Degu Tail
Survey Results

You can see here the results of our findings SO FAR; this page will be updated as we get more results so make sure you check back soon! 

>TAIL FLASH RESULTS:<

Number of degus surveyed at last update: 107

Figure 1- This graph shows the percentage of all the degus with and without a tail flash surveyed in 2004-2010
(Source: Degutopia 2004-2010, unpublished ongoing survey).

Current conclusions:
-Tail flashes are fairly uncommon in the captive degu population.

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Figure 2- This graph shows a breakdown of the ages and sexes of degus with a tail flash surveyed in 2004-2010
(Source: Degutopia 2004-2010, unpublished ongoing survey).

Of the degus with a tail flash:

Current conclusions:
-Elderly degus are less likely to develop tail flashes, so it is likely to be a genetic trait.
-Male and female degus are about equally likely to have a tail flash, so there is no sex linkage.

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Figure 3- This graph shows some information of interest about degus with a tail flash surveyed in 2004-2010
(Source: Degutopia 2004-2010, unpublished ongoing survey).

Current conclusions:
-The development of a tail flash is not linked with diabetes.
-There may be some link between pregnancy and tail flash formation in female degus.

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>SHED TAIL RESULTS:<

Number of degus surveyed at last update: 105

Figure 4- This graph shows the percentage of all the degus with and without a shed tail surveyed in 2004-2010
(Source: Degutopia 2004-2010, unpublished ongoing survey).

Current conclusions:
-Degus in captivity are quite likely to retain a full tail, but accidents can happen!

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Figure 5- This graph shows a breakdown of the ages and sexes of degus with a shed tail surveyed in 2004-2010
(Source: Degutopia 2004-2010, unpublished ongoing survey).

Of the degus with a shed tail:

Current conclusions:
-Adult female degus are much more likely to shed their their tail than any other group.
-Accidents triggering tail shedding are more likely to happen in the juvenile and adult life stages.
-Female degus are overall more likely to shed their tails than male degus.

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Figure 5- This graph shows some information of interest about degus with a shed tail surveyed in 2004-2010
(Source: Degutopia 2004-2010, unpublished ongoing survey).

Current conclusions:
-Degu owners keeping all-female groups are much more likely to have all degus with shed tails than degu owners keeping all-male groups.
-Despite the fact that, overall, female degus are more likely to shed their tails, degu owners keeping groups of male and groups of female degus find more of their male degus to shed their tails under these conditions.

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