Features of the content of degu at home

Getting exotic animals can be quite difficult. But you can avoid many problems if you study all the features in advance. And the very first question that needs to be answered is whether it is necessary to get the same Chilean squirrel or not.

Chilean squirrel degu is a very sweet and gentle creature. Their relative rarity in household use makes animals only more attractive. Having bought degu, you can stand out among family and friends. Probably, some people will even decide to imitate breeders.

Therefore, there is no need to devote much space for degu. The amount of feed required for this animal is small - a maximum of 0.05 kg per day. And even there is no need to buy branded compounds. An excellent feed mixture is easily prepared with your own hands with a minimum of cost. Goodies can also be made without assistance.

It is necessary to feed degu exactly twice a day. At the same time - as with care in general - not too much effort is expended. A healthy animal does not emit unpleasant and even just foreign odors. Therefore, normally it does not cause inconvenience. And if any strange odors appear, you can quickly react and cure your pet with the help of a veterinarian.

Cell cleaning should occur 1 time in 7 days, which saves energy and clearly plan care. Degou is distinguished by good immunity, but keep in mind that this does not apply to colored individuals. Watching the life of a Chilean squirrel is a pleasure. It’s pretty easy to train her. But it is important to consider probable problems:

• the unpreparedness of most veterinarians for the treatment of degus;
• a neat little animal throws dirt out of the cage;
• Chilean squirrel is constantly active and noisy;
• she will have to pay a lot of attention;
• degu is rather shy, any extraneous sound can harm him.

Chilean squirrel must communicate with individuals of its kind. With solitary confinement, she begins to get bored and make noise, as if summoning someone. The owners will have to spend much more time on classes with the animal in this case. A good idea is to keep a pair of degu (provided that they have the same age and gender).

But this is not an easy task, you will have to take into account age restrictions. At 4 months and older, the animals are reluctant to perceive other individuals around themselves, they can be irritated and even aggression. Important: immediate relatives are not used for mating. Even if it works outwardly well, the next generation may have weak immunity and even degenerate. If in doubt, consult a specialist.

A conversation about the life features of the Chilean rodent cannot go around and the arrangement of its homes. Usually one degu or a group of them is placed in a steel cage with a small mesh around the perimeter. Do not use cells smaller than:

• 0.6 m in length;
• 0.45 m wide;
• 0.4 m in height.

It's all about the impressive mobility of the animal. Chilean squirrel feels good only in the open when it can move freely.

Sometimes glass terrariums of the required volume are used, in which a grate is installed. Litter is made:

• from wood shavings;
• compressed corn cobs;
• clean white paper.

In one of the corners they equip a house, where animals can arrange a nest for themselves. A tank of sand is placed at the opposite end. There Chilean squirrels will make dry baths. The rest of the place is used to place large branches, pebbles or ceramic pots. On the walls - always at different heights - put shelves.

Given the mobility of the Chilean rodent, squirrel wheels must be used. In order for animals to get everything they need, cages are equipped with drinking bowls and a set of bowls. Important: each bowl is reserved for a special feed, so you should not confuse them or replace them with one dish. The cage provides a place where the roots of trees and large branches will be added. With their help, animals can sharpen their teeth.

Crossbars and barriers are necessarily equipped. Without them, degu will be uninteresting, he will not be able to show his activity. As a result, you can even face serious health problems. Cells are placed only where there are no piercing drafts, and where direct sunlight does not fall. The animal needs stable conditions for life, without jerking temperature.

It is unacceptable to put plastic houses in the cells. Squirrels will gnaw them soon. And alright, only an aesthetic defect is also a matter of the toxicity of plastic for the protein organism. Wooden dwellings are more durable. Especially if you carefully cover all parts outside the dimensions with a cloth or aluminum tape. The material is fixed with staples for the stapler.

Some breeders knowingly make wooden houses without cover (so that rodents can exercise their teeth). In this case, the home will have to constantly change. Buildings from grass are obviously short-lived. A much longer life is typical for houses made of ceramic or organic glass. The size of the houses is selected in accordance with the size of the pets - so that they can enter, exit, accommodate without problems.

The fact is that animals perceive it as a safe refuge for themselves and for accumulated reserves. The original version - a house-sennitsa:

• a frame is erected from wide bars;
• from the same sticks (the best breeds - willow, birch or cherry) build walls;
• make a plywood roof;
• individual parts are fastened with self-tapping screws.

Sometimes they make labyrinth houses from the lining. In such dwellings, 2 branches and 2 tiers are provided. The panels make round aisles like holes. Typically, labyrinths are built from a thick board connected by screws. The required holes are made using drills with round nozzles.

The use of paints, varnishes and enamels is not recommended. The tree should remain unprocessed, but at the same time it is carefully sanded and planed. The lock in the cage must be of a carabiner type. Conventional protein heaps are quickly learning to open.

Eating a rodent in a city apartment or a private house is not too difficult. But you need to pay attention to key rules so that there are no errors. Since the species in nature is completely herbivorous, you can not use anything other than plant products. And even among them, sugar-saturated fruits, vegetables, or grassy stems are unacceptable. Diabetes is one of the biggest problems for degus.

To minimize the likelihood of problems can be, if you use ready-made feed from leading companies. It definitely contains a complete set of nutrients and trace elements. You should definitely use high-quality hay.

As goodies fit clover, salad and alfalfa. Chilean squirrel cereal mixes may include oats, barley, wheat and millet. Caution should be given to the bark of apple trees, lindens, pears, as well as their branches. Apples and pears in the diet of degu should only be unsweetened varieties. They are pre-dried.

