Travel the Pair Together in Their Own Cage Setup
Degus draw most of their security from each other, so a bonded pair should travel together and wake up together in the new home. Keep their metal cage furnishings in place where possible: sand bath, wooden shelters, branches and gnawing blocks carry the shared scent that marks the space as home. Remove anything heavy that could topple in transit, keep a layer of their used substrate in the cage, and postpone the full clean-out until they have been eating and wrestling normally for several days. A degu separated for the journey can come back smelling strange to his companion, so togetherness is not a nicety here, it is the settling strategy.
Choose a Steady Room Away From the Unpacking Noise
Set the cage in a room with a predictable temperature, no direct sun on the bars and as little drilling, hammering and door-slamming as you can manage during the first days. Degus are daytime animals who nap and forage in bursts, and repeated startles send them thumping and hiding instead of exploring. Keep the cage off the floor if the new home has heavy foot traffic or a dog passing through, and give them one covered corner of the cage with a cloth or shelter arrangement so they can choose darkness without leaving home base.
Restart the Routine Around Sand, Hay and Gnawing
Offer hay constantly, their usual measured pellets, and the sand bath for short sessions at the times they expect. Scatter a little of their normal food in the substrate so the first foraging happens inside the cage and rewards them for venturing out of the shelter. Degus must not be given sugary foods, and moves are exactly when a kind neighbour produces fruit or a sweet biscuit, so be explicit that treats are off the menu entirely rather than moderated. Fresh gnawing wood matters doubly this week: chewing is how a degu burns off tension, and worn teeth need the work.
Let Handling Rebuild on Their Terms
Skip lifting and chasing for the first couple of days, even if your degus were tame in the old house. Sit by the cage, rest a hand flat inside with a familiar-smelling item nearby, and let them climb, sniff and retreat as they choose. Short, calm floor time in one escape-proofed room can return once they are taking food from you again and moving around the cage confidently during the day. Never lift a degu by the tail: the skin can be injured in a way that needs urgent veterinary care, so scoop from underneath with two hands when a lift is truly necessary.
Signs the Move Is Still Too Much
Watch for a degu who stops coming out in daylight, pair squabbles that were not happening before, a sharp drop in hay eating, or wet droppings replacing the usual dry pellets. Occasional hiding on day one is expected; a full day of refusing food, laboured breathing or a tail injury is a same-day veterinary call. Recheck the cage siting too, because a new radiator, a sunny patch that moves across the bars, or a television newly placed beside them can explain a stall in settling. KinsLe Family Sharing keeps their no-sugar rule, sand bath times and handling notes in one shared profile, so a partner, housemate or pet-sitter helping through the move backs up the same routine instead of improvising around your degus.