Greetings Emily :)
> First off, thanks to all who responded to my first post regarding
> degus.
You are welcome, of course :)
> 1) How much attention (handing, letting them run about, etc) do they
> need? Do they need daily interaction, or are they ok with lets say
> every few days?
As with most creatures, the more you handle them, the more tame
they are. As long as they are in pairs they wont "suffer" without
daily interaction with you, but they will miss it when they are
accustomed to it.
My first pair (Chaos and Loki) would warble when we got home
from work and chatter at us like squirrels if we were ignoring them
and they didn't want to be ignored. They were awesome. :) The
pair I have now aren't quite so social, one was a rescue and the
other was born just before we moved so missed out on a lot of
early socialization.
> 2) I've read from different sources (email, on the net) about feeding.
> Some recommend guinea pig pellets, some recommend 50% GP pellets and
> 50% chinchilla pellets, and some same lab blocks is ok as well as GP
> pellets and/or chinchilla pellets. Most sites say to give some sort
> of hay. Which combination is best for long-term health? What hay is
> better - alfalfa or timothy or both?
First and foremost, THE most important thing is to not give your
degu sugary OR too starchy foods. They cannot digest sugar (that
is how they originally were imported to NA, for diabetes research).
As for the preference in pellets, it is my studied opinion that as
cousins to chinchinchillas, a good plain chin pellet is a safe thing
(the pellets without added fruits et al). Since it is "presumed" that
chins get fruit and hence supplemental vitamin C and such, I mix
guinea pig pellets with my chin pellets for my kids. I give them
timothy hay and alfalfa cubes but they tend to play wth them more
than eat them. As long as they are eating their staple I don't
worry. I don't imagine rat blocks would hurt them but I prefer to
give them the chin/guinea pellets and they thrive on them. As an
occasional treat I give them a peanut (which they love) or a carrot
(which they love).
> 3) Sociability - I've read a couple of sites that males can be
> territorial and tend to fight. Other sources say male pairs are just
> as social as female pairs. Any comments on this would be welcome.
I think the only time you are apt to get territorial fighting is when
you have females and males in the same vicinity. I think that is
sexual frustration more than territorial :).
Females or males pair up nicely. We have had both without
problems. The pair I have now are males that were introduced as
young adults, complete strangers. No problems.
When we got our first degus (Chaos and Loki) they had a litter of
young that were just reaching adulthood. I found it very facinating
that they didn't breed, except the bonded pair and they didn't fight.
In the wild they live in communities. There will undoubtably be
squabbles when determining pecking order but these are minor.
FTR, I am not saying that degus wont inbreed, I am saying that in
a quasi-natural colony situation in my expereince they did not. :)
> 4) Caging/housing - What would be the minimum size of cage/aquarium
> for a pet pair? From all I'm reading the suggestions are 30 gallons
> or above - the cages I've got right now are about 13" x 24". One's a
In a perfect world 30 gallon or more :) - realisticly...there are many
options. Our first pair came to us in a multi-level hamster cage. It
was pretty small for 7 degus though!
We made our cage. It is a $40 wire (plastic bottom) cockatiel cage
shaped like a house. We added a second level using corrugated
plastic (it is non-toxic, we checked), cutting a hole for access and
to allow the huge wheel to freely move. We used bird perches as
the "beams" to hold the level (three accross lengthwise and three
accross widthwise). We added a 1/2 level using the same material
later.
Originally we had a bird ladder for level access, but they pretty
much ignored it, preferring to leap level to level :). They love their
wheel. The top 1/2 level seems to be the "food storage" level as
they take treats and sometimes pellets up there. The second level
has their house (a hagen barrel type house for larger small pets).
We were greatly amused to see that, one morning when we forgot
to lower the shade, the two degus worked together and turned their
house so the windows of their house were facing away from the
sun!! :)
Like with many creatures, probably the bigger the cage the better,
though if you have to socialize them, smaller is better short term til
they get used to you, unless you are happy to have them as
primarily "watch me" pets.
With a smile,
Deb
