Rats and Degus

Question
We adopted two baby female rats to accompany our adult female (about a year old) whose cage mate recently passed away.  Our adult female instantly started mothering these babies and appears to really enjoy them.

My husband fell in love with the degu this breeder was also giving away, so we took her home, as well, and purchased a separate cage for her.  My question is this:  The woman we obtained the baby rats from had the degu in the same cage as her rats (she had quite a few), and claimed they all loved being together.  Does this sound like a safe arrangement to you?  We also saw cats, dogs, and free roaming rats all coexisting harmoniously.  I'm not familiar with degus, but the breeder told us they are social animals and don't want to live alone.  We just want everybody to be safe.

Answer
Shes one in a million..probably putting the rats and degus together as young pups.  Keep in mind that although rats are preyed upon by many species, rats themselves are predatory animals and will hunt down and kill any animal smaller than they are, such as mice and degus to. Ferrets will kill rats as well.   As for the dogs and cats roaming with the rats...this is also careless and dangerous to do. One wrong move by the larger animal and the small mammals that are under foot are history.  I would never recommend doing this.  Another beef I have with free range rats is the dangers that lurk on the floor for them.  One bite into a power cord and the rat is cooked.  The couch can pose a fatal threat as the rat can get stuck inside the couch and either strangle or suffocate.  Stepping on the rat, shutting the door on the rat, falling on the rat, dropping heavy objects on the rat (even something such as a telephone book can kill a small mammal) are all dangers to the rat.  The reason I even bring this up is because these are accidents that were reported to me over the years that have stuck in my head...from a girls boyfriend losing his footing and falling onto the rat killing it instantly, to the rat getting shut in the tracks of a sliding glass door or chopped up by a fan after the rat crawled into the back of a refrigerator....so sad, and this doesnt have to happen at all.  Going outside is just as bad, as it doesnt take but a split second for a large bird of prey to swoop down and grab someones pet rat that is innocently roaming the back yard.    

Please check out my site, sandyscrittercity.com for more info on pet rat care. Also, be sure to research about degus.  They are not the same as rats in any way.   Cute, but very different type of small exotic mammal.