degu+chin

Question
can degus and chinchillas live together in a big enough cage? I've seen and
heard of it being done successfully, but i'm not sure if the chin would kill they
degu or not. Also i'm told chinchillas and degus of different sexes can breed,
but I'm doubtful of this, any input?

Answer
Dear Kay,
thank you for your question.
They cannot breed, that's impossible. It's sometimes possible for animals that belong to the same genus but not the same species to breed (tiger/lion or horse/donkey), but chinchillas and degus only belong to the same order, not even the same family or genus.

I would also be afraid of the chinchilla killing the degu or even the other way around. Both species can be quite aggressive. Apart from that, they don't speak the same language, not even body language and have a completely different way of life. The dayactive degus would constantly stress the nocturne chinchillas. Degus also have a different diet than chinchillas, who are very susceptible to diarrhea ect. when they eat the wrong food.

And last but not least, both animal are very social and must be kept with at least one other partner (of their own sex to avoid a ton of babies of course) of their own species, a degu wouldn't be any company for a chinchilla.
I hope I was of some help to you
Jennifer