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Post by Henriette on Mar 15, 2008 21:45:23 GMT
Hi. This is my first message on this forum, and I apologize for any mis-spelling (I´m from Denmark), so bare with me.  Hopefully the essence of my question will be understood! I was wondering: can chinchillas and degus chare a cage?? I have both chinchillas en degus (2 in each cage) and my question is (fortunately) not currently a problem, but in time I will almost certainly have either a degu or a chinchilla who will have lost their mate and be alone - and then I was wondering if I can make them "roommates"?? Does anyone have any experience in that?? Henriette. |
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Post by kerry on Mar 15, 2008 23:39:53 GMT
hi and welcome, its not a good idea to put chins and degus together as they have as ypo will know, completely different sleeping patterns and different diets. sorry x
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Post by Henriette on Mar 19, 2008 15:09:13 GMT
"YPO"?? Sorry - I´m not familiar with the abbreviations in english...  The diet shouldn´t be a problem - I feed them just about the same - the only difference is the fruit, but my chinchillas don´t get that much fruit anyways so that wouldn´t be a problem. But the argument about the sleeping patterns - I hadn´t thought about that....  That could be a problem... But in theory: could they get along? Maybe I could have them visit each other or take their runs together. I have some serious thinking to do - because if/when one of the degus die, the other one will probably get very sad and then I have to decide whether to put it to sleep or to get a new friend for her... |
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Joe Sinclair
Burrowing Degu
Three degus: Nibbles, Spotty and 'the other one'
Posts: 210
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Post by Joe Sinclair on Mar 19, 2008 16:46:56 GMT
'ypo' was a typing error, should have been 'you' I'm guessing...
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Post by Henriette on Mar 19, 2008 18:38:28 GMT
;D naturally...
That made more sense... Sorry...
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Post by kerry on Mar 19, 2008 23:44:07 GMT
thankies joe, my poor typing. i really don't think that they will get along. i know with mine they get really grumpy if their sleeping is disturbed.
it would possibly be eaiset to get a new friend for your degu.
i had two chins that lived together for months, when one day i got up and they had been fighting. there were nasty teeth marks everywhere, one was so bruised his skin was black. if that happened to a degu he would never survive. he also had a bald backside as he had had his fur ripped out.
seeing how they can end up after fighting, i wouldn't want to risk it.
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Post by kimberley on Mar 20, 2008 19:30:35 GMT
Please dont get one of them put to sleep due to losing a mate! U cud either try to introduce another one, rehome yours to someone who keeps degus/chinchillas or alternatively just spend lots more time with the single animal. its far from ideal to only keep one degu however, if a mate dies and you cannot replace them you must spend lots of quality time with the animal yourself.
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Post by buzz on Mar 20, 2008 22:47:03 GMT
I agree with kimberley, it is not necerssary to have them put to sleep if their mate dies. Please look for alternatives.
What I've heard is that chinchillas may tolerate degus depending on the temperament of the chinchilla and how big the cage is. However, it is very risky. It could potentially be very intimidating for the degu/s and the chinchilla/s could display bullying behaviour even if they don't attack. If this were the case then the degu/s would most likely end up becomming sick from stress.
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Post by Henriette on Mar 21, 2008 22:46:35 GMT
Thank you all for your replies. Don´t get me wrong - I wouldn´t have the single degu put to sleep right away - not before I´ve seen if she could get by on her own. But it is a fact that they have a tendency to get depressed if they have been used to living with a friend and then suddenly they are alone and I won´t have her die from grief. And I simply haven´t got the time to spend with a single degu - that´s why I allways have two in every cage. And with regards to giving her to someone else with degus - I have only bad experiences with handing over animals to other people so I will not do that anymore - and furthermore - one of the degus have had her teeth done a couple of month ago (so the risk of it having to be done again is very high) and the other one has cataract. So I don´t feel good about giving more or less sick, old animals away since they need special care. So I must see what time will bring... I have some friends who have a pair of degus and they just got 3 babies - the sexes are not known yet - maybee I´ll give in and get a girl (or 2) more... |
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laineybell
Foraging Degu
Proud mummy of Mr. Nibbles & Chewy Luwie.
