degu

noun

Etymology: From the Mapudungun dewü, via South American Spanish degú.

Any species of the genus Octodon, a small, caviomorph rodent native to Chile.
“Along the trails, degus leave mini-urine puddles marking the trail.”
“Dr. Braun used used laboratory rats called degus or brush-tail rats (Octodon degus), a species of rodent closely related to guinea pigs.[…]In their natural environment, degu infants are raised jointly by their father and mother and are extremely communicative, using whistling tones to carry on intensive “conversations.””