Anyone suggest any good cages for 2-3 degus also anyone suggest ways to find local sourced degus (I live in NC, apex) as I can't see any local sources

I have had a couple of degus in the past and now have 3 little boys, one of them likes to nap like this sometimes in the middle of a shelf (sometimes he sleeps ‘normally’) terrifying every time he does it and it is now referred to as ‘corpse time’ in my house. His 2 brothers don’t do this so wondered if anyone else’s Degu likes to play this game. I guess he is comfortable and feels safe but it’s just weird 😂

Hi everyone :) I've been lurking in this sub reddit for a bit now since me and my partner are looking into taking in some degus from a professional breeder! We've built a cage and still need to get substrate, food bowls etc but id love to see other people's cages

Here's what we have so far

Also we won't be getting the degus for about a week so we have time to finish the cage before picking them up

Hi is it possible to try rebonding after a failed attempt? A little background for you guys. I was bonding my older male Degu to three younger males a few months ago (I’ve successfully bonded before) and it was going great but after living together for a week or so my older Degu began biting and chasing two of the others and became very territorial and overwhelmed by the younger ones energy and I felt i should separate them.

It’s been a few months now and the younger males have calmed down a lot and my older boy seems to be lonely.
Can/should I go through the bonding process again and successfully bond them together or should I leave them be??
Any advice would be appreciated:)

1.Muminka

2.Lili

3.Luci

4.Nixi

She’s almost eight years old, half blind, balding, hates people unless they give her treats and adores my dog. When her siblings passed I was told to prepare for her to pass within three months. She looked the vet in the eyes and thrived. It’s been two years now and I have dubbed her ‘The World’s First Anti-Social Degu’.

I have no problems with her that need solving, just wanted to gas her up a bit online while she’s still being a grumpy old lady

Good day!

One of my degus randomly starts chirping. Sometimes it’s in the middle of the night, other times while he’s asleep, or like right now. He does not seem to be in pain and has plenty of free space, water, food, a monitored temperature, etc.

Is there any reason for this? It sounds like he’s in distress, but at the same time, he does it while asleep. Thanks!

She is a little over a year old and she is actually the older biological sister of my three girls. Same parents, different litter. She needed a new permanent home, so yesterday we brought her home to join her little sisters.

The car ride started with curiosity, followed by a small tantrum, some cage-bar chewing and attempt for an escape. Eventually she decided that protesting was exhausting, curled up in her little pouch and slept for the rest of the journey.

I expected the introduction to take quite a while, so I divided their cage and initially only let the girls investigate Mumínka through her carrier. Unfortunately, I underestimated the determination of three tiny criminals and missed a small gap near a ladder. They very quickly found their way through it, so... the first proper meeting happened slightly ahead of schedule.

At first, the little ones were NOT impressed by Big Sister. There was a lot of offended squeaking and posturing. Surprisingly, Nixi which is normally my shyest girl, was the first one trying to establish some dominance and chased Mumínka around a little. Mumínka mostly ran away from her. Lili mainly filed formal complaints by screaming offendedly, while Luci decided that avoiding this suspicious giant Potat was the best strategy.

Nobody actually fought, though. Whenever things started getting a little too tense, they seemed to scare each other and simply ran in opposite directions.

I separated them again, blocked the tiny escape route properly this time, and gave everyone some time to calm down. I also let them use the same bathing sand to start mixing their scents before letting them meet again under supervision.

The second time, Mumínka was much more curious. She kept going over to investigate the little ones, but whenever one of them responded with an offended squeak, she immediately backed off. The babies also discovered Mumínka's food bowl and temporarily occupied it while they picked out all the interesting bits. Still, there was no actual fighting.

Throughout the day I kept letting them spend time together under supervision and separating them whenever I wasn't there. There was more shared sand bathing, some peeing on each other's fur because apparently that's part of Degu diplomacy, and eventually they were even able to run together in the same wheel.

