CHINCHILLA AND DEGU??

[Sunshinemeg]

Hi everyone.

havent actually posted in ages, and I am really sorry. For some reason, in a family full of teachers, the summer holiday is the busiest!!

Anyway, im happily settled into my own house now with Andy, we have the degus installed in their mansion, and its all going great.

Im trying to train Dougal to come to his name, he seems to have the most promise on this one, so focusing on him with this game for now.

Anyway, I have long wondered if it would be possible to add a male chinchilla to my group of male degus. Does anyone have any experience with this? In theory I think it would work, but it would be good to get some first hand experience to judge it!!

thanks

[Aimeelou]

I shouldnt see why not, the are from the same family at the end of the day, but they are also a different breed so they may be forced to get on together though?

[tigerlily]

I think that the best companion to degu is another degu, and the best companion to chinchilla is another chinchilla... They still are different species, and they don´t speak same "language".

[Hanlou]

Hi Meg!

I've heard lots of mixed ideas about this. It has been known to work, but, I do think it is best if there are a pair of chinchillas not just one. As tigerlily said, otherwise you would essentially have a lone chinchilla with creatures it cannot really communicate with.

The main thing is that you need to have a really big cage to give the chinchillas somewhere to get away from the degus when they need to rest, as chinchillas are nocturnal unlike degus. I think a cage the size of 3 ft x 3ft (100cm x 100cm) would be the minimum size to give both the space they need.

All that said, there are loads of chinchillas in rescue, so a chinchilla living with degus would surely be better than a chinchilla stuck in a rescue centre. See this thread..... how gorgeous are they?!

www.fancy-rats.co.uk/community/viewtopic.php?t=45929

furryfriends (Emma) is where I got my degus from and she and kitkat (Sarah) have had chins and degus together so you could ask her about it. :-)

[mezzea]

Greet!
At us, in Poland, exists conviction, degus one may not to hold degu with chinchilla. Matter of diet is here most visible - fruits for chinchilla, other fodder, other diet.
Behind then on many time [not so that together lived] one can without problems. Among my familiar is of many friendship between chinchilla and degu.

I greet:)

[acrorat]

I understand what Messea is saying about the diet thing, but I feed my chinchillas thier tidbit of fruit first thing in the morning when I feed the degus their tidbit of carrot - neither animal leaves ANYTHING - you just have to make sure that the treat piece is small enough for the animal to consume and not leave lying about - for instance, a raisin to a chinchilla is not a "dropped" item, itis consumed immediately.

I tend to offer veggies instead of fruit as an "in-the-cage" forage treat anyway.

Jules

[Sunshinemeg]

Ok, please see my new post entitled Mungo in the meeting place!!!