Features of keeping degus at home

Getting exotic animals can be difficult. But you can avoid many problems if you study all the features in advance. And the very first question that needs to be answered is whether it is necessary to start the same Chilean squirrel or not.

The Chilean degu squirrel is a very sweet and gentle creature. Their relative rarity in household use only makes the animals more attractive. Buying a degus can help you stand out from your family and friends. Probably, some people will even decide to imitate the breeders.

Therefore, you won't have to make a lot of space for the degus. The amount of food required for this animal is small - a maximum of 0.05 kg per day. And you don't even need to buy branded formulations. An excellent feed mixture is easy to prepare with your own hands with a minimum of cost. Treats can also be made without assistance.

The degu should be fed exactly twice a day. At the same time - as with leaving in general - too much effort is not expended. A healthy animal does not emit unpleasant or even just extraneous odors. Therefore, normally it will not cause inconvenience. And if some strange odors appear, you can quickly react and cure your pet with the help of a veterinarian.

The cage should be cleaned once every 7 days, which allows you to save energy and clearly plan care. Degu has good immunity, but it must be borne in mind that this does not apply to colored individuals. Watching the life of a Chilean squirrel is a pleasure. It's pretty easy to train her. But it is important to consider the probable problems:

• the unwillingness of most veterinarians to treat degus;
• a clean animal throws dirt out of the cage;
• Chilean squirrel is constantly active and noisy;
• she will have to pay a lot of attention;
• The degu is quite shy, any extraneous sound can harm him.

The Chilean squirrel must communicate with individuals of its own species. When kept alone, she begins to get bored and make noise, as if calling on someone. The owners will have to spend a lot more time on activities with the animal in this case. It is a good idea to keep a pair of degus (assuming they are identical in age and gender).

But this is not an easy matter, you have to take into account age restrictions. At 4 months and older, the animals are already reluctant to perceive other individuals around them, they can show irritation and even aggression. Important: immediate relatives are not used for mating. Even if it goes well outwardly, the next generation may have weak immunity and even degenerate. In case of the slightest doubt, you should consult with specialists.

A conversation about the peculiarities of the life of the Chilean rodent cannot bypass the arrangement of his dwellings. Usually one or a group of degus is placed in a steel cage with a medium-sized mesh around the perimeter. You cannot use cells smaller than:

• 0.6 m in length;
• 0.45 m wide;
• 0.4 m in height.

It's all about the impressive mobility of the animal. The Chilean squirrel feels good only in the open, when it can move freely.

Sometimes glass terrariums of the required volume are used, in which the grill is installed. The litter is made by:

• from wood shavings;
• compressed corn cobs;
• clean white paper.

In one of the corners, they will equip a house where the animals will be able to arrange the nest themselves. A tank with sand is placed on the opposite edge. There Chilean squirrels will make dry baths. The rest of the space is used to accommodate large branches, pebbles or ceramic pots. On the walls - always at different heights - they put shelves.

Given the mobility of the Chilean rodent, squirrel wheels should be used. In order for the animals to receive everything they need, the cages are equipped with drinkers and a set of bowls. Important: each bowl is reserved for a special food, so they should not be confused or replaced with one dish. The cage provides a place where the roots of trees and large branches will be folded. With their help, animals will be able to sharpen their teeth.

Crossbars and barriers must be equipped. Without them, the degu will not be interested, he will not be able to show his activity. As a result, you can even face serious health problems. Cages are placed only where there are no penetrating drafts, and where direct sunlight does not fall. The animal needs stable conditions for life, without jerks of temperature.

It is unacceptable to put plastic houses in cages. The squirrels will soon gnaw them out. And it would be fine only an aesthetic defect - it's also about the toxicity of plastic for the body of proteins. Wood dwellings are more durable. Especially if you carefully cover all the parts that go beyond the dimensions with a cloth or aluminum tape. The fabric is fixed with staples for a stapler.

Some breeders deliberately make wooden houses without cover (so the rodents can exercise their teeth). In this case, the dwellings will have to be constantly changed. Grass buildings are notoriously short-lived. Much longer service life is typical for houses made of ceramic or organic glass. The size of the houses is selected in accordance with the size of the pets - so that they can enter, leave, and be accommodated without any problems.

The fact is that animals perceive it as a safe haven for themselves and for accumulated reserves. The original version is the Sennitsa house:

• a frame is erected from wide bars;
• walls are built from identical sticks (the best species are willow, birch or cherry);
• make a plywood roof;
• separate parts are fastened with self-tapping screws.

Sometimes they make labyrinth houses from lining. In such dwellings, 2 departments and 2 tiers are provided. Round passages are made in the panels, like holes. Usually labyrinths are constructed from a thick plank connected with screws. The necessary holes are made using drills with round nozzles.

It is not recommended to use paints, varnishes and enamels. The wood should remain untreated, but at the same time it is carefully sanded and shaved. The lock in the cage must be of the carabiner type. The usual heck of protein quickly learns to open.

Eating a rodent in a city apartment or private house is not too difficult. But you need to pay attention to the key rules so that there are no mistakes. Since the species is completely herbivorous in nature, you cannot use anything other than herbal products. And even among them, sugar-rich fruits, vegetables or grassy stems are unacceptable. Diabetes is one of the biggest problems for degus.

You can minimize the likelihood of problems if you use ready-made feed from leading companies. It definitely contains a complete set of nutrients and trace elements. High quality hay should also be used.

Suitable as delicacies clover, lettuce and alfalfa... Chilean Protein Cereal Blends may include oats, barley, wheat and millet. Caution should be given to the bark of apple trees, lime trees, pears, as well as their branches. Apples and pears should only be of unsweetened varieties in the degu's diet. They are pre-dried.

