Understanding how to keep a degu entertained starts with matching activities to three natural rodent behaviors—digging, chewing, and climbing—rather than crowding the cage with random objects. Effective degu enrichment ideas must meet three welfare conditions at the same time: verified pet-safe materials (no plastic toys or resinous toxic woods like cedar), enough duplicate stations so every degu in the group can participate without resource guarding, and clear retreat paths back to food, water, and hides.

1. Three activity setups with material checks, observations, and next steps

Combining recommendations from the PDSA degu care guide, the RSPCA housing guide, and the RSPCA degu behaviour guide, use this table to set up each activity type, verify materials, and adjust based on what your degus actually do:

Activity goal & setup example Material safety & group-access check What to observe during voluntary use When to adjust, replace, or seek advice
1. Digging & foraging
Deep substrate area or dedicated digging box where degus can burrow, kick, and search for scattered hay or forage.		 Use dust-extracted, degu-safe substrate inside a heavy non-plastic container; leave multiple open sides so one degu cannot corner another inside. Degus enter and exit freely, dig and burrow without squabbling, and can still reach water bottles and hay racks via separate paths. Refresh soiled substrate promptly; if one degu monopolizes the digging box, add a second digging zone in another section of the enclosure.
2. Chewing & gnawing
Unbleached cardboard tubes/boxes and safe natural wood branches (PDSA lists apple, pear, or willow wood).		 Exclude all plastic items and toxic woods such as cedar (RSPCA). Verify that any apple, pear, or willow branch is untreated and pesticide-free—never use unidentified garden branches. Degus gnaw bark and shred cardboard voluntarily; provide multiple chew pieces spaced apart for the whole group. Remove damp, soiled, or sharp-splintered pieces during daily checks; replace shredded cardboard tubes only when worn out rather than on a rigid calendar.
3. Climbing & tunneling
Sturdy wooden bridges, ledges, and multi-opening cardboard or safe-wood hideaways arranged across levels.		 Anchor wooden bridges and ledges securely so they cannot tip; never place a single-exit tube where it blocks the main path to food, water, or sleeping retreats. Degus climb, hop between levels, and pass through tunnels voluntarily—never pick up a hesitant degu and push it inside a tube. Retire any chewed bridge whose dowels or supports become unstable; keep familiar hides intact when rotating optional cardboard tunnels.

2. Protect group harmony and recognize when to call a vet

Before adding new enrichment items, check your baseline degu enclosure setup to confirm that every degu has multiple hiding places and unobstructed routes to food and water. As the RSPCA behaviour guide emphasizes, if a degu suddenly stops engaging, hides constantly, shows repetitive stress behaviors, or fights with cage mates, consult a veterinarian or qualified clinical animal behaviourist rather than assuming a new chew toy will fix the change.