In the zoo, males participate in the raising of the young. When danger is imminent, degus vocalize an alarm call which alerts all the other animals who immediately run for their dens. When excited, they beat their long tails. In their territory, drgus have common sandbathing places, which they mark with a great deal of urine before rolling themselves in the sand. Degus, according to the investigations of B. J. Weis, have about five young per litter, which is a relatively high number.
Females have four pairs of teats.
She lies on top of the young when suckling which is possibly an adaptation to life in the subterranean burrows. In contrast, caviomorphs living in steppes usually sit when they suckle their young. In the first stage of their life, the young almost always stay in or near the burrow, where they are carried around by the adult animals. Also, the older animals drag grass by the bushel into the dens during this period. The young animals feed on the grass, and some is probably also used for building nests.