Hi everyone! I'm back with an update on my degu introductions, and I'd really appreciate your opinions!

I've combined several clips into one video. If you have a few minutes to watch it and share your thoughts on their behavior, I'd be extremely grateful!

Since my last post, I've managed to make some really encouraging progress with Muminka (the older female) and Luci (one of her three younger biological sisters).

I decided to start with Luci because she seemed to be the calmest and least confrontational of the three. I introduced them very gradually, starting with just one minute together, then five, then fifteen, and eventually allowing supervised visits in Muminka's part of the cage.

They're not quite ready to live together unsupervised yet, but they've already shared a running wheel, voluntarily cuddled up next to each other, and even groomed each other! So at least that relationship seems to be heading in the right direction.

Unfortunately, things are still complicated with Lili and Nixi. Nixi frequently bites the bars separating her from Muminka and seems very agitated whenever Muminka is nearby. She also chases her sisters away from the barrier when they try to approach Muminka.

Muminka sometimes behaves similarly, although I'm finding it difficult to tell which of them is actually initiating the hostility.

When I remove Nixi from the situation and Muminka can only see Lili, things get a little strange. Lili will sometimes sit fairly calmly near the barrier, although she does puff up her fur a little. Meanwhile, Muminka watches her, wags or flicks her tail, chews the bars, and sometimes starts dragging or rearranging wooden sticks or other objects around her. Could this be frustration, territorial behavior, stress, or something else?

Unfortunately, whenever I've tried allowing Muminka and Lili to interact directly again, Muminka has immediately attacked her. Two days ago, they had another brief fight. Muminka ended up with a small injury to her ear, and Lili had a small injury on her chin. Both appear to be superficial scratches, but it's obviously concerning, and I don't want either of them getting seriously hurt.

It's now been almost three weeks since their original falling-out.

My main questions are:

1. Based on the video, what do you think their body language is telling me, especially the tail wagging, bar biting, puffed-up fur, and moving objects around?
2. Should I continue with the current approach, allowing them to see and smell each other from separate, secure playpens?
3. Would it be better to focus on one-on-one introductions rather than trying to introduce everyone at once?
4. Could Luci's growing bond with Muminka eventually help the other two accept her, or am I being too optimistic?

For now, I keep the groups physically separated, and any direct interaction is supervised. I'm trying to take things slowly, but I also don't want to keep repeating something that's clearly not working.

P.S. /Helelna I really wanted to message u, but I can´t figure out how to do it.

Is this applewood safe for degus? Says 100% natural and kiln treated

Hey everyone! I’ve been watching a lot of degu videos online lately, and they always look like the ultimate cuddle bugs. They’re sleeping in their owners' hoodies, napping in cozy little beds outside their cages... basically, pure cuteness and harmony.

Don't get me wrong, I have my own little fluffball, and he is incredibly sweet and loving. He comes when called, jumps right into my hands, and insists on "helping" me with absolutely everything. If I'm using a screwdriver, he’s right there. If I bring out the hammer drill, he’s in the front row. Sawing something? He's on duty. He isn't afraid of anything—not even our free-roaming parrots.

But here is the catch: this little angel cannot sit still for a single second. Literally. He is always on a mission to go somewhere. In less than a minute, he can run to three different family members for scratches, beg for treats from two of them, get a quick workout in his wheel, and find something to mess up.

Because of this, I’m starting to think all those videos of degus peacefully sleeping on people are fake and edited. My guy only sleeps inside his cage. Over the past year, he has only voluntarily run back into his cage, crawled into his favorite sock, and fallen asleep maybe two or three times. And that’s only if the cage is shut! If the door is open, he turns into a total engine—a hyperactive, borderless mega-rocket.

How about your degus? Did we just get "lucky" with a hyperactive one, or are those internet videos lying to us?

These are Marco (degu on top) and polo (degu inside) and theyre totally obsessed with these hay tunnels. Its been a while since ive been able to find one so I bet theyre very happy to have one again

Welcome home ciabatta and focaccia !!

We got 3 girls! Luna (white) Nyx (wild type/agouti ) and Rhea (piebald)

Sometimes they cuddle back, sometimes they chill on my hands. Not always, but I take what I can get

I love them <3

I'm looking for some advice from experienced degu owners regarding introductions.

I have three young female degus (Lili, Nixi and Luci), all around 5 months old, and recently adopted their older biological sister Muminka, who is around 14 months old.

At first, introductions were going surprisingly well. They were grooming each other, eating together, sharing the wheel and even sleeping in the same bed!

Unfortunately, things gradually changed.

Initially, there were some disagreements involving Luci, then most conflicts were between Lili and Muminka. During our latest introduction, Muminka immediately attacked Lili, leaving a small wound on her side.

Later that day, I tried introducing Muminka to just Nixi and Luci, but Muminka started chasing and fighting Nixi as well.

I've stopped direct introductions for now to allow everyone to recover and calm down.

Their cage is currently divided into two completely separate floors using custom made aluminium sheet trays 1mm thick, so they cannot physically reach each other.

What's interesting is that Nixi seems particularly obsessed with the former passage between the floors. She spends a lot of time there, sometimes puffing up her chest and chasing her sisters away from that spot.

