Intro
The Degu as pet isn't (yet) as popular as for example the hamster, but every day more Degu-fans can be found. The Latin name for Degu is Octodon Degus. This Latin name is derived from the worn enamel surface of its teeth which forms a pattern in the shape of a figure eight. Degus originate from the lowland areas of Chile where they live in large groups making their homes in rocks or hedges. They are considered an agricultural pest. Degus are very social animals and need a lot of attention, so it is recommended to keep at least two Degus. It is possible to keep just one Degu, but a single Degu will get sick more readily and may get depressed. If you still want to keep just one Degu, or if you only can get one Degu, be sure you give this single Degu a lot of attention. It seems that Degus have a some sort of memory. They definitely recognize sounds and they recognize voices. Degus are able to recognize their owners, and they behave more 'openly' to people they know. When a Degus meet a stranger, they will behave cautiously. As Degus are social animals, they rarely bite. Never grab a Degu by its tail, as they will shed their tail from their body. A shed tail will never grow back. Degus do not come from arid parts of the world like gerbils do. Therefore, they drink a lot more water. This in turn results in more urine and more smell (about equivalent to a hamster or a rat - although they are not as offensive as mice or rabbits) Thus Degu cages require cleaning out more frequently than gerbil cages. We clean our Degu cage with two Degus once every week. Degus need a large cage, because they need to run and climb a lot. The best thing to do in the cage is to build several floors, so the living space will be larger and the Degus can climb up and down and stay fit. Degus love a wheel and an occasional dust bath as does the Chinchilla.
Diet
Wild Degus mainly live on bulbs, tubers and bark. It's almost impossible to replicate this narrow and specialized diet in captivity. Feed your Degus a 50-50 mixture of chinchilla pellets and guinea pig pellets, sweet potatoes, carrots, dandelion greens, timothy hay and always a large supply of fresh green alfalfa. Give your Degus sometimes (once in three-four days) a few sunflower seeds or a half peanut, a few kernels of dried corn and sometimes some green beans.
The 50-50 mixture of chinchilla pellets and guinea pig pellets are for the day-to-day nutrients a Degu needs. Degus need the yellow vegetables (sweet potatoes and carrots) for the health of their teeth, for vitamin C, and to provide a fresh component to their diet. The timothy hay and the fresh alfalfa grass is given because Degus need high protein and some special nutrients. Degus like the sunflower seeds or the half peanut as a treat, and there are some ingredients in the seeds and peanut that are good for Degus.
A Degu can survive in the wild without any water, but be sure to give your Degus some fresh hyperchlorinated water every day, because the Degus can't get enough water out of the given food. You must hyperchlorinate the water because Degus are prone to mouth diseases. You can make chlorinated water by dropping one or two drops of household bleach in a quart (a concentration of approximate 1:125000)
DO NOT feed your Degu any sugar-holding food, like fruit or raisins. Degus can't metabolize sugar. Also don't feed your Degus the skin or the green parts of potatoes because they are *very* toxic for Degus (and for humans). Be sure not to give to much carbohydrate-holding food (i.e. starchy foods like corn), because Degus can't handle this kind of food. In the area where Degus live in the wild aren't much carbohydrate food sources, so Degus aren't used to carbohydrates. If you are the sort of person who cannot resist giving tidbits to your pets, then Degus are not for you.
Degus won't eat all their given food: they eat until they are satisfied. Also if you give a treat (like a peanut) Degus may bury this food. I think it is the same behavior that squirrel display: to bury food for bad times, like winter.
Life
Expectancy
Degus in the wild can live up to 15 years, but in captivity they rarely become 10 years old.