Will 3 male degus (brothers) kept together fight?

[newtothis]

Hi,

I am getting conflicting advise on this so I hope you degus experts out there can help me as I am a real beginner when it comes to degus (I have kept gerbils previously). We shall shortly being adopting three, 8-week old male degus (brothers). They are from a litter of 5 (includes 2 females). I had wanted to adopt the 2 females but someone has already requested them, so I will be adopting the 3 males (they would not let me take just 2 of the males so I will be adopting all 3 of them [to avoid leaving one degu alone]). I am concerned that when they get a bit older they will start to fight - some supposedly 'degu information' websites say that males will always fight and fight hard even if they are brothers so should be neutred and kept with a female or kept in their own cage. I have also read that keeping 3 males (versus 2 males) is asking for even MORE trouble because one will be looked upon as the 'weak' degu and get picked on (3 is a crowd). I have bought a Liberta explorer cage and have replaced all the plastic trays with metal trays, have added toys and plan to get 3 food bowls and 2 running wheels so the 3 degus don't have to compete too much for things - I hope that this will significantly reduce the chance of serious fighting - what do you guys think - help please!!! 

[saddlers]

Three males together does not necessarily mean you will get serious fighting. Young pups become a bit more feisty when they go through their adolescent phase, and will inevitably have some form of aggression when they establish their hierarchy, but there is no guarantee that serious fighting will follow. Some members here have groups of three and more males and do not have issues, whilst some people with pairs do have issues. Having plenty of room in the cage is a major factor in my opinion, which allows degus to get alone time if they need it, and allows them to get out of the way if they need to. There is some great info for beginners on here.

[ntg]

I have four boys (one dad, three brothers/half-brothers - it was a tricky situation) and they squabble over things but have never fought properly *touch wood*. However, many people do have problems, but that's not only with boys as all female groups can fight as well.

The biggest problem period for degus is when they begin their adolescent phase between 6-18 months, it's when we notice the amount of fighting increasing as testosterone levels are at their peak and they will be testing each other to see who's top goo. But, in my case I've always had a strong group with the dad being the top goo (until this past year when he hasn't been 100%) until they'd settled down. I consider myself very fortunate as I have heard many stories of degus going at each other and having to be separated, and although it does tend to be males more I don't think I can stress enough that girls can do the same. There are no guarantees with degus, as it largely comes down to their personalities and how well they meld as a group.

The only thing you can really do is make sure there are as few external stressors as possible to hopefully ease any tensions. That means as big a cage as possible, enough wheels, foodbowls and other accessories to prevent any fighting and plenty of hideyholes where they can get away from each other if it's too much. The cage space is a huge factor as a small one can lead to a lot of frustration in your little ones. Really I would only use a liberta for a max of two degus, unless you were to perhaps add another couple of half levels to maximise the space.

As far as the number goes, I personally think 3 is better than 2. Degus can be obnoxious little characters at times, and, when only two are involved one can be constantly harassed until the point where he snaps. With three, you have a bit of a buffer, where if it gets too much then they can palm him off on the other one and have a break. It can also somewhat ease tensions over hierarchy if one is very laid back and submissive as the fear of being bottom goo isn't in the back of the other two's minds.

I can honestly say that I adore my boys, yes I may have been extremely lucky with my group dynamics but I would certainly look to intro'ing other males before going down the neutering route when it comes round to it. It can be difficult but it's certainly not impossible to have a happy male group.

[deguconvert]

You can seldom be absolutely certain of what kind of future behavior you will have with degus, except for one thing, they all go through adolescence and that will mean confrontations and domination fighting. However, this doesn't always result in terrible injury. Some time ago we went through the difficulties that result from wrongly identified genders. One result was that we had to keep a number of male pups in a modified extra large dog crate. They were in there for a year . . . and there were nine of them. When we finally had the opportunity to rehome them all, I hated to separate them into three different groupings. They were so happy and contented together. So . . . three is fine, and being brothers seems to help.

[yasmin]

From my experience, I'd say just because they are all boys doesn't mean they won't get along. Like people, it depends on their personalities. I also think that because they are all brothers they have a better chance of getting along.
The cage I have with three male degus in it has been more peaceful than the one with just two. (See below if you would like more details.)
Three bowls and two wheels will certainly help keep the peace.

More details:
I have 5 males – father Sean and his one son Roku (mom, Lilac) and three sons Chuugi, Makoto, and Yuu (their mother, Peridot).
At first, they were all in a double cage together and all was good. Roku and his dad get along wonderfully. The other three boys would compete with them – alot of squeaking and tail whipping at their father – but there weren't any real injuries. Not until Roku and Sean began fighting with Chuugi. After a very bad attack that left Chuugi with wounds on his back, neck, and face, I separated him from the others. I decided to put his brother Makoto in with him because Makoto has cataracts and seemed to be able to hold his own with Chuugi. (I think Chuugi was the instigator of most of the fights.)
Then months later, Chuugi started showing up with injuries from Makoto. I doubled their cage size and now all is peaceful in there.

The other cage with father Sean, Roku and Yuu is generally peaceful. There are squabbles and squeeking but no FBOD (so far).

[uglibug]

I don't think gender is such a big issue. When our girls hit puberty they were a nightmare! Virtually everyone has got a chewed ear or tail to show for those 12ish weeks of hell. Yet now they are happy as can be, peculiar little creatures, lol.

[newtothis]

Thanks everyone for your advice - much appreciated . I was told that degus are like big gerbils, they are wrong! Degus might look like big gerbils but it seems behaviour-wise they are very different. I have kept gerbils for many years now and have never witnessed a single fight or scrap and I have kept both boy and girl gerbils of all ages. Don't get me wrong, I have not been put off getting the 3 little boys (I am looking forward to collecting them in a few weeks when they are old enough to leave their mother) but I am now no longer so ignorant and won't be shocked when I see squabbles! I will just have to hope they can resolve any differences without being too nasty to each other!

I have a Liberta Explorer cage all set up and waiting for them - as I will now be taking 3 and not 2 degus (just 2 was my original plan), I have increased the floor space significantly by adding lots of shelves, which are in addition to the existing 4 levels of this cage.  

[jamiee]

I agree with Yasmin. A food bowl and running equipment, be it a wheel or flying saucer per degu, will give the degus something to do, and eliminate boredom and fighting over the wheels or saucers. Also providing lots of other toys and challenges to stimulate them in the cage, along with things to chew, will help keep them occupied. The cage is great, and plenty enough room for three.

[animalmadchloe]

My boys were a nightmare, I have 4 and went to single degu, and 3 together, then to two pairs and.now to one pair and two single degus lol, AM starting a very slow re introduction of the separated pair for the umpteenth time, but my other pair of dont hear a peep out of them

[deguconvert]

There was a time when we had nine young males altogether, and they did very well. They got along and were well settled with each other. There was one that got rather severely groomed, but other than that all was very good. However we have had three males that did not get along, and one had to be separated from them. In this case, the two older males absolutely refused to accept the young male, and separation was the only way to keep the younger one alive. It is really something that can't be predicted, and must go by each case. Is it possible, absolutely yes, but you can't tell how each group will balance and settle.