Five adult female degus just arrived at the Small Mammal House. During their entrance exams, we discovered a surprise?one was pregnant! After she gave birth in quarantine, we now have an active group of nine degus at Small Mammals with six females on exhibit and three males behind-the-scenes. Degus are small rodents native to Chile and have an unusual adaptation for dealing with predators: if they are caught by their tail, they can slip out of it! They can only use this technique once though, because the tail won't grow back.

Come see them at the Small Mammal House!