About The Degu Den Rescue Kent
We are passionate about Degus. We are in Kent, UK. We have 70 that are in our care currently. We rescue and rehome those who are no longer wanted.
The Degu Den Rescue Kent Description
We have 69 Degus here in our home that have all be rescued for one reason on another.
We have now started to rehome on any that have no health issues and are in good condition. Some may have arrived with medical issues and will not be up for rehoming before they are given a clean bill of health by our very experienced vets.
You will need to complete a questionnaire and show proof that their new home is both a suitable one and is appropriate for their needs which includes meeting all their basic needs.
We prefer them to go in their established groups to avoid further upheaval for them and you need to understand they will need a time to settle in to their new surroundings before they will fully trust you.
We work hard with all the Degus in our care to make them friendly, confident and human friendly. Some times this will be difficult due to their past but we do not give up. We will advise of the most friendly and outgoing of them if that is what you require.
This is a family home so they are all used to children of various ages and my children do hold them while closely supervised so they are also used to child contact.
Any that have ongoing issues will not be rehomed unless specifically requested by yourself and you have the experience, knowledge and understanding of their ongoing needs and the costs involved.
Some have rather specialist needs which require ongoing treatment and special care or cages to assist their standard of living to one that we find acceptable. I will over the next few weeks / months try to put up pictures of them individually and their name and any special needs including why they came here when they did.
We are very committed and focused on all of them having the best possible life they can for the rest of their days regardless of how long that will be.
Some require frequent vet visits and operations (especially dentals) as a known common issue especially if they are not given very important daily Hay and Herbs which keep their back (molar) teeth ground down and stop this from forming.
The are also unable to have sugar in their diet as they have an intolerance which can lead to diabetes and cataracts if not followed very strictly.
There are so many things that they can have though which are available online rather than the very limited items that are in the shops currently.
Safe woods are also very important for them so they can chew on things constantly due to their ever growing front teeth.
Degus are very good at hiding illness sometimes until it is too late to save them. They can be prone to respiratory infections, eye infections and other minor ailments that can escalate very quickly if not caught early.
I am very lucky to have the support and mutual respect of a fantastic and very knowledgeable vets locally that quite uncommonly has 5 vets that are both qualified and very experienced to deal with these little exotic trouble makers.
They are so rewarding and loads of fun to have in your life too. I could not imagine my life without them now.
Reviews
I think the babies prefer my hot water bottle while waiting for a feed. Then onto the heat pad once finished and in a milk coma. ❤️
We are wondering if someone has a 2nd hand one of these guinea pig sized carriers.
Unfortunately when we tried mummy with her babies in a calm environment to see if she would feed and care for the remaining 5 babies she just spent the entire time trying to get away from them and chewing out frantically.
If we can replace it that would be amazing. We like this specific one as it fits a heat pad in there.
... Please get in contact if you have one you no longer need. Happy to collect if local and happy to cover postage costs if not.
Thank you so much.
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So today is a really sad day. Over night two of the new babies have passed to be with their passed sister leaving just 5 of the original 8.
We thought it strange that mum had abandoned the nest and the house for an open new nest. They were under her but quite cold and they are rather skinny looking.
Upon very close inspection and observation it seems the older babies are taking all of mummy’s milk as the other mums seem to have stopped nursing them totally.
... We took mum (who is blind) out to be with just them but she seems frantic to be back with everyone else. After an hour she has not attempted to feed them at all and is just chewing her way out the small carrier we had Serenity in. They have now had two syringe feeds from us and are sleeping snuggled in the carrier with a heat pad. We will get mum out again later and try her again.
Please wish her and then luck.
🐾🐾
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Pugwash is awaiting his dental with his bother Chunk. He also has his favourite food in a syringe for after too.
Hi It’s Pugwash here.
I am going to see dr Richard tomorrow.
Any idea as to why?
... Can you see what I am trying to say? I am making it very obvious I think.
🐾🐾
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Hello it’s Pugwash here. I went and saw Dr Richard for my 7 day post op check on Friday morning.
Dr Richard is really happy with my progress and I only need to go back now once my big nasty scab comes off on its own. I am really pleased with that as I don’t like being pulled and prodded around.
The humans say I have been through so much and they are still struggling with me and my eating but that I am worth it. I am still not really gaining weight after my last dental a few... weeks ago and I have now found something I love. It’s called syringe feeding so I hear. It’s when I get wrapped in something soft and feel all warm and snuggly. Then I get given some really tasty soft food that is yummy and easy to eat. I will eat at least one big syringe full at every meal and I have a minimum of 4 meals in addition to eating my food with my brothers when in then cage too.
