Start with company and a tall metal cage
A degu's first home begins with a companion, not a cage accessory. Degus live in social groups in the wild and a single degu kept alone commonly stops exploring, calls less, and hides for long stretches, so plan from the start for two degus of the same sex or an already bonded pair. House them in a tall, all-metal cage with several solid shelves or ledges at different heights, because degus climb, leap between levels, and chew relentlessly. Wire or plastic bases, plastic shelves, and plastic toys will be gnawed through, sometimes within days, and swallowed fragments are a genuine hazard, so wood and metal are the safe materials throughout.
Choose a cage with narrow bar spacing that a young degu cannot squeeze through, a deep metal tray that holds bedding without spilling it across the floor, and doors you can latch securely. Degus are quick, curious, and surprisingly strong for their size when a door is left resting rather than shut.
Furnishing for chewing, climbing, and dust bathing
Line the base with a generous layer of paper-based or dust-extracted bedding, then add a large pile of good hay in one corner. Hay is both bedding and the backbone of a degu's diet, so it should always be present to nibble. Scatter plain, untreated wooden blocks, willow sticks, and cardboard tubes through the shelves so the constant need to chew is met by safe objects instead of cage bars, which can damage teeth.
Add one solid-surface running wheel large enough that a degu runs with a straight back. Barred wheels are unsuitable here because a degu's long tail can catch and injure badly. In another corner, set a heavy, shallow ceramic bowl filled with chinchilla bathing dust for part of each day. Degus roll in the dust to keep their coats clean and dry, and watching the first dust bath is usually the moment new owners realise how active these animals are. Remove the bowl after the session so the dust is not soiled or eaten in quantity.
Feeding corner and the strict no-sugar rule
Set the food area on a solid shelf away from the dust bowl and bedding pile. Offer a plain degu or guinea pig style pellet without molasses, unlimited hay, and fresh water in both a bottle and a heavy bowl as backup. The point that shapes every degu feeding decision is sugar: degus are unusually prone to developing diabetes, so sweet treats, fruit in quantity, honey sticks, and sugary mixes that suit other small pets do not belong in this cage at all. A small piece of plain vegetable is a safer reward, and even that works best as an occasional extra rather than a daily habit.
Keep fresh foods modest at first while the pair settles, and introduce any new vegetable one at a time so a loose dropping can be traced back to its cause.
Room, routine, and the first week
Place the cage in a lived-in, draft-free room with natural daylight but no direct sun on the bars, away from radiators and from televisions left loud late into the evening. Degus are awake in the day and active at dawn and dusk, so a family room suits them far better than a quiet spare room where they hear nobody for hours.
Let the pair have the first day undisturbed apart from food and water, then begin sitting by the cage, talking, and offering a chew stick through the bars before attempting any handling. Note who feeds, who cleans the dust bowl, and when the shelves were checked for gnaw damage on one shared record, because chewed ledges weaken gradually and are easy to miss. For a sugar-free home, relatives you select may receive profile access under KinsLe Family Sharing.