Adopted degu !!!

[camilla]

(Sorry for my english grammar and misspelling!!!)

I live in Norway where very few people have owns a degu and not many breeding degus .
A week ago I found some degus that needed a new home, they are a year and two months .
They cringe very much, and never make any sounds . I want them to be happy and i want to be able to cuddle with them. Is it too late to get them tamed ? There are three degu sisters and it seems as if one is not as good friends with the other two, but it is never any trouble or anything, it just sits alone.

I also wonder how their pee should look like ? Here it is a little orange , it should not be yellow or transparent ish ?  I just feel like i need to know that nothing is wrong with them...

They have plenty of hay in the cage , and a bowl of food for degus without sugar and stuff them should not have .
I've also given them some treats from my hand , but there is only one who dares to take the food , another looking at me and the last one is hiding.

Sorry for the long thread, but there is not much to find out about them here in Norway and i have a lot to learn   

[moletteuk]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your new degus.

It's never too late to tame them, but degus hardly ever get tame enough to allow you to cuddle them. They may enjoy sitting with you though and you can have other fun interactions, you just have to let them guide you and find out what their favourite treats are so you can bribe them. A playpen or safe room can help with taming. For now just sit with them, don't make sudden movements, talk to them and offer a variety of foods on your hand and leave it still and see what happens. Dried veg and oil seeds make a good place to start for treats.

Pee can be any colour from clear to yellow to orange or red depending on what they have eaten and how much they have had to drink. Red coloured foods like beetroot and things like wood bark can colour it red or orange.

You should try to add more forage to the diet, things like herbs, wild type plants, flowers, tree leaves, grasses etc. You can buy it or collect it yourself. More info in diet section.

It's also always worth double checking they are all girls.

[camilla]

Thanks! We are absolutely sure that they are all girls

I'll try some other , today I tried herbs and they got an almond each, there is one that is quite curious and come to get more constantly, but im struggling a bit with the other two still ...
They probably need a little more time I have not had them more than a few days and it does not happen in one day , I found out .

I've been a little impatient , I must be a little more be patient....

Thanks for the tips , I'll try to find some dried herbs of several varieties and different plants them can eat after easter

[ferris]

So I just adopted a degu a couple days ago (he is my first one) and I know that he will need to have some time to get use to me and his new environment but what can I do to help him get comfortable. He is about 8 months old and did not get a lot of attention and he keeps trying to chew the wires on his cage and will hide in the corner. Plus he squeaks a lot like he hates it here. He constantly chews his cage to try and get out. So what can I do to help him?

[moletteuk]

You can provide hiding places around the cage so that he will feel more comfortable more quickly - they like to know they can get somewhere safe quickly when they are exploring or hanging out. You can offer interesting foods and soon he will associate you with good things, also plenty of forage and wooden sticks will keep him occupied. Try not to make sudden movements for the first few days and talk to him, this will help him feel safe and settle in.

If he is alone, he will need another degu to live with and this will take some thought and effort on your part to achieve, it's not always straighforward to do an introduction. Also, they will need a big cage, bigger than you might expect, two degus need at least 1.2 square metres of running space.

If you read through some of the sticky threads at the top of each part of the forum you will find lots of information to get you started.