant or unsuspecting
owners unable to care for them properly. Of course, this has also
increased awareness of the needs of Degus as unique rodent
companions.
When keeping as a pet it is very important that their diet is strict
as they cannot have sugar at all and some woods can poison them.
Captive degus can be fed twice a day with a 5g spoonful of either
guinea pig mix/pellets or chinchilla pellets, or a mixture of both
(care should be taken to check feeds do not contain molasses- a
sugary substance). Rabbit feed or pellets is not suitable for degus
since it does not contain added vitamin C, which it is thought degus
require, and often contains coccidiostats which are toxic to degus.
Hay should be provided as needed due to the high fibre requirements
of this species. Also degus and their cousin the chinchilla enjoy
gnawing on fresh broccoli, carrots, and the hard center core of
romaine or other lettuce (except iceberg). Degus also enjoy tomatoes
and cucumber peelings. When feeding produce be sure to thoroughly
wash it off; and in addition scrub cucumber skins to remove any wax
or other coatings.
For some degus feeding them with separate food dishes is a good idea
as they tend to squabble and fight over their food. As with most
small animals, fresh drinking water should be provided daily in
their water bowl or drinking bottle. It is worth noting that even if
food dishes are empty it does not mean the degus ate everything;
they like to bury the food and store it. If your degus are doing
this it is a good indicator they are being over fed.
Degus have continuously growing incisor and molar teeth and
therefore should be provided with plenty of materials to chew/gnaw.
If degus cannot grind their teeth, they can grow too much and the
animal would not be able to eat anything at all. Apple and hazel
woods are non-toxic for degus and help them with tooth wear.
Occasionally, give the degu calcium blocks, which you can buy in pet
shops and add to them in order to pass the necessary calcium,
phosphor and iron (mainly nursing females need calcium) to the
animals.
Also, very much like their larger cousin the chinchilla, degus
require regular dust baths to keep their coat free from oils and
allow them to express related behaviors. You can use the same
product as you would a chinchilla, most commonly the absorbent clay
sepiolite.
Degus are diurnal by nature, although they express crepuscular
patterns tending to be more active in the morning and evening. This
relates to their wild activity patterns, where it is often too hot
for them to forage during mid-day in their native habitat. However,
degus are known to be able to invert their circadian rhythms and
become nocturnal in certain situations (but this is easily
reverted).
Interesting tip: into the bottle (1,5 l) of water give half a tablet
of calcium or vitamin C (vitamin C is only viable for 8-10 hours and
becomes inert when exposed to light so if you use vitamin C, you
must change the water daily and use dark coloured bottle). Degus get
vitamins and minerals from it, but the water might smell a little.
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