As a science teacher, I have several class pets. Some of my favorite are a small rodent called a degu. They are super energetic, don't bite, and hilarious to watch.
For the longest time, I only had one male. They're hard to find where we live and the pet stores only seemed to carry boys. Finally, I visited one day and behold, they had a little girl. So I got her. As instructed, I placed her container next to my degu's cage so that they could get used to one another and not fight. I left her there for an entire day.
The next day, I got ready to throw her in with him. My class was working (supposedly) as I walked over to the degus to put them together. I picked up the girl, opened the aquarium lid, and was getting ready to throw her in when I heard a heart-stopping scream.
Scared to death, I turned, still holding the female degu, to see what the commotion was about. Staring at me, wide-eyed, was a little girl. "You can't put them together!" she screamed.
"Why not?" I asked, not having a clue what the problem was. The kids all knew I wanted a set so that I could have little degus. I had followed all the rules and done all that I could to make the transition harmless for the little rodents. I couldn't imagine what the problem was.
“Because,” she stated matter-of-factly, “they’re not married yet.”
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