Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2012 13:08:48 GMT
Hey all, sorry for not being so active as of late, lots of stuff to do =) It's a long post, so I've included a tldr at the bottom 
As you probably now, my two girls were placed in the hallway, since that was the best place to have
them considering temperature and noise. However, starting in November, Elune suddenly became
extremely vocal out there. She kept whining almost continually - not like she was in pain, but simply bored.
Then there would be chattering and often Jadzia responding with a more annoyed whine.
They both quit at once when my boyfriend or I went out there to talk to them. So I figured, perhaps they
just needed to be a bit more involved and see what's going on. Last week, therefore, we moved their cage into
the living room, so that they have a good view of the kitchen corner and our computer desks. I have put a fleece
blanket on one side of the cage so that they won't be disturbed if we should watch TV (which is very rarely anyway).
For a few days, this kept them occupied and they seemed genuinely pleased. However, a few days ago, Elune's whining
started up again. I know it's her, because now I can turn around and look at them while the noise is going on.
Most of the time while this happens, Elune is lying on the middle platform looking relaxed, while Jadzia is somewhere else
sleeping. If I talk to Elune in a sort of baby voice (you know - like when you talk to babies?) she'll respond with garbling
and other sweet sounds and cut the whining. But soon after I turn my attention elsewhere, she'll start again.
She also responds well to me coming over to the cage and groom her, then she will groom me back. As I mentioned in my blog,
she has recently become a lot more secure of herself (at least towards me), and she is not so frightened anymore.
Now, I thought this might be that she was simply using this whining to get our attention. At one point we tried to ignore her,
but after two hours of nearly continous whining we realised that wasn't going to work. Now that I can look at them more closely
while they interact, it seems like Elune often seeks out Jadzia to be near her or groom her. However Jadzia isn't really very into all
that, she prefers being left alone most of the time. She will groom and be groomed from time to time, but mostly she will push Elune
away with her paw, and when Elune doesn't get the hint, charge her with that annoyed squeak. And then Elune goes somewhere else
and starts pining for human attention instead.
So here is my question then: Do you think I should attempt to get another degu, in the hopes that it might provide Elune with a
companion that is more eager for cuddling? It will of course have to wait until my new cage is finished (I'm starting to get materials
this weekend
), but the new one will be big enough for three. On the other hand, I might end up with another one like Jadzia, or
I might end up with one that doesn't get along with any of them. However, if this continues, Jadzia will end up being very annoyed
at Elune, and my boyriend and I will end up with tinnitus. So what do you guys think?
(tldr; Elune wants to cuddle, Jadzia doesn't, Elune whines to get human attention. Should I get another degu?)
As you probably now, my two girls were placed in the hallway, since that was the best place to have
them considering temperature and noise. However, starting in November, Elune suddenly became
extremely vocal out there. She kept whining almost continually - not like she was in pain, but simply bored.
Then there would be chattering and often Jadzia responding with a more annoyed whine.
They both quit at once when my boyfriend or I went out there to talk to them. So I figured, perhaps they
just needed to be a bit more involved and see what's going on. Last week, therefore, we moved their cage into
the living room, so that they have a good view of the kitchen corner and our computer desks. I have put a fleece
blanket on one side of the cage so that they won't be disturbed if we should watch TV (which is very rarely anyway).
For a few days, this kept them occupied and they seemed genuinely pleased. However, a few days ago, Elune's whining
started up again. I know it's her, because now I can turn around and look at them while the noise is going on.
Most of the time while this happens, Elune is lying on the middle platform looking relaxed, while Jadzia is somewhere else
sleeping. If I talk to Elune in a sort of baby voice (you know - like when you talk to babies?
) she'll respond with garblingand other sweet sounds and cut the whining. But soon after I turn my attention elsewhere, she'll start again.
She also responds well to me coming over to the cage and groom her, then she will groom me back. As I mentioned in my blog,
she has recently become a lot more secure of herself (at least towards me), and she is not so frightened anymore.
Now, I thought this might be that she was simply using this whining to get our attention. At one point we tried to ignore her,
but after two hours of nearly continous whining we realised that wasn't going to work. Now that I can look at them more closely
while they interact, it seems like Elune often seeks out Jadzia to be near her or groom her. However Jadzia isn't really very into all
that, she prefers being left alone most of the time. She will groom and be groomed from time to time, but mostly she will push Elune
away with her paw, and when Elune doesn't get the hint, charge her with that annoyed squeak. And then Elune goes somewhere else
and starts pining for human attention instead.
So here is my question then: Do you think I should attempt to get another degu, in the hopes that it might provide Elune with a
companion that is more eager for cuddling? It will of course have to wait until my new cage is finished (I'm starting to get materials
this weekend
), but the new one will be big enough for three. On the other hand, I might end up with another one like Jadzia, orI might end up with one that doesn't get along with any of them. However, if this continues, Jadzia will end up being very annoyed
at Elune, and my boyriend and I will end up with tinnitus. So what do you guys think?
(tldr; Elune wants to cuddle, Jadzia doesn't, Elune whines to get human attention. Should I get another degu?)
For some reason, the ones that are
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