The Degu Diaries

Today, for some reason, the girls have been rather noisy and domineering. The smallest, who is affectionately called Mini Sh*t because of the way she teases the others, has spent all day trying to mount the other 2 in an attempt to be alpha degu. Large, yes I know I still don't have proper names yet, has spent most of the day shouting about nothing and Medium couldn't really care less.

This degu likes playtime and this degu likes playtime, but who likes it more? There's only one way to find out… FIGHT!

I can't believe I've had my degus for a month tomorrow. I've been a little busy with work this past week but I thought I'd take time out to share a little video my brother took of the girls chillaxing on Saturday afternoon. About 30 seconds in I open the door for a better view. Enjoy!

My degu girls have been part of the family for 3 weeks now and they still don't have names yet. To be honest, I'm still finding it a little difficult to tell them apart so I'm still using nicknames. Although I must admit that Jenny Mac and Dandelion are growing on me for 2 of them. As you can see from the photo my 'goos' are settling in quite nicely and have finally discovered that they can gnaw on practically everything… Just check out those edges! I was starting to think that I had the only degus in the world who didn't chew. You'll also notice that one of them likes to doze in the most impractical places around the cage. Make that two of them, as this photo was taken just after the other one had gotten up for a stretch. There are plenty of places for a quick snooze. How about the chiller shelf? It's big enough for all three of them and it's up top out of the way. No. How about the balcony of the 2 storey chalet? No. The wooden bridge/tunnel...

I've had my degus for 2 weeks and 4 days and I'm quite surprised at how tame they have become in such a short amount of time. They are all starting to come out of their shells and their personalities are really starting to show! Only last week I was able to do spot cleans (removing and replacing handfuls of soiled substrate & bedding) without too much trouble as they'd hide in a corner. Now, they climb on my hands and my head and try to escape. Just this morning I had to put them in the storage box I use for transporting them to their play area because 1 climbed out when I wasn't looking! Looks like someone will be on 'goo' duty when I do the major clean out on Sunday. As well as being incredibly naughty little degus this morning, it looks like they were also up to no good last night. My girls have got lots of things to play with and keep them amused. Cardboard tubes, a wheel, digging pit, makeshift burrow, egg box, bridges, tunnels, and a toilet rol...