I think it was during my first half of Uni when I got 2 degu’s, a male and a female.
They were sort of a novelty then, not many people would have had them as pets and I was curious. They look cute, like tiny squirrels, and were quite quiet and funny in general.
Occasionally I would let them wander around my bedroom. At one occasion one of them took a dry banana chip and took it to my bed with him, hiding it under the pillow. I thought this was adorable.
On another occasion, one of them went behind the dresser, and as I moved it to try and let him out, he ran towards the direction I was moving, and unexpectedly, this caught his tiny leg. He got an open tibial fracture.
I took him to the vets, we did an X ray and started treatment.
Unfortunately, he didn’t make it.
The other degu was devastated. She wouldn’t eat. She wouldn’t exercise. She just looked miserable.
I had to get her a companion, so I went to the pet store and got her a friend. This seemingly helped her situation, she gradually, through out a week or so, went back to what I would describe as normal food intake and behaviour for her.
Degu’s are not the kind of pet you would have a lot of physical contact with, cuddling or interaction. Basically, you have them to watch them do their thing. And for some reason, in my limited imagination, this meant they didn’t feel much for each other either.
But I was wrong. I have measured their mutual emotional bond to the emotional bond they presented towards me, which is, well, stupid, really.
This unfortunate episode taught me that animals, no matter how small or reserved, can have the capacity to empathize, and relationships with each other that are not visible to us most of the time.
They were great pets for many reasons.
I loved them.