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Degus originally come from Chile,where they inhabited the western coast area from the plains to the Andes mountains.
Here they lived in large colonies. Some areas they where concidered pests because of the damage they did to crops and fields.
These animals are very sociable so keeping pairs is the best.
When kept alone they may become depressed and could become aggressive even if you pay it alot of attention.
A degus' looks are a little like gerbils, only bigger. Some people find them similar to chinchillas, with whom they are related. Behaviour-like, they act a lot like squirrels and that is the reason why they are called "Chilean squirrel". In a way a degu is like a small chinchilla, less fur and more brown in their fur.Most degus have a mix of 60%brown fur and 40% black on the top half of their bodies while the under side(chest)is a lighter shade of brown. Their feet are a light grey in colour.
Degus have 4 toes and a due claw on the front paws and 5 toes on the back ones.They have fairly long tails which some people say are rat like, rats have much longer tails. Their tails have a small tuft of hair at the ends which they hold up most of the time which I think is their pride coming out.
Some people think it may be due to not wanting to get it caught, damaged or just general wear and tear.Everyone has there own opinion on this subject.
Their teeth are normally bright orange or yellowish colour which is a good sign of a very healthy degu(or chinchilla).
The reason for this colour is the chlorophyll in the greens they eat react with enzymes in their bodies which produces an orange organic fluid in their saliva.