I have so much energy and I am back to dashing around the cage and running in the wheel too.
Yesterday I was hinting that I have not yet seen Dr Richard enough and I kept pawing at my mouth until the human took noice. I think it is my cheek tooth that grows in a horseshoe shape that is bothering me again but Dr Richard will find out for me and sort me.
They are going to try and get me booked in tomorrow or Tuesday for a dental with Dr Richard and hopefully I can feel better again but o don’t want to stop the syringe feeding as I like it too much and love the extra attention too.
Here I am enjoying some of that special food.
🐾🐾 Pugwash.
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Blind Mummy (Brain) from the recent rescue of 8 girls and now 4 litters of babies (all came in either pregnant or nursing re are relieved to say had her final litter overnight on the early hours of Friday morning. 8 in total and 7 remain (one born forever sleeping).
She has just wanted to come out for the first time since she has her babies and is just super calm and so so lovely. She seems to be coping well with having so many to feed again as she is the original girl all t...his family came from in a miss sexed pair.
When you simplify it she behaves the same and seems to take on the exact same natural role that Linny does in her family. I feel truly blessed to be allowed to observe their behaviours and to watch their family units solidify in a safe and happy environment with no more males putting a spanner in the works (so to speak).
Again like with Belle and then Linny I seem to have been chosen for an instant extra special bond, it is like they instantly know me and relax. This means I am fortunate enough to get the best beautiful cuddles ever from them.
Here is our beautiful Brain (we are looking for a better and more appropriate name for her).
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Who remembers the beautiful gentle Linny.
She had to go in and ended up having emergency surgery to remove one of her front paws due to an aggressive bone cancer. Well here she is enjoying a dust bath today.
Looking so much better.
Look at the beautiful Belle. Not too long after she arrived here she had a litter back to back. Not sure how many litters in a row she has had but it was at least 4.
As soon as they arrived Sebastian went off to be neutered and when the last litter was born he was removed for a week just to make absolutely sure that no further litters could ever happen.
Since then it has been a little touch and go with Belle and that she would have tummy problems resulting in her becoming r...ather dehydrated and to lose weight and struggle to stay at a healthy weight.
We are relieved to see that seems to have finally settled down to a perfect 255g weight and no more poorly tummy.
These photos were taken this morning. As soon as she came out she laid down and snuggled into my arm. Such a sweet girl.
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Solo says good morning.
Less than a week old and she has gone from her birthweight of 17g to this morning of 28g. She will be overtaking all the older babies in size soon.
I get home from my 5th night shift this morning to see that there has been another explosion of babies in the new girls cage. Here is a photo of the seven little ones minus one little girl who was born forever sleeping.
This is unfortunately a bitter sweet post. Mum is thankfully doing well.
❤️😢❤️
So yesterday I had an amazing donation arrive but due to still doing my night shifts I did not get a chance to open them.
Look at this amazing donation that arrived. These are HUGE 16inch wheels. And a big bag of sand. Thank you so very much. What an amazingly generous gift to be sent.
Luckily we have just one cage big enough to house this stunning wheels and can move the ones in there to the other cages that need them.
... Thank you so much for helping us to make such a difference to their lives.
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Wilma is still going from strength to strength with her recovery from 3 dentals in quick succession and a huge abscess which burst the morning she went in to have it drained.
She still has a little scab under her jaw but is very happily gaining back her weight. She is almost double what she was at her lightest she is currently 182g.
I don’t think she wants to accept Dr Richards poor prognosis from that abscess just yet.
... What a beautiful sweetheart. It’s hard to think when these girls arrive in April 2017 that you could not touch or go near them.
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Today’s adventures of the littlest solo.
Check out our sister fundraising page for some exciting new items.
The youngest one currently (solo baby) just 3 days old. I think she approves. Already having a go at the toys and desperate to keep up with her 2 and 3 week old cousins.
The girls would like to say massive thank you for their new home which is more than twice the size than their previous one.
Happily and inquisitively exploring their new pad.
Unfortunately we have used the last of our Minipetz toys and it could still use some more in there. But I think they are happy to be able to stretch their legs. We still need to work out how to fit a wheel in there for them hopefully we can get that sorted for them later today.
This boy just totally melts our heart.
His brothers love him so much too.
Pugwash 🐾🐾