After a project that required substantial equipment, here is an activity that needs very little. Sound and music have been explored as environmental enrichment for captive animals.1 Responses vary: some animals show little interest, while others may find particular sounds unpleasant. Never continue playing music that appears to distress your degus, and observe them closely during the first few minutes.
In a controlled study, degus preferred the tested South American folk music to the tested Western classical pieces, and showed a preference for Chilean music over silence. This finding concerns the recordings and conditions tested; it does not mean that every degu enjoys every piece of Chilean music.2 Radio can provide a broader range of sounds, including songs, advertisements and speech, but changing volume or sudden sounds may be unwelcome.
Time: Adjust the session to your animals’ response
Difficulty: 1/5
Materials
Any device that can play music.
Instructions
Set the volume low, choose a short selection and observe your degus. Stop if they appear disturbed. The recordings below are examples from the original project, rather than a guarantee that your animals will enjoy them.
Sources
Wenisch, E. (2012). Les stéréotypies des animaux élevés en captivité : étude bibliographique. Veterinary doctoral thesis, École Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse. https://archivet.envt.fr/oatao.univ-toulouse.fr/8567/1/Wenisch_8567.pdf
Watanabe, S., Braun, K., Mensch, M., & Scheich, H. (2018). Music preference in degus (Octodon degus): Analysis with Chilean folk music. Animal Behavior and Cognition, 5(2), 201–208. https://doi.org/10.26451/abc.05.02.02.2018
Octodons.fr (2021). [Enrichissement – 4] Un peu de musique. Original project published on Octodons.fr, 2021-01-22. https://octodons.fr/enrichissement-4-un-peu-de-musique/