Degus or Jirds

[stevef]

Anyone seen Degus or Jirds as pets in Taiwan? Would they let them be imported?

More info:
http://www.erodent.co.uk/DegusIndex.htm
http://www.erodent.co.uk/PersianJirdIndex.htm

[zender]

A pet store will sell you a gerbil for NT$50.

[stevef]

For the same NT$50 I could get a Japanese Rhinoceros Beetle and it would be smarter than the gerbil and live longer...

[Pingdong]

have not seen them as pets, but we have wild "mice" here that are very much liek Degus, though wild are faster.

I know people who have "domesticated" rodents, usually by breeding them and hand raising the babies.

the ones here have big black eyes, fairly furry tails with a slightly furrier tip. size is between a rat and a mouse. obviously disease is a consideration, and you would need to spend money at a vet who will likely think you have escaped the padded room, but if your really fixing: Formosa Degu

[stevef]

It says here they are from Chile http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Degu

That they are genus Octodon. I don't offhand find anything from that genus in Taiwan.

They sure look cute http://wn.com/Octodon_degus

I am guessing though that they aren't allowed in, because if they got loose they'd overrun the island.

However, the do look a bit like the Taiwan vole, Microtus kikuchii.