Unfortunately degus do it very often. Maybe because they are bored. In some cages they do it more, in some less. Sometimes the reason is size of the cage - often giving them bigger cage helps (but it should be much bigger to help).

Sometimes cage with different wires helps. Maybe they don't like to chew some kind of wires :-) Usually the smaller is space between bars, the less they chew it.

What could help? If you let them run out of their cage more often or if you give the running wheel (at least 20 cm in average, but rather 30 cm otherwise it is too small for degu to run in) into the cage. Or if you buy them different cage - bigger and with different bars. Not all these things help, only some of them and it's different all the time and sometimes even nothing helps.

TIP from Lotte: "I have made a 'fens' of wood from trees - I have taken some branches from a hazel bush in our garden. They are about 1 cm in diameter. I use the steelwire to tie them together (like a wall) and tie it frimly to the wire in one of the ends in the cage. The branches are just as long as the side of the cage where I want them, so they are tight. So the branches are sitting inside the cage. Every 2 weeks I change the branches because there are so little of them left. My degus still nibble the wires, but not as much as they used to."

TIP from Erica: "My adult male degu used to chew on the wires (especially his wheel) all the time until I brought him a new young male degu for a friend. Maybe he was bored or lonely? It's been about a month now, and except for a few squabbles every now and then, they get along great and even sleep on top of each other."