Degus... the newest family members

[krobin02]

I just got three degus today. If anyone has degus and can answer some questions, please let me know. Anyway, two of them are from the same litter and the third is a rescue animal. The siblings get along well. The rescue one was part of a pair and its sibling was killed as a result of the abuse. Both of them were burned. The one I got lost part of its tail. All three of my new friends are skittish as hell and I was told they bite. I want to socialize them but they are already 3-4 months old and have never had any significant human interaction. This looks like it will be a long and possibly painful (literally) process. If I ever find my camera again (I'm constantly losing it) I'll try to get pictures up.

[tinroofrusted]

What is a degus?

[Bobby'sGirl]

Little critters...

...a chinchilla and guinea pig "cousin" from foothills of Andes. My niece has four and they are a bit of a challenge to feed at first. Need to stay on pellets and alfalfa mostly...dried apple slices are a no-no, I gather. She almost did one of hers in by giving them treats like she used to feed her hamster.

Good of you to "rescue" the one, and don't take it personally if they seem to want to "bite the hand that feeds them!"

[lrprn]

KRobin, here's a few helpful degu websites that have photos so the rest of us can see what degus look like until you can post shots of yours -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degu

http://www.degus.org/ (this one has a great list of FAQs)
http://www.myhomezone.co.uk/degus/ (this one has an active forum)

Very interesting looking animals - kind of a cross between a hamster and a guinea pig with a rat tail. Wonderful that you are giving them a good home after their first home abused them. Hope that your loving care will help socialize them over time.

[krobin02]

Oh where, oh where has my digital camera gone? Oh where, oh where can it be?

[krobin02]

Update: I no longer have 3 degus. I now have 7! One of them had a litter on Monday and they are SO CUTE!!!

[Minnymouth]

nOW YOU OWN A BUSINESS........................LOL

[AMISLANDER]

That got me laughing today!

nOW YOU OWN A BUSINESS........................LOL

where are they all going to burrow to??? Looked at the website & I've seen them before...look cute...enjoy the babies!!!!

[tinroofrusted]

Oh my goodness! Good luck with the new little ones!

[SinkingFast]

OMG!! Multiplying already!!

You better watch out or you'll have "Trouble with Tribbles" only it'll be "Trouble with Degus"!!

[Minnymouth]

Your going to have to build them a "sandbox" to burrow through or their going to be terrible confused.......

Now that you have a business started you can claim it on your income taxes.... LOL

[miss puff]

Hi Krobin-have you found your camera yet? That is so cute that it had little babies. Did you see her giving birth or did you just come home to 4 extra ones. I bet they are super cute. Have you picked out names for all of them?

[krobin02]

No gosh darn it... no camera yet! I'm getting upset over that too. I found them the next day. I was getting tired of the two staying in the nest so I picked it up. I figured they'd have to come out and play if I took it away, but when I picked it up I saw much more movement than any two degus could do. Needless to say, I immediately put the nest back in for the sake of the babies.

I do not have names for them yet for a couple of reasons. First, I don't know the sex of any of them yet. Second, they aren't out and about enough for me to begin noticing any unique markings on them. And third, I name my pets by watching them for a while and waiting until a name just pops into my head for it. So it will probably be a few weeks before the little ones are named.