Gromit suffered from very tatty ears until we introduced Marmalade. From my own experience I think that Gromit couldn’t clean his ears on his own, hence the horrid state they got to. I even attempted to gently clean them myself, but because the skin is so very thin, I was scared of hurting him! When Marmalade arrived, they spent many hours grooming, and we soon noticed a big improvement!! It would seem that a companion is the answer to everything! See companion questions!

I know she isn’t feeling well but the vet doesn’t know what could be wrong with her.

my other degus are doing great and I haven’t had a problem with them.

This poor Degu has me really confused. I have contacted my own vet, but no luck so far. I have posted this question as although she sadly died soon after, we really would like to find out what the cause was, and hopefully prevent any further cases. If anyone has any ideas, please please contact me.

We've read details and seen pictures but we don't want any more little accidents.

This is probably the best way to sex any Degu. It's difficult to see if a Degu is male or female. There's only one way to see what sex a Degu has. You have to look at the distance between the Degu’s anus and its sexual organ. Female Degus have a small distance between these two, and males have a relatively big distance. The sexual organ is a little protuberance with both males and females, although it's a bit bigger with fertile males.

Most certainly!! No Degu should be left alone, they can be found in families of up to 100 in the wild! All of my Degus were introduced as individuals, so there is little problem in doing so. You should follow these steps:

1. make sure you keep to one sex to keep fighting to a minimum and limit any possibly unwanted babies.

2. create a separate section to the cage, with a strong mesh divide, this means that the original Degu can smell and sniff the new one, but not be able to bite them, and vice versa.

3. ensure the separate section gives the new Degu and original Degu access to food, water, bedding and some space.

4. allow about a week for the Degu to become familiar. If possible, in this time let them meet in neutral territory, such as when you get them out, get them out together so they can meet quietly.

5. the big step. Put them together. Prior to this put them into carry cages, and thoroughly clean the cage. This means it wont smell of one Degu and not the other. Allow them to meet.

6. ensure you add a dust bath. This means they can both roll in it and smell similar.

7. wait and give them time. They will fight initially to determine who is dominant. Persistant and severe fighting may mean they just don’t get on, in which case you will need to house them separately.

Regarding keeping a Degu with a rat, I can say from the Degu's point of view, that if you follow the introduction guide on this page, a Degu will have no problem living with another species.  They have been successfully kept with Chinchillas, rabbits and guinea-pigs as far as I am aware. I have not heard of the success of keeping them with rats, but as you would know more about rats, you could judge the success from that side of things.

The only problems there could be would be due to space. And as someone recently suggested to me, the times during which each species sleeps. If at different times this could cause some problems. Also I would be concerned due to the differences in food requirements, as you will know from the website, a Degu cant eat sugar! But keep all that in mind and I'm sure it would be fine!

I bought my first Degu with another, but they fought terribly for the next three days. not knowing anything about Degus, we returned him to the pet shop, and kept one.  This Degu became somewhat of a guinea-pig.  As I said, I had never kept Degus, and the information I could find was limited. Needless to say, very sadly Gizmo died just a year later.  I had however fallen in love with these wonderful little creatures, and set out to acquire another.  Again, I came home with just one, but this time I did far more research. Yes, it is true that Degus need company. But don't fear. Gromit was a year old when we introduced Marmalade.  This was done by dividing the cage with a wire fence. (more detailed explanation on my website). A week later they were put together, and were very happy. 9 months more down the line, and we bought a 3rd Degu. So yes, I would say that they should be kept with company, but it is very easy to introduce new companions at a later stage.

I was most upset when I received this email. Unfortunately, it is always a risk when small animals need an anaesthetic, and in this case it was a double tragedy.

However, on a positive note, putting pregnant females together is no problem, indeed they should help each other in raising the young as one large group, taking it in turns to guard and feed the whole litter. The same process with introducing any Degu must be followed, especially so when a female will be naturally wary in order to keep her young safe.

While I would like to be able to help, in today’s rather depressing world, I don’t feel I can give away my address. I have had several requests like this; PLEASE don’t ask me as I don’t like having to say no. I am happy to discuss in detail via email, or on the forum, (sunshinemeg) but nothing more than this I’m afraid.

In a word, YES! It WILL take time for your Degus to get used to you. Let them get used to your smell, and allow them to groom your hands, although beware about them getting over enthusiastic! In time they should allow you to get closer to them. Don't try and pick them up from above, as this will scare them, but scoop them up, completely putting your hands around them from the sides!!