Hello! Bertie here. We’re blogging from A to Z once a week, through to September. Mummy says it’ll take us that long, but we need to spend more time eating grass outside, and not stuck in front of the computer.
D is for Degu!
I have a blogging friend who’s a degu. It’s a small furry animal (like me) but not like me, as he has a long tail and he climbs very well, and he’s quite a lot different in other ways too.
Say hello to Joshua the Degu!
He’s a handsome chap, isn’t he? Joshua interviewed me and Roscoe on his mum’s blog. My mum says we can interview him later in the year. Maybe I for Interview. But this is what I’ve found out about Degus.
- Degus come from Chile originally
- they are classed as rodents
- they are even more sociable than guinea pigs!
- they have long silky coats, grey-brown in colour, and a long, thin tail with a tufted, black tip
- they live to about 8 years old, although I think Joshua is older
- they are supposed to typically weigh 300 gms. That’s tiny compared with me. I weigh 1500 gms. I haven’t asked Joshua how much he weighs.
- they are inquisitive and intelligent and have lots of different squeaks and sounds
Well, that sounds a lot like Joshua to me!
D is also for Death
This weekend was one year since Midge died. That was a horrible evening. Mummy went out to her bird meeting, and while she was away, Midge went all funny. He lived with Percy in the run next to me, where Neville and Roscoe live now. He started twitching and shaking, then he rolled over on his side and kept twitching. It was horrible, because Percy and I could do nothing. Then Mummy came home and said hello to us, saw Midge, picked him up and cuddled him tight, and phoned the vet. Then she took him downstairs and stayed up all night with him, but he died in the morning.
We were very sad, but she let us sit with his body and say goodbye to him. Actually, I found it very scary and didn’t really want to sit with him, but Percy told me to say goodbye or I’d regret it when I was older, and understood better. I think he was right. I made sure I said goodbye to Percy when he went a month or so later.
I don’t like it when someone dies, but Percy said it’s natural, and everyone dies sometimes. And then we go over the Rainbow Bridge to the place where everybody’s well and happy, and we can be with our friends again.
And Joshua says he understands because all his degu family have died, too. That’s very sad. But he has other friends to keep him company.
So that’s our post for D and next week we’ll do E which might be for exercise. I think Eating would be better.
Have a nice week!
love
Bertie
George's Guinea Pig World 
That must have been scary for all of you with what happened to Midge. I’d be happy to be interviewed, if you want to interview me. I do weigh around 300 grams, though since I don’t like being weighed, so won’t stay on the scales without someone holding me still, we can’t give you a completely accurate weight. I just turned six in early March. The human caretakers mostly just worry like I’m older because none of my brothers even made it to four. I’m still sad about it, even though I’ve been by myself more than two years now. Squeak soon, Joshua
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I remember that and Midge! He is still missed! I’d never heard of Degus before seeing Joshua. So interesting! Would like to own one, but I’m pretty sure they won’t let you keep one in California. A lot of small animals are banned as pets here. Supposed to have to do with all the crops!
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It’s nice to know a state restricts what can be owned as “pets.” I don’t specifically mean, degus, but so many animals that really belong in the wild. I see so many ads for no longer wanted sugar gliders and hedgehogs in Oregon. They are not “exotic pets” which are not legal. I don’t know why not!
You can’t have ferrets in CA, which is silly, because the pets sold are all spayed and neutered, so they can’t possibly breed and overrun things!
Bans are for not just agriculture, but public safety and the threat to native animals.
(I used to live in CA, in the SF area. The local wildlife rehabilitation facility had things you woudn’t believe! It’s legal in NV to pretty much own anything, with no licenses, so neglected mountain lions would be brought in.)
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It’s so sad when they die. It’s worse when we can’t help them. Our Buster was the father of our last piggie, Ralph Piggum, and he was the only pet that ever died in his sleep.
If we are talking piggie D food, I’d have to say Ralph needs her daily dose of dandelion greens! I let it grow in the grass out back.
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It must have been very frightening for you when Midge died, and then Percy. But your Mum’s right – it’s just how it is. I’d not heard of a Degu before but thanks for the introduction. And enjoy that grass and the sunshine!
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The dreaded D word is hard for your Auntie to talk about, but I think you wrote a lovely post.
Thanks for the information about degus! Joshua is very cute, as are you.
XXOO
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