Let's have a thread to show off our pets (or ridicule them when they're doing stupid things), both past and present. I'll start out with our present pets, degus (also known as goos)! These furry little idiots are actually quite intelligent, they just don't show it too often. They're about the size of my hand and are often referred to as brush tailed rats and other names as well. I think they're related distantly to chinchillas. They are found in Chile in the wild but not a huge amount is known about them, they are highly sociable animals though so should never be kept alone as a general rule. They're classed as an exotic pet here in the UK and in the US are banned in a lot of states. They live between 6 - 8 years on average but can reach double figures which is why we chose them over other rodents. They do have to have a strict diet as they're very prone to diabetes so no fruit for them.

Ours are 2 brothers called Scrat and Diego. We've had them since December 2016 and they never fail to make us laugh. Both are quite gentle though Diego sometimes decides he wants to bite me (only me, never anyone else) which, considering they gnaw wood, is bloody painful! I've seen some degus be really affectionate and love to be tickled but not our two. They sort of give in the to tickle then after a second or two run off. They do a lot of stupid things like fail to notice the food they're standing in or fall off ledge (then look at us with an embarrassed expression as if to say "no one saw anything, right?") but they're also smart. They know when my alarm goes off it means feeding time and they will go back in the cage when we say "cage" in a certain way or tap on the bars. They also know if I say "come on" and walk out into our hallway they should follow me.

Edit: I keep getting an error when trying to attach pictures so none for now

There are limits on file sizes, so if it's a cell pic, you may want to try resizing it before hand. Sorry... the software running this board is pretty ancient.

I'll post my stuff ASAP, but am a bit busy atm. Sorry.

No rush! I'll try that, I do resize all my photos but probably not small enough for this old software *pats forum* I'll play around and see what I can get to work

So we currently have 2 pets, Rosco and Diesel, which are dogs and Corgi mixes. Roscoe is a Corgi/Sheltie mix and about 8 years old. Diesel is a half Corgi, 25% Pug and 25% Chihuahua (Chug) and around 5 I think. Both are rescues. Roscoe is much larger... around 35lbs I believe. Diesel is about 16.

Diesel went through a bunch of homes before coming to us and he's very needy. He almost always has to be touching you and the center of attention, though he's getting better. He's also the more vocal of the two and will eat almost anything.

Roscoe is very different. He's really quiet most of the time, snubs most food, and is fine on his own. He can be affectionate, but most of the time he's fine just being near you, whereas Diesel has to be touching.

Awww gorgeous dogs, would love to give them fusses. You can really see the chihauhau in Diesel's face.

Oh, that's cool. I've never owned a pet.... tiny... furry... rodent (degu in your case). Do you just let them roam free? Pretty cool it bedding down on your electronics. I used to have a turtle and tortoise we allowed to roam the house, but that got a bit messy after a while. Unfortunately all our other pets have passed on. We've had a cat, multiple turtles and tortoises, fish and birds. I'm still considering getting another sulcata tortoise, actually. Pets are awesome. Also considering another dog, preferably a big one in the 70+ lb range. Maybe a great Dane Cogi mix.

I think that might fall under animal cruelty

Great pics, the dogs and degus look very cute. Not really a dog person but I don't hate them either or anything. I used to have a rat and a mouse when I was younger. They're pretty cool, the rat especially. Smart little bugger.

I don't have any pets since I live alone and have to go away for work a lot. Wouldn't be nice for the animal(s). If I knew I was settling somewhere I'd probably get a cat though.

Great Dane x Corgi would be quite hilarious!

We used to have dogs, cats and birds when I was growing up, will post some pics at some point of them. The degus are in their cage most of the time but we have them out for at least an hour every day. We do have to watch they don't chew through everything though. When not bedding down on our router they're usually putting their faces in front of the monitors whilst we're gaming so we can't actually play too well

Do they criticize your play style too?

I've definitely been through a number of pets. Shiny and I had 2 dogs prior to these two, I had a cat, and we've had a variety of turtles, tortoises, fish, and a few birds. Birds suck. The rest are cool, but unfortunately pretty much all dead except possibly for a couple turtles we released into a nearby pond. They common local turtles and were too large for their fish tank. Since we fed them live fish anyway, releasing them was more humane than keeping them confined.

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Cute dogs. A German shepherd and... something?

A greyhound. Two very different dogs both in attitude and physicality. Both have their quirks too, but somehow we manage

That's cool. I love me some larger dogs. Mine are currently in the 18lb and 35lb range, which is on the small side for me. Still, they're awesome guys, so I can't complain too much. My next dog is going to be at least 70lbs though.

Gorgeous dogs Derf, never had a greyhound but they are lovely creatures. Shepherds are fab; again never owned one but my friends always have rescue ones and I've looked after them when they've gone on holiday. They currently have one that's almost gingery in colour, he looks more like an oversized fox than a dog.