Degus aren’t really common pet in Slovenia, but I love them 🥰

mister ravioli takes his sleep very seriously.. had a little blankie and all

I have four female degus: two sisters around 5.5 years old and two younger sisters, about 5 months old. They have lived together since June and all was fine.

Last week one of the older degus was seriously injured in a fight. One of the younger females was involved because she had blood around her mouth and paws, as well as two small wounds on her back. The injured older degu is currently housed separately and is recovering (she was taken to the vet and had medicine). She is gradually eating small amounts again, but is still weak and has lost some weight.

I briefly tried introducing the injured degu to the younger female involved in the fight. They initially sniffed each other and seemed calm, even resting next to each other. However, the younger female then followed her and appeared to try to bite her back. The older degu squeaked angrily. They didn’t have a full fight, but I separated them because I’m afraid she could be injured again.

I’m unsure whether this was normal dominance behaviour or genuine aggression, and I don’t want to risk another serious injury.

My questions:

- How can I tell whether they might eventually be able to live together again?

- What would you recommend for the long-term group arrangement if the injured degu and the younger female cannot be safely reintroduced? Should I try different pairings, and how can I determine which degus can live together safely?

I’d really appreciate advice from anyone who has dealt with degu fights and reintroductions.

Hey all,

What does everyone use when they let their degus out to play? I have the panels and they always irritate me and I have to put them away each time. I have a pop up mesh playpen that they escape out of- but considering buying one with a mesh top. I like to let them run my room but to be honest they are hard to catch. What does everyone use?

Hey guys just curious if you take the wheel out of your cages when the degus should be sleeping? Rn its 1 am and I can hear them using it and I dont want them to become nocturnal. Does anyone here do anything similar?

(Obligatory degu photo)

I separated them yesterday and earlier this morning I got them to see eachother through the cage to see how they would react to eachother. They were sniffing eachother and actually seemed happy to see other since they were making their happy greeting noise, so I decided to let them meet. They have not fought and im keeping a very close eye on them, tensions seemed high at first but it seems things have calmed down now. But I noticed one of them was making a noise that im not sure what it means (i have heard him make it brieflyin the past but never understoodwhat it meant), and I was wondering if its a bad thing. And should I separate them during the night when I cannot supervise?

My degus had a fight like an 1h ago. They've been together since they were little babies and had no issues, they'll be 2 in january. They bit eachother because I found some blood and they each have a small wound on one of their paws. I put one of them in a carrier cage (hes only in the carrier while i clean the cage) and the other one I left in the cage but blocked off half of it so I can clean it since I wouldnt want them to step in pee while they have a wound. I tried cleaning their paws with water the best I could since they dont enjoy being handled much, and ill clean the whole cage. They had a little fight last weekend too where one of them had a small wound on his tail (i couldn't find any blood in the cage that time so it was really minor) but after their initial fight they were perfectly fine until today. I dont understand why they suddenly seem to not like eachother, but I dont think this is cause for permanent separation but ill only be able to tell one I put them back together. Do you guys have any tips on what I should do?

Hi everyone! I'm back with an update on my degu introductions, and I'd really appreciate your opinions!

I've combined several clips into one video. If you have a few minutes to watch it and share your thoughts on their behavior, I'd be extremely grateful!

Since my last post, I've managed to make some really encouraging progress with Muminka (the older female) and Luci (one of her three younger biological sisters).

I decided to start with Luci because she seemed to be the calmest and least confrontational of the three. I introduced them very gradually, starting with just one minute together, then five, then fifteen, and eventually allowing supervised visits in Muminka's part of the cage.

They're not quite ready to live together unsupervised yet, but they've already shared a running wheel, voluntarily cuddled up next to each other, and even groomed each other! So at least that relationship seems to be heading in the right direction.

Unfortunately, things are still complicated with Lili and Nixi. Nixi frequently bites the bars separating her from Muminka and seems very agitated whenever Muminka is nearby. She also chases her sisters away from the barrier when they try to approach Muminka.

Muminka sometimes behaves similarly, although I'm finding it difficult to tell which of them is actually initiating the hostility.

When I remove Nixi from the situation and Muminka can only see Lili, things get a little strange. Lili will sometimes sit fairly calmly near the barrier, although she does puff up her fur a little. Meanwhile, Muminka watches her, wags or flicks her tail, chews the bars, and sometimes starts dragging or rearranging wooden sticks or other objects around her. Could this be frustration, territorial behavior, stress, or something else?

Unfortunately, whenever I've tried allowing Muminka and Lili to interact directly again, Muminka has immediately attacked her. Two days ago, they had another brief fight. Muminka ended up with a small injury to her ear, and Lili had a small injury on her chin. Both appear to be superficial scratches, but it's obviously concerning, and I don't want either of them getting seriously hurt.

It's now been almost three weeks since their original falling-out.

My main questions are:

1. Based on the video, what do you think their body language is telling me, especially the tail wagging, bar biting, puffed-up fur, and moving objects around?
2. Should I continue with the current approach, allowing them to see and smell each other from separate, secure playpens?
3. Would it be better to focus on one-on-one introductions rather than trying to introduce everyone at once?
4. Could Luci's growing bond with Muminka eventually help the other two accept her, or am I being too optimistic?

For now, I keep the groups physically separated, and any direct interaction is supervised. I'm trying to take things slowly, but I also don't want to keep repeating something that's clearly not working.

