Post by carissa on Jun 22, 2006 15:20:56 GMT
So I volunteer at my local animal shelter, the SPCA (Americans thinks, ASPCA and Brits the RSPCA) walking dogs. I had just finished walking a dog with my hubby and went into the back room to wash my hands. The back room is also the isolation room, laundry room, and small animal room all rolled into one. Just out of curiosity, I take a look around at what kind of small animals they have. Lo and behold, I found a degu sitting in a rabbit cage.
I rushed over to the main desk and ask if that little guy is up for adoption and if I can handle him. Lady at the front desk says yes to both questions, so I went to the back room again to pick him up. Anyhow, as soon as this little guy sees me paying attention to him, he starts climbing the walls (literally) to see me.
I figure out how to open the cage and he practically walks right into my hand. Aside from the typical degu scrabble when you go to pick them up, he settles right into my hands. I started scritching his cheeks and he exposes more of himself to be scritched. Flipped him over quickly to check his gender, and he does indeed appear to be a boy (he wasn't thrilled about being flipped, but he was tolerant of it).
When I put him back in his cage, he wanted to be scritched again. So this time I was scritching his belly and he was on his back paws all stretched out for me.
I've had a little bit of a run with degus now. My first pair passed away about 2 years after owning them. Then I adopted a pair from a family who thought they had 2 girls. And it turns out to be a male/female sibling pair. Then I tried to adopt a girl from another couple. That degu went catatonic on me and I had to give her back so she wouldn't die. Then when trying to find a male degu at an animal shelter, the workers made me go in after the degu and I got bit. (It turns out this guy died shortly after I went to see him.) So hubby is leery of getting new degus, but I feel that since I've already had a chance to handle this one it should be okay. *sigh*
I forgot to add... I already have a complete new degu house ready for him. All I need to do is add litter, add food and water, and add degu.
I rushed over to the main desk and ask if that little guy is up for adoption and if I can handle him. Lady at the front desk says yes to both questions, so I went to the back room again to pick him up. Anyhow, as soon as this little guy sees me paying attention to him, he starts climbing the walls (literally) to see me.
I figure out how to open the cage and he practically walks right into my hand. Aside from the typical degu scrabble when you go to pick them up, he settles right into my hands. I started scritching his cheeks and he exposes more of himself to be scritched. Flipped him over quickly to check his gender, and he does indeed appear to be a boy (he wasn't thrilled about being flipped, but he was tolerant of it).
When I put him back in his cage, he wanted to be scritched again. So this time I was scritching his belly and he was on his back paws all stretched out for me.
I've had a little bit of a run with degus now. My first pair passed away about 2 years after owning them. Then I adopted a pair from a family who thought they had 2 girls. And it turns out to be a male/female sibling pair. Then I tried to adopt a girl from another couple. That degu went catatonic on me and I had to give her back so she wouldn't die. Then when trying to find a male degu at an animal shelter, the workers made me go in after the degu and I got bit. (It turns out this guy died shortly after I went to see him.) So hubby is leery of getting new degus, but I feel that since I've already had a chance to handle this one it should be okay. *sigh*
I forgot to add... I already have a complete new degu house ready for him. All I need to do is add litter, add food and water, and add degu.
