sproggie14 Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 Following on from this thread, some of these degus are now in rescue and ready to go to their forever homes. For now we can only home boys, in case the females are pregnant. Degus are still relatively new to this country so there aren't that many homes out there for them. We still have about 80 degus in the original home and we don't have the space to take them in until we can home some of the ones we already have. To give you an idea of how hard these guys are to home, Emma has two pairs of boys who have been with her for three years. There is no real good reason for this. Degus do have some fairly specific requirements but once you've dealt with them they are fabulous pets. 1) They must have an all metal cage. They will chew out of anything wooden or plastic 2) They must have a good sugar free diet with access to good quality hay 24/7. You can buy degu foods from some places or we find a mix of molasses free chinchilla pellets (such as the pets at home own brand) and guinea pig food is also good. You must be careful to keep their sugar intake minimal as they are very prone to diabetes, but once you get to know what they can and can't have this quickly becomes second nature. Degus aren't cuddly pets but they are very intelligent, very cute, very entertaining and interact with you quite a lot (especially when there is food on offer). Once you have their trust they enjoy a tickle under the chin and will lift up their front leg to give you better access and go into a state of bliss - so cute!! They have a wide range of vocalisations ranging from swearing at each other at feeding time to the sweetest little chirrups while they share little kisses. They sound almost bird like sometimes. I really can't recommend them enough as pets. I started fostering them a couple of years ago and was immediately hooked. Now I'll never be without a group. Mine live with my chinchillas which works really well so it's worth any chinchilla owners amongst you considering adding a couple of little cousins to your furry family They are very sociable animals so must be homed in at least pairs. If you have any questions or would like to know more about them please PM me. These boys have had a rotten start in life and really deserve a break. Their friends still need to be rescued and meanwhile we're having to turn dozens of animals away cos these darlings are filling up so many cages In the meantime here are some piccies to demonstrate why you need some degus in your life Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sproggie14 Posted May 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2007 A little update on the degu situation chez sproggie :lol: I separated the original 12 into two groups of 6 to give them more room. They have since been joined by another 5 males and 13 females so it really is degu central round here! All are getting on well and blossoming with a decent amount of space and good diet. One of the groups from the original 12 came out to play and have a sand bath for the first time the other day. They couldn't have sand previously because they had sore eyes and I didn't want the sand to irritate them. Anyway they had loads of fun! Oooh, what's this? Mmmm, feels good! And were very keen to make friends with my own chin and degu group This is what happens when I try to feed them these days They're so friendly ! From left to right Elvis, Rover, Ratty and Lugs Little Schnozz who is one of the friendliest and now he has had a taste of freedom, tries to jump out the cage and go on the rampage! Brad, the handsome hunk of the group And another one of Rover Ooooh they're scrumptious!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barkingmad Posted May 6, 2007 Report Share Posted May 6, 2007 ok i do like the sound of these guys! i have had rats since i was 11 yrs old and hamptser as well. i am a fosterer for oldies club(dogs) and have been home checked so if you can get a couple to me with a cage i will have them. i have 2 kids (9&11) who would love to look after these guys. I will give a donation fee if needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sproggie14 Posted August 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2007 We've done better than expected with homing these guys but I still have 23 of them looking for homes - boys and girls, anything from pairs to groups of 8. If anyone is interested please email me - [email protected] ok i do like the sound of these guys! i have had rats since i was 11 yrs old and hamptser as well. i am a fosterer for oldies club(dogs) and have been home checked so if you can get a couple to me with a cage i will have them. i have 2 kids (9&11) who would love to look after these guys. I will give a donation fee if needed. Sorry, I missed this. If you're still interested I have a suitable cage for sale here for £20. Drop me an email if you're interested Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sproggie14 Posted October 24, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2007 I still have quite a few degus here looking for homes. I have updated their information and taken new pictures and you can see full details of those available here - http://www.sprogpages.co.uk/FosterChins.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sproggie14 Posted November 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2007 Still lots of these guys looking for homes. Now that they have been here a while they have gotten very used to people and become very tame. They really are huge amounts of fun and most are happy to be picked up and stroked now. I have several second hand cages which would be suitable for them which are available for a small donation. It would be lovely to see them in new homes. Now that they are tamer they really enjoy human interaction and the amount that they get in rescue is obviously limited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sproggie14 Posted February 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 Still lots of degus here looking for homes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EGAR Posted February 15, 2008 Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 I've had Degus way back then in Germany and they do make lovely pets, I can highly recommend them . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sproggie14 Posted April 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2008 It has been a year since this rescue now and although homing has gone well there are still a few left - inevitably the old, battered and less desirable ones I have one group of 5 boys (they can be split into a pair and a trio if necessary) and one boy from this rescue who is living with two from a separate source. They need to be homed as a trio. Please PM me if you can offer them a home Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redditchlady Posted April 15, 2008 Report Share Posted April 15, 2008 Can we help?? What housing would we need to get? If you can let me know the requirements etc, we may be able to help with a same sex pair. You may need to educate us though as I have only rescued Rats and Chinchillas. Oh and dogs and cats. If we can help PM me. Kazz xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sproggie14 Posted April 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2008 Thanks Kazz, I'll reply here if that's ok as there may be others with similar questions Housing requirements - an all metal cage is a must as they are chewers. They get on well in chinchilla type housing eg a thickets cage (pics here) or one of the critter cages (pics here They can also be housed with chinchillas very happily For other care, if you already know about chinchillas you're half way there They need constant access to hay and a small quantity of molasses free chinchilla pellets and/or guinea pig food each day. They must not have any sugar as they can't digest it and it can cause diabetes. Like chinchillas they're not overly cuddly animals but they are highly entertaining and full of personality. They can live up to 10 years and like chins are prone to teeth problems, although a good diet should go a long way towards preventing that. If I've missed anything else you'd like to know then please yell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redditchlady Posted April 16, 2008 Report Share Posted April 16, 2008 So a sand bath I guess should be in the cage? Will have a measure in here and see the biggest size cage we can fit in. Was thinking something on a stand about 4 feet off the floor so Mandy (Whippet) can't get too close. Kazz xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sproggie14 Posted April 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2008 They do like a sandbath although its not as essential as it is for chinchillas. Giving them a sandbath during free range time or putting it in the cage for a few minutes once or twice a week is fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyM Posted April 18, 2008 Report Share Posted April 18, 2008 Baz and I saw some degus in the petshop (spits) when we were picking up food a while back - they're gorgeous animals (he was quite taken with them). What size groups do they like to live in (ie. is it pairs/trios, or large groups)? And mind me asking their life expectancy (if it hasn't already been answered, I'll have another read through)? Interested to learn more about them, some were on Freecycle last week (no doubt thanks to the new stockist ie. the petshop) and I dithered to help because I don't know anything about them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sproggie14 Posted April 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2008 They're very sociable animals so happy to live in fair sized groups. I personally think at least trios as they can get very depressed if left on their own and that obviously gives you a chance to add more when one passes on. Life expectancy can be up to about 10 years. They're much underrated really which is a shame as they are great characters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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