How to tame, handle and bond with a degu

Can you tame a degu?

Yes. Degus are curious and clever, and most learn to take food from your hand, climb onto you and come to the front of the cage when you walk in. What they rarely love is being picked up. PDSA and Chewy both say degus generally dislike being held, and Burgess says many dislike being handled. So the goal is a degu that chooses to come to you. That is a tame degu.

Taming works because degus learn routines and link you with good things. It fails when people rush, because degus are prey animals and a hand swooping in from above looks like a predator to them. Understanding what your degu is telling you helps a lot, so keep our guide to degu sounds and body language open while you work.

Before you start: settling in

Leave a new degu alone for the first week. Supreme says to allow at least a week to settle before any handling, and Degutopia says hiding in the first week is normal. Put the cage in a calm room where people pass by but there is no loud TV or music, as PDSA advises, and keep regular hours, because the RSPCA says degus need lights off at a set time each night.

Use this week to set up a cage with plenty of hides, so your degus feel safe enough to come out. Our degu enrichment guide covers what to put in it.

How to tame a degu, step by step

This plan combines Degutopia's staged method for nervous degus with the hand-feeding routine Woodgreen, Burgess and Supreme describe. A confident degu may race through the first steps in days. A shy one may need a week or more at each.

1. Just be there. Sit beside the cage for 30 to 60 minutes a day with your back to it, reading or listening to quiet radio, as Degutopia suggests. Don't turn to look when they come out. Same time every day.
2. Talk and turn. Talk softly and slowly turn to face them. If they bolt, turn back and try again later. Woodgreen and Burgess suggest 10 to 20 minutes of talking each evening.
3. Treats near your hand. Open the door and put a treat on the floor just inside, near your hand. Wait for the degu to come to it. Move the treat closer to your fingers each day.
4. Treats from your hand. Hold a treat between your fingertips, then on a flat palm. Supreme says to wait until the degu stands on your hand to take it.
5. Step up. Once your degu is happy standing on your palm, let it climb onto your arm to sniff and explore, as Woodgreen and Burgess describe. Keep your hand low and still.
6. Play time together. Sit on the floor in a safe pen or room and let your degus climb over your legs and arms while you offer treats. Supreme suggests this to build good associations.
7. Gentle lifting. Only when your degu is relaxed on your hand, scoop it up gently, close to your body and low down. Put it back after a few seconds and give a treat.

Treats through the bars: yes or no?

The sources disagree here. Degutopia's nervy-degu plan uses treats through the bars, with the door shut, as an early step. Supreme says not to, because degus can learn to nip fingers that appear at the bars. We'd follow Supreme for most degus and go straight to treats at the open door, because it avoids a habit you'd have to undo. For a very frightened degu that won't come near an open door, the through-the-bars step can help, but stop it once the degu is taking treats at the door.

How to pick up a degu safely

When you do need to lift a degu, for a health check or to move it, do it low and supported.

• Kneel or sit so your hands are close to the floor or a soft surface
• Let the degu step onto your hand rather than scooping from above
• Put one hand around the chest and support the back legs with the other, as PDSA describes
• Or cup it in one hand with the other hand lightly over its back, as Supreme suggests
• Hold it close to your body so it feels secure and can't leap
• Stay away from shelves and furniture: the RSPCA warns degus may jump

Tube training: the easiest way to move a degu

Woodgreen suggests keeping a tunnel in the cage so you can lift degus safely for health checks and play time. PDSA describes letting a degu walk into a tube, then out onto your arm or hands. Degutopia recommends tube training for any degu that isn't hand-tame yet, so you never have to reach in and grab.

1. Leave a tube in the cage. Use a cardboard or wooden tube wide enough for your degu to run through easily, and let it become part of the furniture.
2. Treat inside. Put a treat in the middle of the tube a few times a day so going inside means good things.
3. Cover and lift. When your degu is inside, gently cover both ends with your hands and lift the tube, low and level.
4. Tip out gently. Tilt the tube so the degu walks out into the pen, carrier or onto your arm. Give a treat.

Taming a nervous or rescue degu

Degutopia gives a useful test. Under a week, hiding is normal. By one to two weeks, most degus will take treats. If after three weeks your degu still runs and hides whenever you come in, hides at every noise and refuses treats, it is probably a nervy degu and needs the slow version of the steps above, starting with one to two weeks of just sitting by the cage.

A few rules make the difference with a nervous degu:

• Never put your hand into the cage to grab it, which Degutopia says can undo weeks of trust
• Keep the same time and routine every day
• Go back a step at any setback, as Supreme advises, and build up again
• Let calmer cagemates show the way: Degutopia says nervous degus often copy them
• Never shout or punish, which the RSPCA says only makes degus more scared

Degutopia is honest that you may never fully cure a nervous degu, but you can build its confidence. A degu that eats calmly while you sit nearby is already less stressed. If a degu that was tame suddenly turns jumpy or bitey, check our degu health guide, because pain often shows first as a change in behaviour.

What not to do

• Grab suddenly or reach down from above (Woodgreen warns this can lead to a bite)
• Chase a degu around the cage to catch it
• Handle a sleepy degu: Supreme says to work when they're awake and busy
• Use sugary treats or fruit as rewards
• Let young children handle degus unsupervised: PetMD says they suit adults and responsible teens
• Rush to free-roam: Woodgreen says wait until they're happily feeding from your hand

Bonding beyond handling

Bonding isn't only about touch. Burgess says degus stand at the front of the cage asking to come out when they see their owners, and that is the relationship you're building. Daily play time in a safe space, scatter-fed breakfasts and a quiet chat while you clean all count. PDSA asks for at least 30 minutes out of the cage a day. If you're thinking of getting degus and wondering whether they'll suit you, read degus as pets, and for everything else, our complete degu care guide.