Blood sugar: the degu's defining weakness
Degus handle sugar unusually badly compared with other small pets. In the wild they eat fibrous, low-sugar scrub, and their bodies respond poorly to sweet foods — molasses-bound mixes, dried fruit, and honey treats are genuinely risky staples for this species. Over time a sugary diet is linked with diabetes in degus, and the signs to watch for are drinking noticeably more, urinating more, losing weight despite eating, and eyes turning cloudy as cataracts develop.
You cannot manage what you do not notice, and increased thirst is easy to miss in a group cage. Note roughly how fast the water bottle empties and weigh each degu weekly. A degu drinking more, losing weight, or developing cloudy eyes needs a vet visit — bring your notes, because the pattern over weeks is exactly what helps the vet judge what is happening.
Teeth that never stop growing
Like their chinchilla relatives, degus have continuously growing teeth, and molar problems are a leading reason degus go off their food. Watch for drooling, a damp chin, chewing slowly or on one side, dropping half-chewed food, and choosing soft items while leaving hay untouched. Weight loss in a degu that still approaches the food bowl hopefully is a dental red flag until a vet proves otherwise, because the spurs causing the pain sit too far back to see at home.
A hay-rich diet is the main prevention: constant chewing on long fibre wears the molars evenly. If appetite dips or droppings shrink, book the vet promptly rather than waiting — a degu that stops eating develops gut problems on top of the teeth.
Lungs, feet, tails, and tummies
Respiratory infections show up as sneezing, wet or crusty nostrils, wheezy or clicking breathing, and a degu sitting hunched and quiet instead of joining the group's dust baths and chatter. In a social species, the individual that stops participating is often the clearest alarm. Sore, swollen feet — sometimes called bumblefoot — develop on wire or mesh floors and from obesity; solid flooring, clean bedding, and a healthy weight protect against it, and a limping degu or one with a red, swollen footpad needs veterinary attention.
Never lift a degu by the tail: the skin can strip away as an anti-predator response, leaving an injury that needs vet care. Diarrhoea in degus usually follows sudden diet change, spoiled food, or sugary feeding, and in a small animal it dehydrates fast — soft droppings beyond a day, or any diarrhoea with quietness, means a vet call.
A simple degu health routine
Weigh weekly, watch the water bottle, glance at droppings daily, and once a week watch each degu actually eat hay rather than just sit near it. In a group, also watch the social picture: a degu being pushed away from the hay rack or sleeping apart from the usual pile is sometimes the first visible sign that she is not feeling right, days before any weight change shows on the scale. Record weights, water changes, and anything unusual in each degu's KinsLe Pet Passport, so the animal that has quietly lost condition in a busy group cage is spotted on paper before it becomes an emergency in person.