Looking to rehome 5 year old female degu in New York City

[ketchupcat]

Hello, this is my first time on this forum. I have had my two degus, Phyllis and Gladys, for three years now. Gladys passed away this morning from unknown causes. She very recently had lost weight, began breathing more heavily, became lethargic, and even showed much less interest in peanuts. There is nowhere in the area that treats degus and that was available to bring her, and we brought her to an emergency vet who was able to see her, but as they have no experience with degus, were not able to help much. It was clear she was close to the end, so I felt it was best for her final moments to be at home with her sister.

Despite being the same age, Phyllis is as lively as ever, and I am hoping to find a new home for her. She has never been around any degus besides Gladys, and currently seems stressed about the whole situation. I know she may be a somewhat difficult demographic for introducing to other degus, but any help would be extremely appreciated.

I would be able to include multiple bags of her food (Sunseed Vita Prima), her flying saucer wheel, dust bath and dust, water bottles, apple wood sticks, Timothy hay tunnels, and hammock.

Are there any known adoption/rehoming programs for degus in the NYC area? Additionally, does anyone have ideas of what Gladys may have been suffering from? Thank you very much.

[teemu]

Unfortunately, the symptoms Gladys was suffering from are very generic and universal symptoms of illness and deteriorating health. There could have been any number of causes, from a tumor to some sort of a disease to bad teeth issues causing gut metastasis (fatal cessation of movement in the digestive system due to not eating) or something else.

You mentioned that there are no vets with degus in your area. Have your degus ever had a dental checkup? Dental problems are not uncommon with them, and can be fatal.

I am sorry for your loss, in any case.

[bouncy]

Poor little Phyllis! She's mourning the loss of her sister

There's a few stateside members on here, although none in NYC, so I hope they'll be able to offer some advice about rehoming.

[winic1]

There is a facebook group called Degu USA that would give you contact with other degu owners in the USA and your area to help you find her a new home. We normally don't refer people to them as much of their common practice with degus can be in conflict with what we feel is best for these small creatures, but for your case this will be the easiest way to find the people you need.

I used to live in Connecticut, and it used to be that degus were illegal in NYC, that may have changed, but go carefully with advertising your degu and your location until you know for sure. Degus were legal in CT when we got them, but at some point the law changed, so we just kept quiet about still having them because they can be taken from you in such a case.

[teemu]

Degus do not seem to be listed among illegal pets on the official NYC website, but are also not listed under legal pets. Illegal pets include the listing "Gophers, woodchucks, beavers, hedgehogs, porcupines, and other large rodents", and animals such as squirrels are also mentioned. However, "Gerbil, hamster, guinea pig, chinchilla, and other small animals" are listed as legal pets. It's really not clear from any easily available information what their legal status is.

You'd probably have to contact some sort of an office to get an explicit answer. Until then, best to exercise caution as Winic says.