Emma bought some Halloween themed animal beds - a large pumpkin shaped one for the Degus, and a smaller one for the hamsters or mice.

Remy and Emile in the pumpkin bed.

Brennen and Fruitcake in the smaller bed. We tried several different hamsters in this bed before we eventually gave it to the boy-mice.

I've noticed that I haven't uploaded any photos of Remy recently. We still have him but he doesn't seem to pose for the camera as often as Emile.

We buy these parsley biscuits, and the Degus really love them. They run up to the side of the cage and beg for them. They don't eat them straight away but usually run around carrying them in their mouths for a few minutes first.

One of Fadle's babies - currently un-named but we refer to her as 'Big Blue' She has a slightly smaller sister called 'Little Blue'.

Chocolate Mousse hiding in the igloo.

All of our female mice. Clockwise, starting from the top:
Chocolate Mousse, Ikea, Shiny Black, Tricolour, Fake Cow, Momma Mousse and Pinky.

A selection of recent photos of some of our animals.

Click on the thumbnail to view the image

Last week we bought a bell shaped seed and herb treat for the Degus. They seem to enjoy it and nibble at it regularly. The degus are very sensitive to sugar and you should avoid feeding them anything which contains any. Before buying any snack treats for them, we always read the ingredients to make sure they don't contain any sugar.

I opened the small door in the side of the cage so I could get a photo of Emile eating the bell. I forgot how nosey the degus are. He stopped eating the bell and came to the door to see what I was doing.

I eventually managed to get some photos of him eating it.

We were watching Torchwood on BBC2 and had the degus out for a bit of a run. We were also eating a few crackers for supper. The degus (or Podge Rats as we sometimes call them) seemed rather interested in them.

Emile seemed to really like the cracker, snatching it and trying to eat it all himself.

Remy was less bothered and took a nibble, but didn't try to take the whole cracker.

Here are some recent animal photos, mainly the Quail chicks and a few hamster pics.  

Click on the thumbnail to view the image

I thought I'd collect together any useful pet related web sites, mainly ones to do with pets we own (at the moment: hamsters, degus and quail). I'll add more sites to the list as and when when I find any.

• Hamster Heaven. This site has a very active forum, where a lot of experienced hamster owners discuss hamster ownership.
• Degu Rock - website about Degus, also has a forum.
• Coturnix Corner. A forum for Quail owners.
• Emma's Hamster Wiki.

We have to be careful what we feed the Degus. They aren't allowed anything with much sugar in it, so we limit them to the bought food (Degu food isn't available in our local pet shops so we buy chinchilla food - they have similar dietary requirements) with the occasional bit of vegetable.

This morning we gave them some of the fenugreek biscuits which the hamsters seem to like. They seemed to like them. Emile had a nibble on one when he found them. When we got the Degus out tonight, Remy smelt of curry, much like the Roborovski hamsters do when they eat them.

Just in case any of our parents are reading, earlier today we didn't go to the RSPCA. We didn't get 2 degus and bring them home. We didn't put them in an enormous cage which Emma didn't buy and which doesn't take up most of the living room.

We haven't called them Remy and Emile, after the rats in the film Ratatouille.

Remy (with Emile in the background)

Emile

The Degus had originally been confiscated from a pet shop in the Birmingham area. They had been kept in overcrowded conditions and there had been some fighting. This is probably how Emile lost the tip of his tail.

Remy sometimes sits very still and acts as if he can't see you. The staff at the RSPCA thought he might be blind but most of the time he seems ok. It's as if he has occasional absence seizures which stop if you pick him up.