Degus may look a lot like an overgrown gerbil, but they are not. They use exercise wheels, need things to chew on, and closely resemble it's smaller rodent cousin, but they are much more closely related to chinchillas and guinea pigs.
Degus take dust baths, are diurnal, and are natural burrowers making them very different from many other rodents.
They have a unique susceptibility to developing diabetes mellitus from the lack of free sugars available in their natural environment, have furry babies with their eyes open at birth (precocial), and are also extremely social animals, making an assortment of vocal calls to their community.
Perhaps a degu is the right pet for you!
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Comments
I never heard of this animal. Are they sold at pet shops?
Why yes. I occasionally see them available at pet stores.
Yes I have 4 Degus. They are fasinating animals and become very social with their owners. You are right that they can not digest sugar due to where they come from, Andes area western Chili. Not too many sugery plants grow there. They make very good pets if you are willing to make sure that they have no way to urinate outside of the cage. They spray their urine and if yo do not have something around the bottom of the cage or where they poop, then it will get on the floor and whatever is close to their cage. Other than that they make good pets as long as the other big pets in the house can not get to them (cats, dogs)
Those are cute, but look very delicate.
I had 2 degus and miss them dearly. They loved their dust baths and wheels the most. Each male had his own wheel or they would argue over whose turn it was. They made wonderful pets. My guys loved peanuts but hated alfalfa pellets. Any veggie peelings they loved. Not cabbage. I had to give mine up due asthma problems.
Jill – the picture is of a tiny baby degu so it looks much more delicate than they actually are. They are larger than gerbils, almost guinea pig size.
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Ah I see, thanks so much. I had guinea pigs as a kid (loved them
) and I should have realized it was just a baby. 
Yes, these degus are cute and look like they’d be fun pets.
But I don’t believe that any social animal that lives in colonies and can converse with others of their kind vocally should be taken away fronm their group.
That’s just cruel.
Alice Walker wrote (these aren’t her exact words) that animals weren’t put here to please or serve humans, just as blacks aren’t for serving whites, or women for serving men.
Let them live among their own kind; there are plenty of animals who don’t live among groups.
All the more reason why they should be kept with at least one friend. All we can do is educate them and I’m glad to see that you guys are doing just that by reading things like this site, and have degus who live with friends. Thanks for the input Mike. That’s a great point.
Degus are wonderful! I have two and they are just so entertaining to watch and lovely to interact with. They are extremely social, so much so that my guys like to have their cage open when we are home so they can see what the humans are up to! They do not leave the cage, so no worries about escaping. As for their size, I must make a correction-they are not as large as guinea pigs, but they are larger than gerbils-about 6 to 8 inches including their tails. We love our little guys!!
Thanks Lisa. I suppose a large guinea pig is not comparable to a degu, but I have seen some small G.pigs, and many large degus. But you are right, they aren’t quite as large as your average G. pig
Can a male degu & a male chinchilla be
put together in the same cage???
Their cage is quit large & long.
I have degu’s and one of my females just had a litter of 7 on Saturday 04/24/10.
Congrats on the new babies!