Hi everyone, I'm a little bit excited. We might be getting a pair of female Degu!! We have a rat cage left from when our ratties were with us, and all the equipment. A friend of ours has just adopted a breeding pair of degus and they have offered us some when they have their first litter. I had been looking at getting us another couple of rats but I was a little put off by what happened to the ratties (MIL's dog got to the cage and killed them ) so we have said that in a few weeks (like towards the end of august when I go on maternity, we will get them to keep me company/occupied when I'm at home. We are real animal people so this is really cool!!

Do you think it's a good idea. We have a few reservations obviously with the baby coming but we like the idea of some more animals in the house (we were going to get chickens etc but then the BFP came and we decided against.)

I used to have Degu's, had two boys. - They were quite dirty animals really, and don't think i would like to be cleaning them out while pregnant. But i am being very picky and careful about things like that, it shouldn't be a problem having them while pregnant, just be careful as you don't want them to be neglected once the babies here! :-)

I have 12 rats, a lizard and a staffy. We had them all before we got pregnant and TBH its hard work with the rats, having to clean them out even though i am shattered!

xx

there are some pets that you are advised to get during pregnancy because of things that they carry in their poo. i dont know what they are though so you may want to look into it. i do know kittens are included, which bothered me cos i was in the process of getting a "blue/grey" kitten when i found out was pregnant. i didnt get it.

hiya my house is full of animals i have 3dogs (dobermann age 7,shiz-tzu age 8 an a british bulldog age 2) , 3 cats , a ferret an some tropical fish , i did have a gecko till last month but it died , my dp wanted to get a chamelion when the gecko died but i put my foot down an had to say no i had one in the past an wit baby coming i figured it was just too much hassle , if its only 2 degus go ahead there only small an get your oh to clean them while u are preg

Wow!! You have your hands full!

We only have the dog and 3 rather large and demanding goldfish!!

We thought it might be nice plus they live for a couple of years so the baby will be able to watch them jumping around etc. They are di-urnal (sp?) too which means iunlike hamsters they will be active during the day (hopefully!) - and Yes hubby can clean them! I used to be the only one who would clean the ratties but I'm sure hubby will be more than happy to clean them out once a week like I used to as long as I do all the every-day stuff in return (that's the fun stuff anyway - the playing and the socialising and the feeding!!)

I will check out whether or not you're supposed to have them while PG but I am a vigilent hand washer after the rats so hopefully we will be ok. We may not get them if the friend can find a buyer for them anyway so we will see....I think hubby is more taken with them than I am.

I have always had rats till recently! We just have a gerbil and hamster at mo, and hubby is good at cleaning them out!

as for pregnancy I dont see a problem wiht them as long as your washing your hands after handling (something I keep having to remnd hubby to do, I dont think he realises how important it is esp once babies here! )

Degus are so sweet its somethng I had looked into getting but we dont have the space for a large cage, we have the gerbil in a large tank, but dont think shes gonna be with us once babas here as she is so old, hubby wants to turn the tank into a fish tank I wana turn it into a lizards home we shall have to see whos gonna win that arguement!!

I say if you can get them go for it! My last child was brough up round small animals etc and he had loads respect for them and handled them etc, yet I know of others who have children no small pets and the children are clueless and can be harsh with them, its never to early to start gettin children used to animals!

I was brought up hatin dogs which is a shame as I cant get that out of my head now and I knw hubby would love one but I wont budge no way are we ever having a dog!!!

Sorry long winded reply....when all I basically wana say is go for it if you can

xx

To be honest while pregnant .. I'd not.

We'd really like a dog at the moment, but we talked about it and decided it'd not be fair on a dog at the moment. The two cats are enough stress chasing them off the backs of sofas when they think its a scratch post

I used to keep rats and they were hard enough work to keep clean, Degus are gonna be worse. Once the baby is born are you going to be able to fully give them the attention they need on top of all night feeds and lack of sleep?
They can also live a long time.. 5 to 8 years if well looked after .. unlike a rat that can live 3 or 4 years. They also are better kept in 2's (as are rats)

I used to work with Degus, you gotta watch their diet as they can get diabetes and that can lead to expensive vets bills. They also chew a lot more than rats and will prolly demolish your rats cage if its a plastic bottomed one. Ideally they need metal bottomed, with a wire cage. LOTS of chew toys They are also borrowers like gerbils and prefer a tank of dirt to dig and make burrows in vs a cage with woodchips in the bottom. But then you'd need a REALLY big tank lol. A large rat/chinchilla/ferret cage is good but is better with multi levels. As with rats, avoid scented woodchips. They also need a dust baths (Fun to watch haha)

I know you miss your rattys. I do and *really* want some again, but at the moment, being pregnant? Remembering the cleaning, how long it'd take, the attention they require, how messy it actually was? I think its something best left until after the baby and a routine is in place, then you can truly determine if you can give them the attention they deserve. And anywho, its only a few months to wait! If they have a breeding pair, there will be plenty more along the line

Good luck!

We got a kitten when i was 6 months pregnant, it worked out for the better as she adjusted very well when baby arrived.

Thnaks Chaos - I've just been doing some reading up about them and yes....metal bottomed cage is a must which we don't have.

It's a while off yet so we will see when we get further down the line......hubby things that it's just my maternal instincts kicking in!!