Fighting! D: Blood was drawn.

[serisu]

I've had my girlies for a while now, and they've, of course, had their little arguments over food and other goodies, including shoving each other out of the wheel ha ha ha. But then, about three days ago now, my mom heard them fighting really loudly, and had to keep getting up to check on them (I was at work til around 3 AM, the goos kept my mom awake until then). When I went to check on them when I got off work, Berlioz (smaller) had a hole bitten through her ear! She kept chirping for a few minutes after the fight as well. (Grr, stupid me got bit twice when separating them. )
I separated them for the night and tried to see if they would be fine again the next morning, but it quickly escalated to fighting. First, they would ignore each other. Then Toulouse would follow Berlioz around the cage while Berlioz was chirping at her and getting aggravated. Berlioz would hide in the box and Toulouse would stand right there outside until Berlioz batted at her, which would only make Toulouse turn her backside away from Berlioz so that she was attacking her hind instead! She kept doing this, even going as far as just shoving her hind toward Berlioz. I saw Berlioz trying to mount Toulouse twice, so I was wondering if perhaps it was just dominance struggles, but then there was blood drawn and Berlioz seems fearful of Toulouse.
Upon examining Toulouse yesterday for more injuries, I found a few scabs around her neck. :C The girls are still separated in cages right next to each other so they can smell each other through the bars, but I'm wondering if perhaps it was the cage size that was making them fight? I can't really find a real cause for it. ; A;' I don't want to keep them separated for too long.

[kovu07]

How big is the cage since you think that is what may be causing it? Also pictures could also help us gage how much space they have, if you have any you could show us. However I don't think the fighting is too much to worry about, since mounting and chirping is very common behaviour in Degus, and it is when they are fighting in silence that it is often really serious. My only concern is that they have been fine up until now, although it may possibly have something to do with reaching sexual maturity, and so now Berlioz is trying to assert herself as the dominant goo??

(Also I love the names, they're from the Aristocats right? However i'm sure Toulouse and Berloz were the male kittens lol)

[serisu]

79 cm L X 44 cm W X 72 cm H is the size I got from Petsmart (I converted it from inches- the cage was actually given to me by a friend). I don't have any pictures of the cage right now, but I could probably get some later. (I'm actually planning on making them a cage soon since I called around and found some suitable wood - that cage is planned to be 91 cm L X 61 cm W x 137 cm H )

I guess that is possible, since they were young when I got them about 6-7 months ago. Should I reintroduce them, then? XD; They need a good cage cleaning anyway.

(LOL thank you! XD Yeah, Berlioz and Toulouse were the male kittens, but the names were too cute to resist! )

[kovu07]

I think the cage is a little on the small side, and the one you're planning on building will be much better. Also I think I would reintroduce them in the bath, I know that sounds silly but you can assess how they are interacting, listen for chirping and look out for grooming ect. However, if they do start fighting, and I mean real fighting not just chasing and boxing, things like biting and being deadly silent, you are able to intervene if need be, since it is a lot harder to seperate them if they are in a cage.

And yes, adorable names

[deguconvert]

Yeah, sorry to be blunt, but your cage is definitely too small. They need a lot more space now that they are approaching their full growth and first year. Many petstores sell cages that are too small for the needs of degus. I think that you need to give them a little more time apart. They are in a grudging state right now, and everytime you put them back together, that grudge grows and before long they may get to a point where they will not forget it. I would give them at least another 4-5 days apart before trying again. In the meantime, keep up your personal time with each of them. I would also encourage you to work on your home built cage plans, because having more room will make a big difference in their ability to reconnect. Looking at your proposed measurments, I think they sound pretty good! I would recommend that you put in at least 2 shelves that are full levels, as the amount of total horizontal space is very important to your degus and how contented they are. Even though the total volume of the inside of a cage may measure high enough to keep degus healthy and happy, it is the actual amount of usable surface area that is most important. If it is space they can sit or run on . . . it doesn't actually count. Is that clear, or did I cause confusion?

[kovu07]

That made perfect sense to me DC