How to Bathe a Pet Degu

Although they clean themselves like cats, degus must also be bathed to ensure a healthy, hygienic coat. In the wild, degus wash themselves by rolling in fine desert dust, rather than water. In captivity, bath them the same way. Special volcanic sand is required to keep a degu clean.

Things You'll Need

  • Chinchilla dust
  • Large bowl
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Instructions

    • 1

      Purchase volcanic dust, chinchilla dust, or chinchilla bath sand from a reputable pet store. This dust or sand is a very fine powder, not granular like regular garden sand. Garden sand can cause adverse skin reactions and will not clean a degu's coat.

    • 2

      Pour an inch of chinchilla sand into a bowl or pan, shallow enough for degus to climb into. Make sure it is large enough to accommodate at least one rolling degu. Larger is better.

    • 3

      Place the bowl inside the degu cage, and prepare for a degu party! The degus will roll, hop, dance and dive into the bowl, making quite a mess in the process.

    • 4

      Leave the bowl in the cage until the degus begin to lose interest. This normally takes between a few minutes and half an hour. Remove the bath dust from the cage.

    • 5

      Cover the bowl and set aside for the next bath time.