Degus

[Stagette]

Is there any fellow degu owners on here or am i the only one lol?

 

[The-Wolf]

Is there any fellow degu owners on here or am i the only one lol?

What is it?

 

[Stagette]

A small brown tweed coloured rodent from south america thats related to the guinea pig and chinchilla. Added a pic of my ickle Basil for you to see

 

[xXMrBonesXx]

it looks like a gerbil .. any rodent is fun to watch, they zip around like crazy

 

[Stagette]

lol.....not gerbil like at all much more interesting as they have a curly bushy tail but people do describe them as over grown gerbils but they are far from it lol! They are very entertaining though as they chatter away to you and like to be tickled and love lots of attention, i've had loads of pets and i thought nothing could ever beat rats as i had them for years and adore them but degus are far superior to them by far!

 

[The-Wolf]

It looks like a Jird to me

 

[Stagette]

Ssshhhhhh don't say that as he might hear you and you'll hurt his feelings, hes much to cute to be a gerbil lol!

 

[The-Wolf]

AhA! found it!
English name: Degu
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Suborder: Caviomorpha
Family: Octodontidae
Genus: Octodon
Species: Octodon degus
Looks very much like a jird but as you can see the family and genus etc is different.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Cricetidae
Genus: Meriones
Species: Jird

Very cool looking.
Oh and no I don't have one, but want one now

 

[fraservet]

Degu's always strike me as looking like a cross between a rat and a squirrel.

They aren't very common in the UK at the moment, but are becoming more available.

They seem to make quite good pets compared to some small furries(gerbils/hamsters/chipmunks/mice etc.)

Of course, since they are relatively rare, they do tend to be quite expensive at the moment.

 

[Stagette]

Expensive i think nah? I've had 5 and non have been over £8 each and i live in England. The only expense i have had is a cage as they love lots of space so i brought a 5 tier cage for them lol. I agree some places charge through the roof for them but not everywhere and they do make a lot better pets than the average hamster as they are active all through the day and sleep mainly at night!