What is a degu?

[Pamela]

Greater Basilisk wrote:

ddvm wrote:

By the way, if the parental units are not happy with the idea of a chinchilla I hereby disavow any knowledge of the preceding post outlining ideas on where to get one.

(But they are really, really cute and you should have one).

😆 😆 😆 Disavowment is pretty hard when both parental units can keep an eye on this forum.

True but don’t politicians disavow things all the time: “I did not sleep with that woman” “I did not inhale”

“I did not strongly encourage Chessie to get a cute, cuddly, adorable chinchilla.”

Oh wait, it’s in writing…rats.

[Bob]

yep you are stuck on that one

[Mimi]

You guys have gotten me interested in chinchillas and degus now! Its seems like they would be good squirrel substitutes. 😀

Drag0n and ddvm — about how many hours per week does one need to spend to take care of them? Is it best to always have two for both chinchillas and degus?

[Bob]

it would most likely make a good squirrel substitute

[Pamela]

mimitrek wrote:

You guys have gotten me interested in chinchillas and degus now! Its seems like they would be good squirrel substitutes. 😀

Drag0n and ddvm — about how many hours per week does one need to spend to take care of them? Is it best to always have two for both chinchillas and degus?

I have 2 and I think that gives them a buddy. I let them out 3 to 4 times a week for anywhere from 1 to 2 hours but since I got mine as adults they aren’t the type to sit and let you hold them. I keep trying – bribing them with treats and holding and petting for a couple of minutes at a time. Then they just run around and play. It does take awhile to clean up after them – they get the sand everywhere but the good news is they don’t really smell compared to other rodents (unless you don’t clean them regularly). I have a 5 ft tall cage they stay in and clean it once a week. About the buddy thing – some chins will bond and be pretty depressed if separated or if one dies. On the other hand sometimes 2 chins just don’t get together and you end up having to have 2 cages. But I’ve had just about every rodent and lagomorph there is and I have to say chins (and then rats) are my favorite. But I haven’t had a degu….yet.

[Mimi]

Thanks for the info! If you get two young chinchillas together, is it a pretty sure thing that they’ll get along?

By the way, what are the dimensions of the cage that you have? When you mentioned that your cage is 5′ tall, I’m wondering if I have enough space in the house for a big cage…

[Bob]

Are there different levels to the cage?? places where they can sit and watch? Yes a 5′ cage is pretty tall and would take up a lot of room

[Pamela]

Oops, sorry – measured the cage and it is 19″X30″X48″ So it is 4 ft not 5 ft. But it does have 3 levels and I bought some perches that they can sit on. Actually, when they get going they run up and down the levels and the perches. Sometimes you can actually find a good sized cage at a garage sale. That size cage could probably hold up to 4 but I like them to have room. They make smaller cages – in fact when I got Frederick he was in a starter cage for awhile until I got the big cage. Looking back I feel guilty I left him in it at all – the starter cages, in my opinion, are too small for even one chin.

[Bob]

I know the feeling. I get everyone asking if my cats are OK when I have to travel especially for a couple days at a time. I tell them there are 4 so they have company and I make sure their food, water and litter are all taken care of before I leave so they are fine. Mine do have the run of the house though

[Mimi]

ddvm wrote:

Oops, sorry – measured the cage and it is 19″X30″X48″ So it is 4 ft not 5 ft. But it does have 3 levels and I bought some perches that they can sit on. Actually, when they get going they run up and down the levels and the perches. Sometimes you can actually find a good sized cage at a garage sale. That size cage could probably hold up to 4 but I like them to have room. They make smaller cages – in fact when I got Frederick he was in a starter cage for awhile until I got the big cage. Looking back I feel guilty I left him in it at all – the starter cages, in my opinion, are too small for even one chin.

Thanks for rechecking! The size you mentioned is more manageable, though I would still need to rearrange some things to fit it in…hmm…need to think about that. I think I would have two at the most, so I’d probably get a cage around the size of yours. I like the idea of giving them a big cage too — it definitely seems like they would be a lot happier that way.

[Author]

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