You can also use small amounts of thinly chopped carrots. The main thing is that it does not enter the diet too often. Small amounts can be used to tame rodents and to feed:

• rosehip and hawthorn berries;
• corn kernels;
• sunflower seeds;
• pumpkin seeds.

Standard feed mixes can be diluted with dried vegetable cuts, bread or homemade croutons. Bean feeding is also allowed. It is worth considering that not domestic, but foreign dry food is better suited for degus.

You have to be careful with fresh bread. Excessive amounts of it can lead to an excess of carbohydrates. Zucchini, cauliflower and lettuce are provided without any special restrictions. Cucumbers are given in small quantities, especially since the animals themselves are not too willing to eat them. The same is the case with unsalted boiled potatoes.

Citrus fruits are given in modest portions (1 slice for 7-8 days). Apricots, mangoes, bananas and peaches are not allowed at all. Kiwi is given only after testing for allergies. It is better to completely refuse persimmons and figs. Important: hay should be taken only from trusted sources.

It should be cut in a safe place. The presence of buttercups, henbane, hemlock, toxic to the animal, is unacceptable. But dandelions, clover, timothy and metlik are very good. Large sedge should not be added - it can damage the oral cavity of the squirrel. Branches in the summer months are given along with leaves.

Taking care of a degus at home isn't too difficult. The feeders are cleaned and washed every day. Likewise, every day the litter is cleaned and uneaten food is disposed of. Dry cleaning of the cage is carried out weekly. You need to disinfect it every 30 days.

Chilean squirrel bathing is not required. The animal itself, while taking sand baths, will clean the coat. Degu is friendly and appreciates the attention from people. The animal will not mind trying to seat itself in its arms. When he is stroked, something like a purr is heard.

The domestication and subsequent training is very simple. They begin with the development of a sense of absolute safety and calmness around a person in a squirrel. When the owners are near the animal, they should not make sweeping movements or raise their voices. As soon as the habit of such behavior has been developed, they begin to approach with a treat in their hands. An excellent intellectual level (by the standards of the animal world) will make taming the degus as fast as possible.

The Chilean squirrel understands almost immediately what is required of it.

Raising your voice, especially physical violence, is unacceptable. It is helpful to learn how to mimic the signature signals that degus themselves exchange. This will help prevent biting on wires or climbing dangerous high places.

Important: you cannot tame the Chilean squirrel by placing the cage too low. In nature, lowlands have become a source of danger to the species. Therefore, fear of them is sewn into the genetic program. You can pick up an animal only when it gets used to the house, the environment. When the adaptation is complete, the squirrel will rush to the door, barely seeing its owner.

The fluffy animal perceives the capture from above as the attack of a predator. Therefore, it can only be taken from below. Taming begins by allowing you to inspect and walk around the entire apartment. Of course, this is done only under close supervision. We must try to immediately accustom the animal to return to the cage.

When he is fed something tasty, he must make a certain sound. Having developed a conditioned reflex, it will be possible to call the rodent to you with this sound. But it must be borne in mind that without reinforcement with food, the reflex will weaken and soon disappear. The same is true for developing techniques. When an animal learns a skill (response to a name, sitting on the shoulder, or something else), it is first reinforced for 5–10 days after a complete habit, and only then they begin to teach something else.

The Chilean squirrel can easily walk on the ground, and in trees or bushes. It is strictly forbidden to hold the animal by the tail or lift the degu by it. Then the instinct tells you to get rid of the skin in order to flee, and then, being safe, bite the remnants of the tail. This circumstance must be remembered both during training and on walks. It is better to try to teach the animal to respond to commands and prohibitions than to catch it with your hands by the same tail.

If you go for a walk with an animal that is not yet accustomed to obeying and has not begun to trust a person, it can run away or hide nearby. When the size of the cell is sufficient for the active life of the squirrel, it should be walked 2 or 3 times a week. If it is impossible to ensure daily movement in the dwelling, it is necessary to walk with the degus every day. Violation of this rule threatens with serious illness and even premature death of the pet.

One should take into account the great mobility and curiosity of Chilean squirrels. They very often gnaw on electrical wires, mobile equipment and other electronic equipment. Animals can harm books, newspapers with magazines, money, documents, pictures ... All this must be carefully protected. Uncontrolled movement of the degus around the house is unacceptable!

Chilean squirrels have a strong sense of smell. Of course, they are far from the search dogs, but the owners' smells on clothes, linen or other textiles will be detected for sure. Holes may appear. Another caveat: moving around the house, degus can be almost anywhere. It is necessary to constantly monitor so as not to step on it, not pinch it with a door or cause damage in some other way.

During training, the pet is taught the commands:

• "Whirl";
• "to me";
• "bounce";
• "Forbidden / not allowed".

It is useful to use a walking ball where the animal will move without risking getting lost. They start with walks in the ball for 10 minutes. Increase gradually up to 40 minutes. They go out into the street only with a leash and a harness. You can walk a pet there only in safe places - where there is no poisonous, spicy, hot; ideally grass or sand.

Watch the video about degu training below.

Degu often goes bald and catches cold. Due to uncontrolled passage to dangerous places, the animal can injure or even break its limbs. Improper nutrition leads to digestive disorders and poisoning. A healthy animal is always active and curious. The patient sits still, ruffles his coat, his eyes do not shine, and so on.

The ratings for the Chilean degu are certainly positive. Those who turn them on note the absence of unpleasant odors, unpretentiousness and intelligence. But breeders are advised to remember that this is still a rodent (with all the subtleties that come with it). You can watch a squirrel for hours, especially if there are two or more animals. They will delight children and adults.

But we must remember:

• about fairly frequent illnesses;
• high probability of stress;
• difficulty in healing;
• strong bites with careless handling.