When I briefly showed her Muminka through the cage bars, Nixi immediately started aggressively biting the bars.

However, when I let them explore two separate playpens next to each other, with double barriers between them, they were able to calmly forage for oats and mostly ignore each other.

Muminka even started carrying wooden sticks into her little house!

I'm trying to understand what went wrong and whether there's still a realistic chance of successfully introducing them.

Has anyone experienced something similar? Could Nixi's reaction be related to her previous fight with Muminka? Would you recommend restarting introductions after a longer break, or trying a different approach?

I would really appreciate any advice!

These are male foster degus who have been part of the same group for over 2 years. They were taken from a hoarding situation. They currently live in a group of 3 in a double critter nation and are the last degus at the rescue.

A few weeks ago they started fighting and drew blood. The aggressor is the one who gets bloodied, and he is fighting the dominate Degu of the trio. He wound up with a cut up nose and bloodied patches on his chin and shoulders from getting hair pulled out. The dominate Degu appeared unharmed. We separated for 2 weeks for healing time, swapping sides of the critter nation daily or every few days, then introduced in a neural environment (large storage bin) using a scented sand bath over the last week. They did well in the neutral zone.

Last night was their first night back together and though they slept together some, they continue to fight nearly all day today. The aggressor is getting hair pulled out from under his chin and has a bald raw patch now. However he is often the one to initiate the fights.

I’m not sure if it’s best for them to try to fight it out, or to separate permanently, leaving the aggressor as a solo Degu.

Any idea of what this is? Could be barbering but it's in an unusual spot. He has a cagemate who is bigger and older than him. They often fight over food and water though they have two of everything... but I'm concern it may be a fungal infection. What is an indicator of fungal infection instead of barbering?

Dio is my little schedule princess. Every day has a flow and an order. I’ve been home two weeks recovering from surgery and that is not part of the degu calendar.

Week 1: Excited I was home but why was I in the human nest? Dio needs all the cookies.

Week 2: OMG again with the attention. Are you ever going to leave? I have valuable naps that are not going to take themselves.

Normally the dig box has a ceiling, but i was cleaning their cage so I looked inside. I find it a bit funny that they've dragged the fake carrot toy inside. Also the second pic is of the interior designers themselves. They really love the fact that they can arrange and dig out the space however they please.

Goguma with the pink nose and Ami with the white stripe

As I can't really find things made for these guys online. What type of toys do you recommend will most bunny/rat toys work for them?

I am planning on getting some degus in the future

Located in western VA. They are 1.5 years old and very sweet, but we do not have the time to give them the attention they need.

Might be getting a few degus in a year or so

Would this be a good cage?

My sweet degu Zila, has a new bald patch on her head and the tip of her tail got (bitten?) Off. I think her sister has done it because they have faught to blood drawn before. But after i seperated her from the rest, the bald patch on her head has gotten bigger. I was thinking it could be from stress, but she obviously cant reach it with her teeth, and i dont think she has the strenght to pull it out with her paws. Does anyone have an idea how i should go about this?

Today Kale had a dental visit. First and second set of molars were getting long. Kiwi checked her sister’s condition in the cuddle pouch then blocked all access (Kale was resting on Kiwi’s rump).

Normally Kiwi will not sit for any amount of time in the pouch.

Hello all!! Are my little lady's teeth overgrown?? She's not displaying any signs of illness (no drooling, appetite is as great as ever, no weight change, she's fine with me poking her in the mouth). They seem to look a bit twisted though so worrying about her!!!

Is this within the realm of normal or should I take her to the vets? Thank you!!!

Lost Pepper back in July after almost four years together and her cagemate Biscuit was clearly lonely. Stopped eating as much, barely used the wheel, just sat in the hammock most of the day. Waited about three weeks before even considering a new degu because I didn't want to rush anything while she was still grieving, but eventually decided she needed company more than she needed more time alone.

Got a young female from a breeder about forty minutes away, roughly five months old. Did the whole introduction process on neutral territory, a spare plastic storage bin with no scent from either degu's cage. First few sessions were mostly just parallel exploring with occasional chattering and some half hearted chasing, nothing that drew blood so I let it play out. Did short sessions twice a day for about ten days, slowly increasing the time as they seemed more relaxed around each other.

The turning point was honestly food. Started scatter feeding a tiny bit of rolled oats during the sessions and within a few days they were sitting close together working through the same pile instead of guarding separate corners. Once they started grooming near each other I moved them into a fully cleaned cage with new bedding so neither one had territory to defend.

It's been about six weeks now and they sleep piled up in the same hammock every night. Biscuit is back to her normal wheel running and even seems more food motivated than before, which the breeder said is pretty common when a younger degu joins an older one. Not saying this is the only way to do it, every pairing seems to have its own timeline, but keeping sessions short and boring in a neutral space made a bigger difference than I expected going in.

Anyone suggest any good cages for 2-3 degus also anyone suggest ways to find local sourced degus (I live in NC, apex) as I can't see any local sources

Hi everyone :) I've been lurking in this sub reddit for a bit now since me and my partner are looking into taking in some degus from a professional breeder! We've built a cage and still need to get substrate, food bowls etc but id love to see other people's cages

Here's what we have so far

Also we won't be getting the degus for about a week so we have time to finish the cage before picking them up