You can also use small amounts of thinly sliced ​​carrots. The main thing is that she does not enter the diet too often. Small amounts can be used to tame rodents and to feed:

• wild rose and hawthorn berries;
• corn kernels;
• sunflower seeds;
• pumpkin seeds.

Standard feed mixtures can be diluted with dried vegetable slices, bread or home-made crackers. Bean feeding is also allowed. It should be taken into account that not domestic but foreign dry feeds are better suited for degu.

You need to be careful with fresh bread. Excessive amounts of it can lead to an excess of carbohydrates. Without special restrictions give zucchini, cauliflower and lettuce. Cucumbers give in small quantities, especially since the animals themselves are not too eager to eat them. The same is true with unsalted boiled potatoes.

Citrus fruits give modest portions (1 slice for 7-8 days). Apricots, mangoes, bananas and peaches are not allowed at all. Kiwi is given only after checking for allergies. It is better to completely abandon persimmons and figs. Important: hay should be taken only from trusted sources.

It should be beveled in safe places. The presence of buttercups, bleached, hemlock, toxic for the animal, is unacceptable. But dandelions, clover, timothy and panicle are very suitable. Large sedge can not be added - it can damage the squirrel's oral cavity. Branches in the summer months give along with leaves.

Looking after degu at home is not too difficult. The feeders are cleaned and washed every day. In the same way, every day they clean the litter and get rid of uneaten food. Dry cell cleaning is performed weekly. It needs to be disinfected once every 30 days.

Swimming Chilean squirrel is not required. The animal itself during the sand baths will clean the hair. Daegu is friendly and appreciates the attention of people. The animal will not mind trying to seat itself in its arms. When he is stroked, something like a purr is heard.

Taming and subsequent training are very simple. They begin with the development of protein sensations of absolute safety and calm around a person. When the owners are next to the animal, they should not make sweeping movements or raise their voice. As soon as the habit of such behavior is developed, they begin to approach with a treat in the hands. An excellent intellectual level (by the standards of the animal world) will make the taming of degus as fast as possible.

Chilean squirrel almost immediately understands what is required of it.

Raising the voice, especially physical violence, is unacceptable. It is useful to master the imitation of the characteristic signals exchanged by degu themselves. This will help prevent biting wires or climbing to dangerous high places.

Important: it will not be possible to tame the Chilean squirrel by setting the cage too low. In nature, lowlands have become a source of danger to the species. Therefore, the fear of them is stitched in the genetic program. An animal can be picked up only when it gets used to the house, the environment. When the adaptation is completed, the squirrel will rush to the door, barely seeing the owner.

A furry animal perceives a capture from above as an attack of a predator. Therefore, you can take it only from below. Taming begins, allowing you to inspect and go around the entire apartment. Of course, this is done only under close supervision. We must try to immediately accustom the animal to return to the cage.

When it is fed with something tasty, you need to make some kind of specific sound. Having developed a conditioned reflex, it will be possible to call the rodent to itself with this sound. But it must be borne in mind that without reinforcement with food, the reflex will weaken and will soon disappear. This is true for the development of techniques. When an animal masters a skill (a response to a name, sitting on a shoulder or something else), it is first fixed 5-10 days after a complete habit, and only then they begin to learn something else.

The Chilean squirrel moves without problems both on the earth, and on trees or bushes. It is strictly forbidden to hold the animal by the tail or raise degu for it. Then the instinct tells to get rid of the skin in order to flee, and then, being safe, to bite off the remnants of the tail. This circumstance should be remembered both during training, and on walks. It’s better to try to train an animal to respond to commands and prohibitions than to catch it by the same tail.

If you go for a walk with a beast who is not yet used to obeying and has not begun to trust a person, he can run away or hide nearby. When the cell size is sufficient for the active life of the protein, it is necessary to walk it 2 or 3 times in a week. If it is impossible to ensure daily movement in the home, you need to walk with degu daily. Violation of this rule threatens with serious illness and even premature death of the pet.

The greater mobility and curiosity of Chilean squirrels should be considered. They very often gnaw on electric wires, mobile equipment and other electronic equipment. Animals can harm books and newspapers with magazines, and money, documents, paintings ... All this must be carefully guarded. Uncontrolled movement of degus around the house is unacceptable!

Chilean proteins have a strong sense of smell.Of course, they are far from search dogs, but the smells of owners on clothing, linen or other textiles will be detected accurately. One may fear the appearance of holes. Another caveat: moving around the house, degu can be almost anywhere. We must constantly monitor so as not to step on it, not to pinch the door or cause damage in any other way.

During training, they teach the pet the commands:

• "Circle";
• "to me";
• "bounce";
• “Forbidden / not allowed”.

It is useful to use a walking ball where the animal will move without risking being lost. Start with a walk in the ball for 10 minutes. Gradually increase to 40 minutes. Go out into the street only with a leash and harness. You can walk your pet there only in safe places - where there is no poisonous, sharp, hot; ideally grass or sand.

Video about training degu see below.

Degu often balds and catches a cold. Due to uncontrolled passage to dangerous places, the animal can injure or even break limbs. Improper nutrition leads to digestive upsets and poisoning. A healthy animal is always active and curious. The patient sits in place, ruffles the hair, his eyes do not shine, and so on.

Estimates of the Chilean degu are certainly positive. Those who turn them on, note the absence of unpleasant odors, unpretentiousness and intelligence. But breeders are advised to remember that this is still a rodent (with all the ensuing subtleties). You can watch the squirrel for hours, especially if there are two or more animals. They will delight children and adults.

But we must remember:

• about fairly common diseases;
• high probability of stress;
• difficulty in healing;
• strong bites during rough handling.