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The Degu (Octodon Degus) are rodents that are recent arrivals on the pet market in the UK. Native to Bolivia, Peru, Argentina and Chile, they look like large gerbils but are more closely related to the Guinea Pigand have some characteristics similar to the Chinchilla. They live in the coastal areas, and mountainous foothills of the andes.

Body size: the Degu is a medium sized rodent (body length 5-8 inches) with a dense tweed brown colour. Adults can weigh between 6 and 11 ounces. Males are usually noticeably larger the female.

The Degu has adapted to its natural habitat; it has a dense coat, fur covered paws and feeds on a basic diet of marginal foods.

The similarities to their cousin the chinchilla are numerous, they benefit from a daily turn in a sand bath, they are most active in the evening throughout the night and early morning, they may spend hours on their exercise wheel, bouncing around their enclosure and replenishing their nest with clean bedding. During the daytime hours they are usually found relaxing in their nest box or on their favourite perch.

DEGU BEHAVIOUR
Being new to the pet market and not being selectively bred in captivity for an extended period of time, the degu is not fully domesticated, the behaviour shown by your pet Degu will be very close to that of their wild counterparts. They are said to be quite reserved and nervous, as well as being quite quick on their feet. This iin keeping with their survival instincts. But given time and patience they do form a close bond with their owners; a friendly Degu will take treats from your hand and be very vocal when you enter the room where they are housed.

DEGU CHATTER
Like many sociable animals that live in family groups, Degu are naturally vocal. They have several distinct vocalisations, which they use for communication.
The most common of these are known as

Singing: This is the most common, also referred to as weeping by some which is descriptive of the sound but not the reason, Degu usually sing when happy especially when young are present.
Cooing: This sound is generally very quiet and soft almost like whispering
Barking: This is similar to singing but less melodic. Males are more likely to Bark and will sometimes do this for extended periods of time. This noise can sometimes be associated with threats to their family
Chittering: Degu usually chitter when excited, the more excited they are the louder and longer the periods of chittering go on for.
Degu will also squeak: Similar to the noise that Guinea pigs make, this can be a sign of excitement, Young Degu will squeak this is usually a sign of contentment.

FEEDING
Degu are like Guinea Pigs and Chinchillas, they are specific in the type of food that they are allowed to eat. They need a regular intake of Vitamin C. Your Degu will thrive if fed on a diet of Guinea Pig or Chinchilla course mix (as long as there is no fresh dried fruit in the mix, if there is it is advisable to remove it). As well as a dried mix, Degu like to graze on good quality hay: This is longer in length than some pet shops will sell. So you need to look around for this, another sign of good quality hay is that most of it will have flower heads still attached. Degu will also like access to Alfalfa, which is another type of hay. It is important that Degu are kept to a bland diet and offered no treats, as their metabolism cannot cope with the sugar. It is easy to turn a Degu diabetic, and they are extremely difficult to pull round from this condition. Although very bland and boring it is extremely advisable to stick to this feeding regime.

The primary predators to a Degu are birds and Degu are very sensitive to what is above them, this can explain their semi-nocturnal sleeping habits, as early morning and evening is the safest time. It is also for this reason that Degus do not like to be picked up from above, the dislike of being grabbed from a looming hand causes natural flight instincts; If able, they will run away. If cornered, they will stand on their hind limbs and grunt. A nip from a Degu can be sore and as they have long incisor teeth they can break the skin.

It is possible to house Degu happily in either cages or tanks but do remember that they will chew; any cage with a plastic or wooden bottoms or sides will not contain them for long. It is also wise to consider their natural behaviour when thinking of where you wish to house your Degu. As they have a natural fear of things above them, it is advisable to have a solid or partial solid tops (pegboard is useful in this situation as it offers cover as well as ample ventilation). Whether using a cage or tank it is a good idea to consider covering their water bottle with wire to stop them from chewing their way through the plastic and flooding their habitat.

When picking up you Degu it is strongly advised that you speak to them so that they recognise you, and that you scoop them up from underneath using two hands. Once they know you and you become adept at catching your Degu it is possible to put you hand into their enclosure and pick them up from underneath with one hand. They can become settled enough to enjoy being held gently but firmly. It is important not to grab at them or try to catch them by their tail as this can cause injury.

It is advised that they are not allowed to run free in an open area, although they may look to be enjoying the freedom they are more likely to be terrified and be attempting to find somewhere safe to hide.

As with many caged animals it is important to try and enrich their habitat, this can be difficult as they cannot digest many treats, and it is not advisable to place too many chewable articles in with them. A nest box, a terracotta or plant pot, large stones and natural fibre toys can be enriching.

Degu are very family orientated and do prefer to live in groups, pairs mixed (remember that Degu are not the easiest to find good homes for, and a male and female will inevitably mate) or single sex, or family groups are usually happy. It is advisable that if keeping a colony that you only keep one male with a harem of females as only the dominant male will mate and within a confined space two or more males will fight over females. It is possible to keep colonies of single sex Degu happily together. I myself have 3 brothers living together with no sign of discontent.

Degu have long gestation periods (this is another trait that they share with the Chinchilla and the Guinea Pig). A female Degu will gestate for approximately 90 days. The babies are born fully furred with open eyes and ready to move around. It is not unusual for newly born Degu to be exploring outside the nest within a few hours. They are able to eat solids with a day but will continue to suckle for approximately 6 weeks. The average size litter is 4-6 babies. It is possible for Degu to 'back breed'; this is the ability to re mate 24-48 hours after giving birth. Degu can have up to 4 litters per year, with up to 8 pups per litter, that is a lot of good homes to find. Birthing usually takes place in the early hours of the morning, and it can take up to 45 minutes per baby. This is another area where Degu will act as a family unit, other females in the colony will act as midwives, there is no real reason to remove the other members of the colony; male or female as they will all act together to keep the babies happy warm and playful. A lactating female will rear other babies that are not her own even if they are older or younger than her own.

Despite the length of the gestation, expectant mothers are usually not visibly pregnant until about 10 days prior to birth, at this point it is important to cease handling her as they do carry a higher risk of miscarriage or premature labour. It is also around this time that she will start to build a nest. It is a good idea to offer extra nest boxes and tubes for the other members of the family to use as they will not use the same nest box as a delivering female. Also allow access to more bedding material as she will use as much as is offered.
As Degu are so family orientated and bond so strongly with each other it is rather unfair to separate a pair to stop them from breeding, having the Male castrated would be one workable option.

As Degu are new to the pet market there is little known about any medical problems that they are prone to. But as things become more known about this page will be updated.

THIS INFORMATION HAS BEEN COMPILED BY TRACY GREENHALGH FOR BLACKNESS VETERINARY SURGERY