Ali HamzaChilean degu (Octodon degus) is a highly intelligent, diurnal, unique rodent that has become popular as a companion animal, originally native to the open matorral plains of central Chile. But good degu husbandry requires a special appreciation of their particular dietary, environmental, social and veterinary requirements.
At Grove Veterinary Hospital we know that smaller, exotic mammals deserve the same special medical and husbandic care as dogs and cats. With proper degu care, your pocket pet will have a long, enriching and healthy life. This complete reference book explains the essential elements of degu care, including creating the ideal environment and how to identify early signs of dental and metabolic diseases.
1. Understand the behavior and social dynamics of the degu.
An owner will first need to learn about the degu in the wild to have a very good base-line to care for the animal. Degus are diurnal animals, more so than many other small rodents are nocturnal. They are active during the day, and as such are very interactive and fun to have in the family. They have a complicated repertoire of up to fifteen different sounds, each with its own meaning for passing on their moods and intentions to their fellow animals and human caregivers; they use different squeaks, warbles and chitters for different purposes, depending on their mood and intent.
Understanding their strong social nature is a fundamental part of their degu care. Degus live in large communal burrows, with many excavating these themselves in their native habitat, where they forage as a group to reduce the threat of predation. They are very social animals and will not be kept in isolation. Isolation of a single degu can result in significant psychological stress, depression and behavioral abnormalities, such as bar chewing, stereotypic chewing and self mutilation.
The responsible degu care will require housing the animals in groups of two or more, which are not of opposite sexes and are compatible. Research demonstrates that female degus have an extremely high social motivation, being able to interact comfortably with familiar cagemates and other unfamiliar degus, contributing to their communal group structure. The most important factor to consider when planning degu care is having a bonded companion.
2. Dietary Management: Absolute Rule of No Sugar
There is one thing in degu care that is very important and must be kept in mind; their diet restrictions. Degus have become adapted to eat very low nutrient (high fiber) diets of grasses, leaves, seeds and roots. Their central Chilean habitat is devoid of sugars and, as a result of evolutionary pressure, the degu has an extremely divergent insulin structure and a very sensitive carbohydrate metabolism.
Thus, poor degu husbandry with the addition of sugary food items will lead to onset of diabetes mellitus, secondary cataracts and early death quickly. To avoid this, your daily degu care nutritional protocol should be:
- Fresh Timothy hay or meadow hayis the base of degu care with unlimited access to high-quality grass hay. Hay is a good source of crude fibre for their hind-gut fermentation and is also useful for important dental wear.
- Degu-Specific Pellets:Feed measured daily ration of commercial degu pellets or sugar free guinea pig blocks. Be sure to read the ingredient list to make sure there is no molasses, syrup or stealth sugar added.
- Safe Treats:Leafy greens, small pieces of butternut squash and sweet potato. Neither fruits, raisins, honey sticks nor commercial hamster/gerbil mixes are suitable as a food source due to their high content of simple sugars.
- Clean, chew proof glass water bottle– must be available at all times.
Interestingly, though, they are very similar to guinea pigs, however they are able to make their own Vitamin C for normal degu care, so they don’t need the specific vitamin in their diet.
- Housing and Environmental Enrichment.
Another important aspect of good degu husbandry is the provision of a safe, spacious habitat. They are extremely chewy and can climb the walls very easily; plastic cages or cages with shallow plastic bases are not suitable, as they will easily be chewed through by a determined degu in a few hours.
The ideal degu housing is a large wire or metal cage that has a solid metal base for the cage to avoid pododermatitis (bumblefoot), which can be a problem with the cage’s metal floors.
The ideal degu house is a large cage made of wire or metal, with a solid metal base for the cage to prevent their sensitive feet from getting pododermatitis (bumblefoot) which can be a problem with the metal base of a cage.
These are the structural features that should be included in your degu care enclosure checklist:
- Space and Exercise
Degus need safe vertical and horizontal space for running, jumping and climbing. Enclosure should be equipped with solid metal shelves, heavy wooden platforms and secure ramps. They have high exercise needs and must have a large, solid metal running wheel (min. 30cm diameter) not a wire mesh as this can catch and break delicate toes or tails.
- Bedding and Nesting Material
Good substrate choices for degu housing include dust-free wood shavings, recycled paper-based pellets and lots of hay. A deep layer of substrate and shredded unbleached paper or cardboard boxes of nesting material should be provided because degu’s will love to dig and move their nests.
- Chinchilla Dust Baths
Just like chinchillas, degus also control the oils in their fur by bathing in fine sand. One of the most important tasks in degu care is to make sure that they have a heavy ceramic dish filled with commercial chinchilla dust, several times per week, for 10-15 minutes. It is not suggested to leave the dust bath in the cage permanently as it will get soiled with urine and feces.
4. Handling and Avoiding "Tail Slip"
You can also cause ‘tail slip’ by the way you handle, which must be avoided.
Handling is an essential skill in degu husbandry. Handle them gently from an early age and they can become highly affectionate and enjoy being handled by their human caretakers. There is one very important rule with degu care that must be followed: Do not pick up a degu by the tail.
Degus have an anti-predator defense mechanism called “tail slip” in which the skin and soft tissue of the tail will easily slip off of the underlying bone if seized or pulled. An agonizingly painful injury that is virtually always treated by removing the exposed tail bone with a general anesthetic at a veterinary clinic such as Grove Veterinary Hospital.
When handling degues, it is important to practice safe handling by corraling them and picking them up gently in two cupped hands under the main body of the animal so that it will sit safely on your palms.
- Veterinary Care and Common Health Problems
Information on veterinary care and common health problems.
Extensive degu care includes regular well visits and monitoring the pet’s physical condition. The average lifespan for degus is 5-8 years and as they grow older they may become prone to a variety of different medical problems.
We see the following conditions in degu patients that are very common at Grove Veterinary Hospital:
Favored areas of the plant and leaf tips die back.
Dying back of favored areas of the plant and leaf tips.
Condition | Symptoms | Prevention / Treatment |
Dental Disease | Long incisors, salivation, loss of weight, selectivity, tears. | Feeds continuously growing teeth with unlimited forage of abrasive grass hay. |
Diabetes Mellitus | Excessive thirst (polydipsia), frequent urination (polyuria), rapid cataract formation. | Follow a strict sugar-free diet and remove fruits, molasses and honey treats. |
Pododermatitis | Reddened, swollen or ulcerated footpads; unwillingness to walk or climb. | Steer clear of wire-mesh floor materials and opt for solid metal trays with deep soft and absorbent bedding. |
Tail Slip | Exposed bone on tail, after mishandling. | Ensure all people looking after the horse use the two handed scoop technique and don’t grab the tail. |
As prey species, degus tend to conceal symptoms of illness or weakness until they’ve grown to extreme levels. If you observe any eating or stool changes, increased or decreased energy or cloudiness in the eyes, please reach out to Grove Veterinary Hospital at once so we can help our veterinary team intervene.
Conclusion
Learning to care for degu can be a rewarding experience and a great pleasure to have one in your home, these rodents are very active, social, and intelligent. To guarantee that your pet enjoys a full and healthy life, you must ensure that it has the right kind of same-sex companions, an adequate and enriched wire environment and that you treat it appropriately.
Keep in mind, that you’re not alone when you’re a pet owner. Grove Veterinary Hospital is always available to take care of your exotic friends, no matter what their medical issues are, with expert and compassionate care available for routine wellness exams, dietary consultations, and emergency medical issues.
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