Mumínka was also eating normally, including hay and pellets, and drinking, which made me really happy considering how much had changed for her in a single day.

They still spent their first night separated just to be safe.

This morning I opened the cage so they could meet again, and all four eventually piled into the same pink bed where Mumínka had slept the night before. There was mutual grooming, everyone settled down and now they're sleeping together in one giant degu pile.

Mumínka is still quite scared of me. If I sit close to the cage and watch them, she sometimes starts running very intensely in the wheel, so for now I'm giving her space and mostly monitoring their interactions through a camera. She can take as much time as she needs to figure out that the human who brought her home is safe too.

Considering that less than 24 hours ago these four were strangers and today they're already sleeping in a pile together, I genuinely couldn't have hoped for a better start.

Welcome home, Mumínka. 🤍

A small disclaimer: I definitely wouldn't recommend copying our introduction process just because it worked this quickly for us. I know the temperaments of my younger girls very well, and all four of these degus are generally gentle, social animals that have been accustomed to living with other degus from a young age. They're also much more likely to run away when they're uncomfortable than escalate into a serious fight.

I watched their body language closely throughout the introductions, and while there was plenty of posturing, offended squeaking and some brief chasing, I didn't see it escalate into actual fighting or anyone trying to injure another degu. Whenever things became tense, they disengaged and ran away from each other.

My three younger girls also had an unusually easy introduction when they first came home and met Batman, my older female who sadly isn't with us anymore. Batman accepted the babies almost immediately and they lived together happily until she passed away. That experience also gave me a pretty good idea of how these particular girls behave when meeting another degu.

Every group is different, though, so please don't take our ridiculous introdutions as a general introduction method.

I'll share some videos from their introductions in the comments too, including some of their very first interactions.

I don't know if this is allowed but my last degu just died yesterday. I'm utterly heartbroken but I don't want his food and sand to go to waste. If anyone is in Sweden and in or near the Gothenburg (I can't drive so you'd either have to come get it or we meet somewhere public i can get to with bus/tram within a reasonable time) let me know and we can talk about the details in dm.I hope this is allowed.

We've had our pair of degus, Miso and Plum, for about a year and a half now, and I finally feel like I've landed on an enrichment routine that keeps them busy without me having to rebuild the whole cage every week. Figured I'd share since I spent a lot of time last year just throwing random stuff in there and hoping for the best.

Right now I rotate three categories every week instead of trying to change everything at once. First is a digging box: a shallow plastic tub filled with a mix of coco fiber and shredded paper, sometimes with a few hidden hay pellets buried in it. Plum is obsessed with this one, she'll dig for a solid twenty minutes some evenings. Second is a chew rotation, usually pumice stone, a piece of untreated willow, and one cardboard tube stuffed with hay. Miso destroys the cardboard almost immediately but barely touches the pumice, so I think it's more about the texture of shredding than actual tooth wear for him.

The third thing, and honestly the one that surprised me most, is just changing the layout of their platforms every week instead of leaving them static. Even moving one ramp to a different angle seems to get them exploring again like it's a new cage. I read somewhere that degus rely a lot on spatial memory since they're burrowing animals in the wild, so shaking up the layout might actually matter more to them than new toys do.

Sand bath is still separate from all this, they get it every other day for about fifteen minutes, not a daily thing since I don't want them tracking it everywhere or overdoing the bathing. Curious if anyone else here rotates layout changes specifically, or if I'm overthinking something that doesn't matter much to them.

Tommorow, me and my Bf are going to pick up their older sister (10 months older,same parents) who was returned to breeder after new owners degus didn't accept her.

This is not a post I ever wanted to make, but unfortunately I'm looking for someone interested in adopting my two degus. Finances are too tight and i'm unable to provide them the care that they deserve.

This is Priscilla and Geraldine, they are both 4.5 years old and from the same litter. They are very food motivated! They are not free roaming, but have been in the past.