Posts: 120
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Post by laineybell on Aug 20, 2008 22:15:40 GMT
when i had my first two degus, one died and left the other on its own. to start with the one which was still alive did become a bit depressed, i could tell this because he was so out of character. but after i had sp some time with him, he became much better and didnt seem to mind being on his own so much.
from experience tho, i would say its better for the degu to get another mate, as even tho i was there for mine, i am not a degu!! if this ever happened again i would definatly buy a mate.
your talking about introducing a chinchilla to a degu, y not introduce your degus to each other, then find a way of fixg both the cages together so they have one big cage?? that way, there will be 4 degus, leaving 3 if one died, reducing the chance of 1 degu being left on its own??
That i what i would do anyways!!
Good luck!!
much love.......xx
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Post by jackdaniels on Aug 21, 2008 10:18:17 GMT
From experience do not keep chinchillas and degus together. Its really unfair for the chinchillas
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Post by iggypop13 on Sept 12, 2009 21:55:28 GMT
Ive studied in the wild degus, my opponion would be do not mix as there tertories in the wild sleep patterns and behaviour alone would be very hard to achieve together, the chinchilla and degu would get way to stressed and to be onest the degu would possibly end up with medical problems such as diobeties (excuse spelling ) as has been said and you allready possibly know fruit is a big no no for degus and carrot be very very careful with (they are higher is sugger than you think)
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Post by susiechinchilla on Sept 12, 2009 22:34:43 GMT
Chins and degus have different needs and in my opinion the species should not be mixed Please do not put a healthy animal to sleep I am sure given time you will be able to find and introduce a friend  |
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Post by kaarina on May 4, 2010 10:42:17 GMT
Hi,
I have 2 degu and 2 chinchillas also.
I have a very large cage, which they all live in.
They have been living together for almost 3 months now.
They do have a little tiff now and again, but there has been no physical fighting.
Firstly I must say that I did have the degu first, and prior to putting them with the chinchillas I knew that they were accepting and friendly to other animals.
Secondly my two degu and two chinchillas are female, therefore there might be a difference in placing males with chinchillas.
Thirdly the chinchillas keep to their sleep pattern as they have their own place in the cage to sleep, which the degu sometime join them for a nap.
Lastly My chinchillas were a year old when they were placed in the cage.
I know some people have doubts but I believe it is all down to the individual animals personality and behaviour.
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Post by housejohnson on Jul 14, 2010 23:38:42 GMT
A family member of mine tried this, degu and chinchilla together and the chin killed the degu...
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Post by nickymills30 on Sept 14, 2010 7:23:07 GMT
I have to agree, goo's and chins shouldn't be put together.
I have a single chin, who was used for breeding, so wasn't used to being on his own, but over time he is ok with not having a partner. I did worry, for a long time, whether he would be ok, but i just make a point of spending time with him.
When he first came, he was with drawn, and very quiet, and would hide the minute we walked in the room, but know he will eat from my hand, and allow me to stroke him.
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katelills
Burrowing Degu
Indiana and Pippin when they get on :p
Posts: 274
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Post by katelills on Sept 21, 2010 22:47:31 GMT
I think that its not worth the risk. if it was me i would feel so bad if i put them together and something bad happened. Also , please dont put a lone goo asleep just because he is alone. there are plenty of good owners around who who would take him i bet if anything ever happened to one of them. Or i like your idea more of buying more degus to introduce Then they have more friends  Good luck xx |
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Post by emz on Sept 26, 2010 3:32:18 GMT
This topic is 2 years old lol. Suppose people still adding to it is always useful. I am surprised people do decide to mix the 2, it is like when people put Syrian hamsters together. It is not how nature intends it. |
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Post by jaine on Nov 10, 2011 20:09:04 GMT
I own two goos & one chin, they have thier cages next to each other & all come out to play together during which time they all go in & out of each others cages to explore but I would not keep them together just in case, they are very happy as neighbours!
Jaine
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Post by davx on Nov 10, 2011 22:36:33 GMT
Hello,
I can't agree with the meaning here in detail, but in general I have to agree: under common circumstances it is a bad idea to keep the both species together. But in fact it is a question of space, a question of very much space. A room of several squaremetre as animal enclosure might work, but usual cages are far away from that.
Then degus and chins don't live together in Wild... well the opposite is true. In the Chinchilla Reserve in Aucó in Chile both species live in the same bushes! The American biologist Amy Deane (Save the last Chinchillas) described it in an amazing report about watching wild chinchillas. Also Chilean biologist described this fact in their studies, e. g. Maria Theresa Serra.
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