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Anonymous
So, a friend up the street from me has a breeding pair of degus. She is planning on keeping most of the litter (and then separating all of the males and females to prevent further breeding), but she has offered to give one of the kiddos to me after weaning.

I don't need any information on care, food, housing, etc. I have my trusty Google for that, along with the advice of the gal that actually has them.

What I am interested in is anecdotal information. Has anyone here actually had one of these little guys? Was it a good or bad experience?

Thanks, and pic totally related. These fuckers are adorable.
>> bouncy weasel
degus? never heard of them. they're pretty cool, imma look em up.
>> bouncy weasel
sounds like a chinchilla.
>> Anonymous
>>121324

They're closely related to chins, even though they look more like a giant gerbil
>> Anonymous
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MOAR degu
>> Anonymous
if you keep more than one, they might bight each others tails off. they can be super agressive and are insanely fast and squirmy.
>> Anonymous
They jumb. I never owned one, but I watched one at a pet store leap a good two feet or higher straight up out of its cage.
>> Anonymous
Be sure to let them get used to you immediately when you get them or else they will be scared of you forever. I made the mistake of not petting them everyday and they feared me as if I was their personal Satan.

As far as I know, though, it's recommended you keep more than one because they get lonely pretty easily.

Another thing is that they will try to escape at all times, and they're especially good at it. They will squirm themselves through the smallest of openings, even when you think they're too big and the opening's too small, so be aware of that.
>> Anonymous
nice squirrels
>> Anonymous !4X8vLLNDE2
nom nom nom
>> Anonymous
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This is my degu Pyro. He's male and really needs a female companion. He keeps screaming like he's in pain but it's just because he'd like to "release something" and hasn't got the girl for it. I do not wanna breed degus so he's gonna have to deal with it by himself...

But he's very tame and let's me stroke him all over. He walks on my arms with his cold feet and up to my shoulders and enjoys sitting there watching the world go by. He does get scared easily so I have to be careful not to make any sudden movements but apart from that he's the cutest little thing ever !! :)
>> bouncy weasel
to the owner of the horny degu: just get his balls clipped. he won't be horny anymore and will be sterile but this can lead to personality change so i guess you could go either way. f you're willing to fork over a lot of cash you could get him a vasectomy and buy a female degu.
>> Anonymous
To bouncy weasel: Degus have their balls inside their butts just like rats. I've heard that an operation can be quite risky... I thought about getting him a male companion so that they can at least cuddle up together and talk about politics and stuff like that... :)
>> bouncy weasel
we have no other choice: DEGU CONDOMS!
(necessity is the mother of invention after all)

...or you could falco punch the female degus womb after pyro gets her teen pregnant
>> Anonymous
Get him a realdoll.
>> Anonymous
>>121724

I don't know anything about Degus, but I can tell you that rats do NOT have their balls up in their butts. Rats have giant scrotums! Their balls are quite readily exposed.
>> Anonymous
>>121744

True. The neutering of a rat is performed exactly the same way as you would neuter a cat (NOT like a dog). An incision is made directly on the scrotum and the fat and testes are pulled out and cut off. The incision is sealed with superglue or similar compound and typically heals up just fine. There is no risk to the rat from the surgery itself, but anesthesia on such a small animal can be dangerous. However, I've had 16 male and 2 female rats neutered (not all at one time, mind you) as well as God only knows how many tumor removals performed, and I have never had a rat have any issues during surgery.

Also, as a sidenote for those of you who have seen the monstrous balls male rats lug around: The testicles themselves are not very big. There is a lot of fat inside the scrotum that makes them look HUGE, though. I assume its for padding, since they drag their balls along the ground.
>> Anonymous
They are so cute ~ degu
The animal shelter here always has tons of them ~ degu
I hope you enjoy your pet ~ degu