# Chinchillas and Degus?



## ksaxton (Apr 20, 2014)

Has anyone ever owned a chinchilla or a degu? I've always been curious about what they're like as pets. 


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## MimiSkye (Feb 3, 2014)

I have never but I know people who have. My cousin had a pair of degus that recently passed. He said they were a lot like rats whereas they form a verrrrry strong bond with eachother. In fact, right after Bukowski bassed, Chomsky passed like a week later. It was devastating for him because he had had them for a long time...so I assume they live longer than rats. He said they weren't very loveable or snuggly, but they were really sweet.

A close friend of mine had a chinchilla. He got rid of it a week later...

My best friend works at a pet store so she sees both a lot. She hates chinchillas and loves degus. So from what I've heard, chinchillas aren't that sweet. Degus are good.

But then again I've never met a chinchilla before so I dunno.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

I've heard that chinchillas require constant, daily work to be social and remain social. Given it, they are the cuddliest lovely things but miss a day and you risk having to start over again. A girl in my neighborhood has a HUUUUUUGE chinchilla and she just cuddles it and walks with it and loves it, she's like 8 and puts all the work in herself.


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## MimiSkye (Feb 3, 2014)

nanashi7 said:


> I've heard that chinchillas require constant, daily work to be social and remain social. Given it, they are the cuddliest lovely things but miss a day and you risk having to start over again. A girl in my neighborhood has a HUUUUUUGE chinchilla and she just cuddles it and walks with it and loves it, she's like 8 and puts all the work in herself.


That is like a dream come true. If the stories I've heard about them weren't so negative, I would LOVE to have one. They're absoluely adorable.


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## ksaxton (Apr 20, 2014)

My friend sort of wants a chinchilla and I've always been curious about them too, but when I told her what you said about how they need daily socializing to stay social, I think she was a bit put off. I told her to get some rats but she was even more against that idea  


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## Marie5656 (Jun 1, 2014)

I used to own a chinchilla. Had Trixie almost 9 years. She passed away last year. A few things to remember. Chins have a much longer life span than many other small critters. I have known of some who have lived 10 or more years. So, if you are not sure about making that kind of commitment, then think twice. Chins, like most small critters are nocturnal, but will adapt a bit to your schedule. They do require a lot of care. They do not really like being held much, but do like attention. You have to be careful of temps, especially in summer. If you do not have AC, you may have a problem, as they cannot handle a lot of heat due to their thick, dense fur. Chins take dust baths, because if they got wet they would never dry well, and could become ill.
That being said, Trixie very entertaining and loveable. They need a multi level home with ramps and a wheel for exercise. Thy eat pellets and hay. Need wood to chew. I would often take Trixie out to run, in a chin proofed room. I would give her dust baths there. They love jump..AND CHEW. I did belong to a good chinchilla forum, if you are interested, I can PM you the address. Feel free to ask more questions here.


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## ksaxton (Apr 20, 2014)

I told my friend what I read on here and on the internet, and she did some research as well and she's realized chinchillas may not be as ideal of a pet as she thought. I told her about rats and she actually said she'd think about it!! 


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## Marie5656 (Jun 1, 2014)

Great that your friend did the research. It is sad when pets are returned when people find they have made a mistake after making a purchase.


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## ksaxton (Apr 20, 2014)

It's sometimes even worse when people don't do their research and continue keeping an animal in bad conditions because they don't know any better. That's what happened with my girl, her old owner didn't do a minute of research and had all the worst stuff for her. Granted, I wasn't the best rat owner at first either, but I did my research and got better and am always trying to improve 


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