Reminder not to leave pets unsupervised! Pets always seem to be able to find ways to get themselves in to trouble. I thought the room I let my degus run around was completely safe but Scott got himself stuck behind the radiator pipe. I was there, noticed immediately and was able to help him out by lifting him above the skirting board where the gap is wider, but because I thought the room was safe I would sometimes leave briefly to get more bedding while I was cleaning out the cage or things like that. Scott could have seriously injured himself as he started to panic if I had taken any longer to notice him. Thankfully he was fine, but it’s important for everyone to remember this, no matter how safe you think they are.

(The degu in the photo is Daniel but they’re the same size and it’s easier to get to Daniel stay put for photos)

I got tagged by @hermitknut to write 11 fun facts about myself or about
one/several of the degus, so degus it is! 

1.
Thomas and Tobias have perfected spinning for food

2. So long as Daniel is eating he doesn’t care how he’s being
held – sometimes he’s so absorbed in his food that when he finishes there seems
to be a moment of confusion, why am I on my back? When did that happen? (This
is very useful when I need to clean out his eye or give him medicine)

3. Jack absolutely loves the flying saucer wheel, sometimes he’s
so busy running that he won’t even come over to get food

4. Sam hoards plastic
things: pegs, pens, brushes

5. They are fine with thunderstorms but hiccups are scary

6. Tobias will
happily sit on my shoulder to eat, but it has to be my left shoulder   

7.

Daniel will walk right past food to come see if I have any food

8. Jack likes to climb on top of Daniel’s cage and poop in to it

9. Sam can tell when I need a cuddle

10. Scott has a ‘food squeak’ which he does when he hears me moving around when it’s coming up to their meal time (or sometimes when they’re trying to trick me in to giving them more food)

11. Thomas and Tobias understand the word “no”, Thomas will pause, look at me and walk off, Tobias will pause, look at me and continue

Tagging anyone who wants to do this
about themselves or their pets

Okay, another question! Thank you so much for the last answer! It was so thorough and I really super appreciate it. I guess I gotta go in and really observe for personalities. I was wondering about the differences between male degus vs female degus. Also, would you recommend getting them really early in life- as babies? (Also can I just say how adorable your degus are? So cute!!!)

Four of my degus (the little guys) were rescue pets, they hadn’t been handled when I got them, they had been grabbed at and not treated with respect, so although to start with they were understandably scared of me and it took several months for them to feel safe with me two of them ended up being my cuddliest degus, so you might not be able to observe their personalities straight away. If the degus have been handled regularly from a young age they’re likely to be happier being handled, but they still might not like cuddles.

I don’t have any experience with female degus, I would assume that it would still mostly depend on the individual. Do any of my followers have experience with female degus? Are they any friendlier than male degus? If you do decide to get degus make sure you know how to sex them beforehand as pet shops don’t always get this right.

I got Thomas and Tobias at about 5 months old, I don’t know how old the others were as they came from a bad situation. I think that if you get degus who have been handled regularly they’re likely to be friendlier with you sooner, but that doesn’t necessarily guarantee that you’ll end up with the friendliest degus.

Are you thinking of going to a pet shop or adopting? I got Thomas and Tobias from someone who needed to re-home them as his child was allergic, the little guys were rescued and although it took a lot of patience it was really rewarding getting them to trust me. The little guys have needed to go to the vet more because of the inbreeding and injuries they had sustained, but degus from a typical re-homing situation shouldn’t have any more health problems than average.

(Thanks! I think Sam is the cutest, but don’t tell the others I said that!)

Hey, so I wanted to find people who actually know about degus. So I’m considering getting a couple in the future and all the websites I’ve been reading are very mixed. Some say that degus will cuddle with you, some say they aren’t cuddlers. Others claim they’ll be up all night, despite not being nocturnal. I was wondering if you could tell me a little about their personalities, because I’m interested in a pet that likes people. I’ve had guinea pigs, rats, hamsters, mice, etc., but never degus.

Hi! Whether or not a degu is happy to cuddle depends on the individual. Daniel
and Sam are very happy being handled and, if they’re in the mood, cuddled, Jack
is ok with being handled but doesn’t do cuddles and Scott, Thomas and Tobias,
whilst being friendly enough, only want attention on their terms – they will
come over to me and sit on me, take food from my hand, etc. but they don’t like
to be picked up, although they will step on to my hand and if they’ve made that
choice they are ok with me moving them.

Degus are diurnal and mostly awake during the day, however they don’t
sleep for a solid eight hours at night so they will wander around the cage,
maybe go on the wheel for a bit. Degus will also adjust their sleeping patterns
to match when they get attention, so if you’re awake at night a lot they might
end up staying up later. My guys like to go for a run on their wheel for around
half an hour once I’ve switched their light off in the evening, so I make sure
to switch their light off at least an hour before I want to go to bed.

Daniel is possibly the world’s most relaxed degu, he’s pretty much
always happy to be picked up, when I walk past his room he often runs up to the
side of the cage asking for chin scritches. Degus are fairly intelligent and
you can train them, Daniel comes when I call him, Jack and Scott take food
through the cage bars with their paws, Thomas and Tobias can spin for food. I
should also mention that some of my degus frequently chew at the door, skirting
board, basically anything they can get their mouths on (except for the chew
toys/mineral stones I’ve bought for them), but again this will depend on the
individual as only three of my degus do this pretty much every time I let them
out of the cage, whereas the other three only do it occasionally and cause
minimal damage. It’s just something to keep in mind, especially if you live in
rented accommodation.

I haven’t had any other pets, aside from very recently having got a
hamster, so I’m afraid that I can’t compare them to what it’s like to have
degus. Please don’t hesitate to ask if you have any further questions 😃