t-dawn-williams said: How old is he? He looks about 5 months like my Jack. Mine is so naughty. He loves to sneak inside quietly and run around in the kitchen.

Your Jack sounds so cute, all of mine are little mischiefs too. As the little guys are rescue pets I’m not really sure how old they are; I was told somewhere between a few months and four years when I got them in April last year, so as a guess I think Scott is around 2 years old. He may be older, but he does look younger than the other degus.

Tail injury

Scott lost part of his tail at some point before we got him, he’s got a shorter, stubbier tail than usual and the tip isn’t covered with fur. It isn’t usually a problem; we unfortunately had to confiscate his plastic wheel they usually have access to when they’re out for a run (they have huge metal wheels in their cage) because the wheel had ridges and his tail was being rubbed raw as he ran. Apparently he loved that wheel too much to be bothered by it.

Scott’s tail tip sometimes cracks and bleeds a bit because it’s not protected by any fur. The vet suggested that I try some Vaseline on it and assured me that even if he licks it off it’s perfectly safe for him.

After putting Vaseline on Scott’s tail tip daily for the last week it’s no longer cracked and looks much better.