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Post by adara on Jan 25, 2004 20:47:07 GMT -4
Does anyone here have a lot of experience with Degus? I've been reading up on them recently, as I'm satisfying my curiosity for knowing about all things small and furry. I know they have to have a special diet etc, but what are they like temperament wise? Do they get very tame? Can you compare them to any other animal? Basically I just want to know stuff
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Jan 25, 2004 22:35:18 GMT -4
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Post by adara on Jan 25, 2004 22:37:45 GMT -4
I looked on there, but I wanted a closer sort of knowledge about them
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Jan 25, 2004 22:45:59 GMT -4
Oh, well, I hope someone who has them writes as I have no knowledge of them, although they look wonderful. Not that I can find any here in NYC.
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Post by tinksgliders on Jan 26, 2004 17:27:51 GMT -4
Unfortunately, they aren't really a cuddly pet. They are very entertaining, though. And they will come up to see you and get scratches under the chin once they get to know you.
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Jan 26, 2004 23:55:43 GMT -4
Hamsters and gerbils are not that "cuddly" either, although some of my hams are so tame now they sort of are.
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Post by annvole on Feb 13, 2005 22:00:13 GMT -4
Degus can be very cuddly if you handle them a lot. I like to rub their bellies and chins till they fall asleep in my hand. They are like a cross between a rat (size, able to climb), a gerbil (curiousity, personality, looks), and a guinea pig ("talks" a lot, same kind of food). They are very social and should not be kept alone
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Feb 14, 2005 1:04:29 GMT -4
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Post by annvole on Feb 15, 2005 5:02:25 GMT -4
I read that in the wild (rocky areas near grasslands on the west side of the Andies) they make piles of sticks and will climb up other degus' piles and try to push them off. The degu with the biggest pile of sticks is usualy the dominant one of that group (and likely older). If you give your pet degu lots of sticks, they will likely make a pile with them but they will also pee on thier pile to make sure everyone knows whose sticks they are!
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Feb 15, 2005 23:21:24 GMT -4
Gerbils just wrestle sometimes.
I wonder if a hamster pees on his stash of food he is "marking" it as his own?
How common is degu fighting?
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Post by amethystbelle on Apr 14, 2005 17:25:15 GMT -4
I have a lot of experience of degus since they took over my life around 7 years ago now. They make excellent pets and no other animal can be really made in comparison with them as they are such little characters. Mine are very tame and all love to come out for a cuddle and love lots of scratchies under the chin and arm pit. One of mine follows me round when i let him out like a little dog and they are very loving and they always greet me when i get home ;D They are social creatures and live in large family groups in the wild. They have quite a social structure and the bigger the stick pile the more dominant in the group you are and higher up the scale of importance. They are herbivores and spend their days grazing, they are considered to be pests in their native Chile as they destroy crops. They are also rock hoppers and are very agile despite their appearence They communicate by wheeps and squeaks and you can tell how a degu is feeling by its body language. They are very vocal and its very cute to hear them humming to one another. They need a frugal diet to avoid the onset of diabetes (something that with bad diet and breeding they can be prone too)! As for fighting, well they do squabble over things which is to be expected in a group and they do wrestle and box which is all just play fighting but yes they can fight if provoked. When degu's fight for real it can turn very nasty very quickly theres a real thin line between play and real fighting with degus. Its mainly males that can fight especially unrealted males but females can fight also especially if an outsider is introduced! All in all they make fantastic fun little pets and once they enter your life they take over and your smitten ;D
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Apr 16, 2005 22:32:09 GMT -4
I had planned to get a few last year and put their habitat in the bathtub where I could easier increase the vertical stuff they need, such as branches. But they guy who promised them could not get them, and I then rescued a rabbit. From the Bronx Zoo. They liked to climb up the branches and push other degus right off - no manners like with gerbils.
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Post by snowcat on May 6, 2005 5:59:49 GMT -4
It is a shame none of you are closer i have just rescued a big colony of degus. I am trying to find homes for them as there are way too many for me to keep I have 19 adult females that I have to keep for 3 months as some are still pregnant. I have 16 baby males 8 baby females, have homed 8 males and just when I thought the numbers were going down I got alitter from the female group. so if anyone can help me would be grateful.
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Post by rasputin on May 6, 2005 8:56:29 GMT -4
Wish you weren't across the big pond -- I know some people who were interested in degus recently but they live in a rural part of the Southeast US.
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Post by mango on Jul 14, 2005 9:54:53 GMT -4
I've heard that Degu's live to be about 6 and like to live in groups of 3. =D
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