How to Keep Your Degus Happy

Degus are wonderful animals with lovely personalities, but it does require a little effort to keep them happy.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• a wheel
• treats
• toilet paper rolls
• sticks
• a little bit of time

1. Make sure your degus have a wheel that is big enough for them (at least 8 inches in diameter). This will not only keep them physically fit, but will help to stave off boredom. In the wild, degus have been known to run upwards of 5 km in a day, so a wheel is crucial.
   
   Make sure the wheel you buy has either a smooth surface or a mesh surface, and not rungs. Degu paws can become trapped in the rungs and cause injury!

2. Degus love treats, so feeding your little buddies a snack every day can raise their spirits. To make snack time a bit more exciting for your degu, try hiding the treats around the cage.

3. Paper towel rolls, or other cardboard tubes make excellent toys, as degus love to tunnel (they live in underground burrows in the wild). Make sure the tube is large enough so that your degu can fit without getting stuck!

4. Sticks in the cage (apple, hazel, and hawthorne are safe woods) not only provide degus with a chew toy, but also, if the stick is large enough, something to climb on.

5. Degus are happiest in groups, so it is essential to have at least two same-sex degus in the cage, so as to keep your degu from becoming depressed. Solitary degus depress easily.

6. Make sure to spend time with your degus! Degus love interaction, so talking to them, handling them at least once a day (but avoiding touching their tails!), and giving them treats can increase their happiness levels.

7. Degus need space. In the wild, they're used to running and climbing quite a bit, so a cage with at least four square feet is recommended. Try adding levels to the cage to add interest and more space. Pet stores sell platforms that attach quite easily to cage bars.

8. Finally, degus are smart animals that get bored easily with their surroundings. Try changing the layout of their cage every once in a while, or adding a new toy (bird toys work well). Whenever you clean the cage, rearrange how your degus had everything set up to give them an activity for a little bit.

Tips & Warnings

• Your degu can learn his or her name! Make sure to say it to your degu a lot while playing with them and eventually they can learn to respond to it.
• You can also teach degus to respond to cues like clicking your tongue (as you might to call a cat).
• Be careful about giving your degu sugary treats, as they are diabetic and cannot process sugar.
• Watch out for woods that are poisonous to your degu! Degus cannot chew most types of wood.
• Wheels with rungs can easily cause injuries to your degu, so mesh or smooth wheels work the best.

Resources

• Degu Environmental Enrichment

[diggitydogg]

on 2/15/2009 Very interesting information. Thanks for sharing and teaching us about these sweet little things!

[Lila30]

on 2/4/2009 I had never heard of these little things! Cute!!

[ala003]

on 2/3/2009 Great article 5!