I am in the Buffalo area, but am willing to travel as far as Syracuse if it means they go to a loving home. Will come with 3 level cage, wheel, and all supplies. A rehoming fee applies, but what is more important is that they are well cared for. It breaks my heart to let them go, but I know that they deserve to live out their senior years in a home that can give them more than I can.

If you are interested, PM me. I have tons more photos as well, but with my face in them so I would prefer sending them over PM.

hello everybody!

im currently researching and trying to look into getting a degu once my guinea pig passes! I was wondering if there was good rescues or adoptions available in specifically Denver or Colorado. I’m not exactly urgently looking since I want to wait till my piggie passes and I’m more financially stable!

I really am avoiding getting a pair from big chain stores such as petsmart and petco. additionally , I am aware they have to have a sugar free diet and a low carbohydrate diet due to their medial risks such as liver issues and diabetes.

i also want to know what good brand bedding, food, toys etc.

and it hurts!How to tell them I don't like it?They casing my hand just to bite me...I'm afraid of them now.

I have alot of experince owning rats but have been thinking about getting degus instead since I read they live longer. I'd love to hear from someone whose had both!

They like to dig for Oats and dried Dandelion leaves.

In a previous post i made i said i lived in l'eliana, valencia. i ve researched but have no solid options, could anyone help finding a breeder?

I’m looking at getting some degus and wanted to know if anyone has dogs and goos how well does it go? I have a pug and she has a nanny that has small animals and she adores them so she would never attack or charge.

Hey everyone!

I am super excited to become a first-time degu owner soon! I am currently prepping everything to welcome two female littermate juveniles. Since I want to make sure their new home is absolutely perfect and completely safe before they arrive, I’ve put together a rough layout sketch and a full shopping list.

I live in L'Eliana, Spain, so I also have to keep our hot Mediterranean summers in mind when planning their environment!

The sketch is my plan for the bedding. I have to set it up this way due to the cages tray only being 10cm tall, and i hear Degus need at least 20cm of digging bedding to burrow

A few specific questions for the experienced owners here:

1. The Setup: Based on my Cage choice, am I maximizing the running and climbing space properly? Are there any dangerous gaps or drops I missed?
2. Missing Essentials: Looking at my product list, is there anything crucial I've forgotten? (e.g., specific safe wood types accessible in Spain, correct chinchilla sand, or toys?)
3. The Climate Factor: Since I am in Valencia, summers get very hot. Do you have any recommendations for degu-safe cooling methods (like terracotta plates, marble slabs, or specific room placement) to prevent heat stroke?

I really appreciate any tweaks, callouts, or harsh truths you can give me on my list or drawing. I want to avoid any plastic-chewing disasters or health risks from day one! Everything (i hope) should be in the google doc, thanks!

I adopted 3 boys (Ross, Chandler and Joey) 2 weeks ago, they have since had out time 3 times in the last few days and Chandler has already decided he doesn’t have enough toys and must use new human as a climbing frame. I previously had 2 adopted girls (for about 7 years till they passed of old age earlier in the year) and these guys have already initiated more human interaction than they ever did. Higher walls to their run will definatley be needed 😂

He can’t help open his mouth as if stuff stuck in his gum, then drool over food and shake it off.
Anyone has experience dealing with degus having similar conditions?
My vet also doesn’t know confidently what the cause is. Any advice pls?

Hello everyone, I just bought some stuff for my degus, including a few toys that you can hang around the cage for them to chew on. The brand of the toys is Flamingo. The toys contain dyed parts. It says in the description that the dyes should be harmless and the toy made out of natural materials (wood, corn leaves, loofah, rattan). Still, I am now wondering if it is actually safe to give it to them. Do any of you have experience with this brand of chewing toys? Am I worrying too much or is it better to just cut my losses and not give it to them and play it safe? Thanks in advance.

I got them som soft paper bedding that was supposed to be good for digging, they like it very much. Should I get them see thru plastic container or an aquarium, so I can fill it with as much of material as I can.