It’s been two years since I adopted the little guys and it occurs to me that I haven’t told the story of how I ended up with six degus. I found someone who was selling Thomas and Tobias (the big guys) online, I’ve had them since 21st September 2013. I didn’t decide to get two, it just happened that someone who was selling degus locally at the time that I was looking for some had a pair. If I’d made the choice I probably would have gone for three or four degus so that if one died the other one wouldn’t be left all alone. A few months on I started thinking that I should introduce Thomas and Tobias to more degus for when one of them dies.

I found someone who was giving away degus locally. The story he told was that a friend of his has been sold a pair of degus as being same sex and they weren’t. I’ve heard of pet shops mis-sexing degus several times. The guy we got the degus from had around 40 of them, there were 30 degus in a cage that I wouldn’t deem suitable for two. I went with the intention of getting two or three degus but ended up with four because I felt I had to take as many as the cage I had ready for them was suitable for. I don’t know how old the little guys were when I adopted them, I was told somewhere between a few months and four years.

The guy hadn’t looked up anything about how to look after degus and had a shredded glove that he wore to grab at them. Not surprisingly after the way they had been treated it took a long time to get the little guys to trust me. It took me nine months to get the little guys to the same stage of being handled that the big guys were at. It was challenging. At the start I couldn’t name the little guys because I was scared they would die and that it would be worse if I had given them names. They were tiny, timid, dishevelled creatures with mites who I was now responsible for. Now they’re boisterous, curious, cheeky little guys who climb all over me.

Unfortunately the two sets of degus degus don’t get on. Since we moved house and the degus don’t have to be in the same room any more the big guys are much friendlier again and I’m getting somewhere with training the little guys.

Rescue pets aren’t the easiest to take in, but it’s been worth every second. The first time they took food from my hand. The first time they sat next to me rather than running off with the food.

The first time they felt safe enough to stay in a huddle when I entered the room rather than running to hide.

The first time they sat in my lap. The first time they let me hold them.

The first time they jumped on my shoulders.

The first time they purred. 

Happy adoption anniversary to Daniel, Jack, Sam and Scott.