Common degu
The degu (Octodon degus) is a small rodent found only in Chile. The closest relatives of these highly social and curious animals are chinchilla and guinea pig.
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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HerbivoreA herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example, foliage, for the main component of its die...
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CoprophageCoprophage animals are those that consume feces. Domesticated and wild mammals are sometimes coprophagic, and in some species, this forms an essent...
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FolivoreIn zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose, less ...
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GranivoreSeed predation, often referred to as granivory, is a type of plant-animal interaction in which granivores (seed predators) feed on the seeds of pla...
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GraminivoreIn zoology, a graminivore (not to be confused with a granivore) is an herbivorous animal that feeds primarily on grass. Graminivory is a form of g...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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PrecocialPrecocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
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BurrowingA burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to create a space suitable for habitation, temporary refuge, or as a byproduct ...
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FossorialA fossorial animal is one adapted to digging which lives primarily but not solely, underground. Some examples are badgers, naked mole-rats, clams, ...
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GrazingGrazing is a method of feeding in which a herbivore feeds on plants such as grasses, or other multicellular organisms such as algae. In agriculture...
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BrowsingBrowsing is a type of herbivory in which an herbivore (or, more narrowly defined, a folivore) feeds on leaves, soft shoots, or fruits of high-growi...
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TerritorialA territory is a sociographical area that which an animal consistently defends against the conspecific competition (or, occasionally, against anima...
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ViviparousAmong animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
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PolygynyPolygyny is a mating system in which one male lives and mates with multiple females but each female only mates with a single male.
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Highly socialHighly social animals are those which are highly interactive with other members of their species. They live in large groups, nest in colonies, and ...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withThe degu has yellow-brown fur above and creamy-yellow below, with yellow around the eyes and a paler band around the neck. It has a long, thin tail with a tufted, black tip, dark sparsely furred ears, and pale grey toes. Its fifth toe is small with a nail, rather than a claw, on the fore feet. Its hind feet are bristled. Its cheek teeth are shaped like figures-of-eight, hence the degu's genus name Octodon.
Degus mainly occur in the west central Chile, where they live in a "matorral" habitat - a Mediterranean-type semi-arid shrubland, located on the lower western slopes of the Andes. These rodents can often be seen in areas, dominated by cattle grazing, due to which they are considered a pest species in certain parts of their range.
Degus are social animals, forming small groups of 1-2 males and 2-5 females, which are typically related. Females of a group practice allomothering, rearing offspring of one another. Each group has its own territory, where it lives during most of the year. These diurnal animals are active in the morning and evening. Degus are semi-fossorial, digging huge burrow systems, where they live together with Bennett's chinchilla rats. Feeding occurs above the surface, although they tend to descend to the low branches of shrubs to find food. Degus enjoy wallowing in dust. Each group has its favorite wallowing sites, which they mark with their gland secretions. Due to these secretions, group members are able to identify each other and establish their territory. Degus are highly vocal rodents and associate with conspecifics through a wide variety of vocalizations such as alarm calls, mating calls as well as calls, used between parents and their offspring.
As herbivorous (folivorous, graminivorous, granivorous) animals, degus mainly consume grasses, leaves, forbs as well as seeds of various shrubs. Like some other herbivores such as rabbits, they perform coprophagy (faecal reingestion) so as to extract more nutrition from their diet. This also serves to maintain healthy gut function during times when food is scarce.
Degus have a polygynous mating system. During the breeding season, males aggressively defend their mating rights. They usually drive out other males from their burrow, limiting their access to 2-4 females, living there. Populations in the wild are known to breed once a year, typically during the autumn, in late May. Young are born between late winter and early spring (in September-October). The gestation period lasts for 90 days, yielding a litter of 4-6 babies. The number of litters per year depends on weather conditions: usually, wet years bring 2 litter, while dry years yield only a single litter. Newborn degus are precocial, possessing fur and teeth. They are born with open eyes and can move around the nest independently. Weaning occurs within 4-5 weeks, while reproductive maturity is reached at 12-16 weeks old. They attain adult size at 6 months old. As a general rule, young degus remain in single-sex groups until around 9 months of age, and only after that they begin breeding.
Currently, there are no major threats to the overall population of these rodents.
According to IUCN, the Degus is abundant and widespread throughout its range but no overall population estimate is available. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List.
Due to selective browsing, degus play an important role in the ecosystem of their range. They are known to reduce the fiber content of their diet by consuming shrubs that are relatively less fibrous and thorny. They often drive away conspecifics in order to increase their feeding area. On the other hand, due to consuming and damaging cultivated prickly pear cactus, wheat, vineyards, and orchards, degus are considered a pest species in some parts of their range. In other parts of their range, these animals are a key prey species for local predators.