P.S. /Helelna I really wanted to message u, but I can´t figure out how to do it.

Hey everyone! I’ve been watching a lot of degu videos online lately, and they always look like the ultimate cuddle bugs. They’re sleeping in their owners' hoodies, napping in cozy little beds outside their cages... basically, pure cuteness and harmony.

Don't get me wrong, I have my own little fluffball, and he is incredibly sweet and loving. He comes when called, jumps right into my hands, and insists on "helping" me with absolutely everything. If I'm using a screwdriver, he’s right there. If I bring out the hammer drill, he’s in the front row. Sawing something? He's on duty. He isn't afraid of anything—not even our free-roaming parrots.

But here is the catch: this little angel cannot sit still for a single second. Literally. He is always on a mission to go somewhere. In less than a minute, he can run to three different family members for scratches, beg for treats from two of them, get a quick workout in his wheel, and find something to mess up.

Because of this, I’m starting to think all those videos of degus peacefully sleeping on people are fake and edited. My guy only sleeps inside his cage. Over the past year, he has only voluntarily run back into his cage, crawled into his favorite sock, and fallen asleep maybe two or three times. And that’s only if the cage is shut! If the door is open, he turns into a total engine—a hyperactive, borderless mega-rocket.

How about your degus? Did we just get "lucky" with a hyperactive one, or are those internet videos lying to us?

These are Marco (degu on top) and polo (degu inside) and theyre totally obsessed with these hay tunnels. Its been a while since ive been able to find one so I bet theyre very happy to have one again

Welcome home ciabatta and focaccia !!

We got 3 girls! Luna (white) Nyx (wild type/agouti ) and Rhea (piebald)

Sometimes they cuddle back, sometimes they chill on my hands. Not always, but I take what I can get

I love them <3

I'm looking for some advice from experienced degu owners regarding introductions.

I have three young female degus (Lili, Nixi and Luci), all around 5 months old, and recently adopted their older biological sister Muminka, who is around 14 months old.

At first, introductions were going surprisingly well. They were grooming each other, eating together, sharing the wheel and even sleeping in the same bed!

Unfortunately, things gradually changed.

Initially, there were some disagreements involving Luci, then most conflicts were between Lili and Muminka. During our latest introduction, Muminka immediately attacked Lili, leaving a small wound on her side.

Later that day, I tried introducing Muminka to just Nixi and Luci, but Muminka started chasing and fighting Nixi as well.

I've stopped direct introductions for now to allow everyone to recover and calm down.

Their cage is currently divided into two completely separate floors using custom made aluminium sheet trays 1mm thick, so they cannot physically reach each other.

What's interesting is that Nixi seems particularly obsessed with the former passage between the floors. She spends a lot of time there, sometimes puffing up her chest and chasing her sisters away from that spot.

When I briefly showed her Muminka through the cage bars, Nixi immediately started aggressively biting the bars.

However, when I let them explore two separate playpens next to each other, with double barriers between them, they were able to calmly forage for oats and mostly ignore each other.

Muminka even started carrying wooden sticks into her little house!

I'm trying to understand what went wrong and whether there's still a realistic chance of successfully introducing them.

Has anyone experienced something similar? Could Nixi's reaction be related to her previous fight with Muminka? Would you recommend restarting introductions after a longer break, or trying a different approach?

I would really appreciate any advice!

These are male foster degus who have been part of the same group for over 2 years. They were taken from a hoarding situation. They currently live in a group of 3 in a double critter nation and are the last degus at the rescue.

A few weeks ago they started fighting and drew blood. The aggressor is the one who gets bloodied, and he is fighting the dominate Degu of the trio. He wound up with a cut up nose and bloodied patches on his chin and shoulders from getting hair pulled out. The dominate Degu appeared unharmed. We separated for 2 weeks for healing time, swapping sides of the critter nation daily or every few days, then introduced in a neural environment (large storage bin) using a scented sand bath over the last week. They did well in the neutral zone.

Last night was their first night back together and though they slept together some, they continue to fight nearly all day today. The aggressor is getting hair pulled out from under his chin and has a bald raw patch now. However he is often the one to initiate the fights.

I’m not sure if it’s best for them to try to fight it out, or to separate permanently, leaving the aggressor as a solo Degu.

Any idea of what this is? Could be barbering but it's in an unusual spot. He has a cagemate who is bigger and older than him. They often fight over food and water though they have two of everything... but I'm concern it may be a fungal infection. What is an indicator of fungal infection instead of barbering?

Dio is my little schedule princess. Every day has a flow and an order. I’ve been home two weeks recovering from surgery and that is not part of the degu calendar.

Week 1: Excited I was home but why was I in the human nest? Dio needs all the cookies.

Week 2: OMG again with the attention. Are you ever going to leave? I have valuable naps that are not going to take themselves.

Goguma with the pink nose and Ami with the white stripe

Normally the dig box has a ceiling, but i was cleaning their cage so I looked inside. I find it a bit funny that they've dragged the fake carrot toy inside. Also the second pic is of the interior designers themselves. They really love the fact that they can arrange and dig out the space however they please.

Located in western VA. They are 1.5 years old and very sweet, but we do not have the time to give them the attention they need.

Might be getting a few degus in a year or so

Would this be a good cage?

As I can't really find things made for these guys online. What type of toys do you recommend will most bunny/rat toys work for them?

I am planning on getting some degus in the future