6 Things About Degus

6 Things About Degus

Sociality and Intelligence

Degus are one of the most intelligent, social and vocal rodents, which makes them feasible to tame. They can form intimate bonds with humans and may display affection by gently nibbling the hair and/or fingers - initially, they may use test bites during the familiarisation with a person, which could get misinterpreted as aggression.

As sociality often precedes intelligence development, degus are considered intellectually on par with raccoons. In addition to being sneaky escapists sometimes, they have demonstrated empathy, trust, and problem-solving. Even when untrained, degus have gotten observed stacking objects according to size (hierarchical construction).

When they do get training, however - degus have used a rake-like tool to retrieve food from an otherwise unreachable area; the first time said behaviour's gotten seen in an animal other than birds and primates - which are nearer the top of intelligence in the animal kingdom.

Pertaining to vocalisation, adults have ~15 distinct categories, where pups need to hear the mother's calls for their emotional/social section of the brain to grow appropriately.

Some examples include...

Chirp = contentment

Chitter = greeting

Rapid squeaking = fright/threat or possible pain

Teeth grinding = agitation

There are also calls for parent-offspring communication, mating and predator/danger alarm, alongside some gender-specific, such as from a lactating female.

Colonies

Degus live in mostly related, polygynous groups, sometimes in communities of ~100 individuals, within burrow systems consisting of various 'compartments' of nurseries, bedrooms and food chambers. The burrows have numerous openings, where they can collect wood and stones to mark with their scent glands, urine and graciously, their faeces, to state their boundaries plus ownership of territory.

Degus together form 'digging chains' for burrow construction; the more degus, the less individual energy expenditure for soil removal and the faster the building and maintenance - or the bigger the structure for benefits of openings/cover to escape predators.

When out in open/exposed spaces, such large groups entail they can venture out further with safety in numbers; plus, each individual can afford to be less vigilant when collective vigilance rises, being able to invest more time into foraging instead of visually scanning and going bipedal. Likewise, higher numbers potentially mean a higher likelihood of detecting a predator sooner and at a greater distance, granting more time to retreat to a burrow opening or overhead cover.

In captivity, they need to get kept in pairs at the very least, but 4 or 5 is probably best to replicate a little group.

Diet

In their natural, arid environment, degus have a strict herbivorous diet of food items like shrub leaves, dry grass, seeds, roots and other foliage - comparable to a free-ranging animal. Consequently, the digestive tract has adjusted to high fibre intake, while their hindgut ferments the cellulose roughage.

Coprophagy is vital for nutritional supplementation, especially in times of environmental scarcity or during a time or activity where food is less prevalent. For example, they could use a nighttime 'snack' to balance intake with daytime food for gut function maintenance.

There are no fruits or vegetables in said diet, so they naturally have an intolerance for sugar and more energy-dense food. Therefore, degus are subject to diabetes, as they possess a less active form of insulin. So, enforcing adequate nutrition and exercise is especially vital for degus.

Their natural low sugar, high fibre diet is ideal for captivity, along with degu-specific pellet concentrates and constant hay access, though ironically, sweet potato can be a small occasional treat in addition to green vegetables sometimes such as little broccoli florets (except the cabbage family can cause gastric bloat). Furthermore, if concentrates aren't degu specific for a given reason, the ingredients need checking for sugar content, e.g. molasses, honey and/or glucose syrup.

Husbandry

Degus need a big chew-resistant wire mesh cage like chinchillas have, with a soft, comfy bottom with the mesh removed or sufficiently covered with bedding to prevent pododermatitis. Moreover, as one of the most active rodents, a wheel, wood chews, ropes, perches, cardboard box hides and branches help to enrich them.

Ample substrate such as paper shreddings, straw and/or hay (with minimal dust) elicits natural digging, tunnelling and nesting behaviour, reflecting their semi-fossorial living for their wellbeing. A cool temperature reminiscent of their underground burrows is ideal, as degus can get heat stress at ~30 degrees celsius and over. When changing substrates, keep some old material to retain the odour, as this could lessen the chances of possibly dangerous territorial fighting every time - as bites can invoke bacterial infection.

Dust/sand baths remove dirt from their coats (probably best not to wash them with water because it could enforce significant distress) and help to thwart parasites even though they're rare. On the other hand, they could use them excessively, drying their skin out and getting sand everywhere - so perhaps limit access to ~15 minutes daily.

Health Issues

Despite being relatively healthy animals, degus are prone to spontaneously developing physiopathological conditions, including neurodegenerative alzheimer's with cerebral aging. Its influence is likely beta-amyloid peptide deposits - plus tau-protein accumulation in mostly white brain matter regions.

It is also in tandem with cataracts, macula + retina deterioration, atherosclerosis (plaque buildup that thickens the arteries) and other metabolic and endocrinological disorders. High blood glucose could induce some of these issues sequentially.

Tail

If a degu's tail gets caught by a predator or gets stuck in something, it can escape by spinning to shed the skin and fur on it, usually at the tail's end - which is an agonising process. The tail won't grow back, so it's considered more similar to degloving than autonomy in lizards. It's most common when owners handle them by the tail or conceivably too soon before they acclimate, suggesting they get perceived as a threat.

You have to be mindful and delicate when handling since the skin and tuft at the tail end get pulled off easily - meaning degus aren't the best pets for kids if they weren't already awkward to handle. It's best to be passive, letting them take initiative during their approach, where they can gradually become more comfortable with time.

The only treatment is vet amputation, yet degus can chew off the damaged part to protect against infection.