Never had a degu but I adore my rats!! I have five females in a cage and all of them are friendly (well one hates me but loves my husband lol). They are all tame and just so lovely. You can tell what they are feeling, they will play with you and eat from your hands and lick you and....I just love them!!

At the moment I have a single rat, but only because his brother passed away at the weekend and he really is very old and set in his way and wont accept any newcomers (hes a right grump!!!). But I would have to say if you get rats get at least two of the same sex and from a breeder. Rats from pet shops take a lot longer to settle in because they are not very tame. I have both pet shop rats and breeder rats and have to say I noticed the difference, Its also important to look into proper feeding for them because commerical rat food is pretty much full of junk and not very good for them. I feed mine on dog kibble, rabbit food, dry pasta twists and shredded wheat!!

Males are definatly the most affectionate and lazy lol. I used to have one a while back who went everywhere with me in an old denim handbag! He would sleep on my shoulder, sit on my computer desk, everything. Also rats make excellent pets for children if you have any or any visit.

I will stop praising them now lol. Good luck with your choice and I hope you find the right pet for you!