Degus!

    Okay, you're probably thinking, "what the heck is a degu?!?".  They're not exactly well-known.  In looks, I've always thought they looked like a cross between a Guinea pig and a gerbil; although actually they're most closely related to Chinchillas.  In size they're mid-way between one of the smaller rodents like a gerbil, and one of the bigger rodents like a small rat.  They look like huge gerbils, with a "blocky" face like a Guinea pig, and ears that are closer to a Guinea pig's although they're more than a bit different... their ears are adorable!  Their tails are similar to a gerbil's but with a more noticible tuft at the end, and their fur is also similar to an agouti gerbil's but a bit darker.
    I'm not exactly an expert on these little guys, but I have had some experiance with them, and did read up on them as much as possible!
    Personality & Habits - Again, like big gerbils!  Now, one of the most problematic personality traits... if you've ever kept gerbils, you know one inescapable fact - they like to chew.  They like to chew *everything*.  Now, imagine that gerbil, only three times the size, with *much* stronger teeth... scary, huh?  Needless to say, degus need strong, 100% UNCHEWABLE cages!  I made that mistake early on and ended up with a couple of escaped degus.  I caught them... eventually.  Otherwise, their personality is still similar to gerbils; very curious, very exploratory, very active.  I've heard that if they're handled a lot while young, they become friendly like rats; like to cuddle, like to play-wrestle with your hand etc.  Personally mine were all rather wild, as I got them when they were older and they hadn't been handled much at all while young.
    Availability - Around here, a few years ago they were completely unavailable.  The first time I saw them, I didn't even know what they were (despite having read up on them a bit already, just out of curiousity).  At first I thought they were jirds!  But then I found I they were degus, and had to have them, as I'd already decided (after reading up on them, just out of curiousity...) that I loved the little dudes!  Now, it seems nearly all of the local pet shops have had them at one time or other.  Of course, I don't know what their availability is like in other parts of the country.
    Price - My original pair was marked at $20 each, although the pet shop gave them to me for $30 for both as they were having a hard time selling them and I seemed to know what I was doing ("you've heard of them?!?").  However, just recently I saw an ad here on the internet for a pair... at $350 for the both of them!  I couldn't believe it!  Prices at my local shops seem to run anyway from $15-$40, averaging around $20-$25 each.
    Cage - Besides the need to be unchewable, it also needs to be big; these are very active, large critters we're talking about.  I would say at least 14" x 24", preferably, if possible, 24" x 24".  They're not huge climbers (again like gerbils), so the cage needn't be very tall.  However, if it has levals and ladders etc., it can be tall rather than long if that'd help you save space.
    Feeding - I got a number of different opinions on diet, after asking a number of degu-keepers.  Some people recommended chinchilla food, others Guinea pig food, still other lab block (like for rats & mice); I did a mix of all three, having an about 50/50 mix of chinchilla and guinea pig food around, and adding lab block (which I had for my rats) often.  I also gave them timothy hay (another recommened addition to the diet), which they not only chewed on but used as nesting material.  One thing about diet that everybody agreed upon; NO sugar, and as little fat as possible!  That means be very careful with the treats!  Some people used raisins as occasional treats, others recommended against even that.
    Other considerations - Don't grab them by the tail!  Again, if you know gerbils, you know that if you grab them by the tip of the tail it's liable to come off in your hand (eeewww...., to put it bluntly).  Degus are even worse about this; just don't grab them by the tail, at all!  One of the degus I bought already had a healed-over tail tip; she was missing the entire end of her tail, tail-tuft and all.  Somebody made a mistake!
    Baby degus - Baby degus are one of the most adorable things in creation!  Like ginea pigs, they're born well-along in growth; fully furred, eyes open only a few days later etc.  VERY VERY cute!!!!  My pair had four of the little guys.  Sadly, after they were a bit older, somebody left the door to their cage open and one of the free-roaming rats got in and killed them all... it broke my heart!  I guess when you keep a number of pets long enough, you have your share of tragedies, and that was one of my worse ones :- (  I kind of gave up keeping them after that, although I'd like to do so again someday... they really were neat little critters!

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