Pet Habitat South Africa

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15 Jan 2017

Understanding Your Degu

Posted By : Guest

Filed Under : Degus

Want to know why your degus chatters or thumps, and why they prefer dust baths to water baths? Here’s our quick guide to understanding degus behaviour…

Burrowing
In the wild, degus live partly above ground and partly underground, creating tunnels to cool down in during the summer and to stash food away in the winter – even organising themselves into digging chains to make the job easier! Encourage this behaviour at home by adding a thick layer of soft materials or soil to the bottom of their cage so there’s plenty of burrowing opportunities. Degus can often be found hiding food, and covering and uncovering it – but it’s not unusual for them to forget where they’ve hidden it too, so keep an eye on their favourite spots if they are allowed loose in your home!

Thumping
Tail wagging is sometimes used by females to show they are ready to breed and by some males to show off! Tail drumming can also be used as an alarm call to their friends, often accompanied by a ‘wheep’ sound. If frightened, degus may also stand as still as statues, in order to blend into the background, and if any of these behaviours happens regularly, you might want to discover what’s frightening them. Sometimes it can be as simple as an unfamiliar object close by such as a cat.

Diurnal activity
Just like us, degus prefer to be awake and active during the day and asleep at night – but less active during hot days. And they will often expect and eat their meals at set times, once a routine is established. No wonder they make the perfect companions to us humans! They are also highly social animals so should be kept with a companion

Dust bathing
Forget the soap suds, degus prefer a dust bath once a week to help dislodge dirt and debris from their fur.

Marking
Like many animals, Degus like to mark their territory by urinating in certain areas or on certain objects, particularly if they live together with other degus.

Nibbling
In the wild, degus will show each other affection by grooming each other, so if your degus starts to nibble at your fingers it isn’t that he’s trying to bite you but more likely that’s he’s showing he’s comfortable with you!

Chattering
Grinding their teeth, chattering or barking could be a sign that your degus is annoyed or being territorial, while warbling, chirping or a ‘chitter’ sound means they are happy. Their vocalization is within our hearing range, however, which means we can hear them and they can hear us.

Teaching tricks
Research suggest that degus could be more intelligent than rats and can be taught to jump through hoops or retrieve things if given food as a reward. They have also been taught to come to their owner when called by name and with a good associative memory, evidence suggests they can remember who you are and whether they have had good or bad experiences with you.