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Post by ryanj on Sept 12, 2015 12:47:32 GMT
Hi guys,
So for the first time today we weighed 2/4 of our girls. We thought we would as Prea has got quite big recently (she was always the biggest but recently it's more obvious) and pear shaped.
Prea weighs 300g and our smallest girl, Enya, weighs just under 200g. Is this normal for ages 4-5 months and females?
Will try and post pictures soon!
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Post by deguconvert on Sept 12, 2015 16:34:21 GMT
No, that is not normal for a degu that age. You are describing a shape and size that very strongly suggests pregnancy. Which would mean that a male had access to her prior to coming home with you. Where did you get them again?
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Post by ryanj on Sept 12, 2015 18:27:41 GMT
We got them from Pets At Home...which I know is never a good sign but they told us they were 3-4 months old. We've had them for over a month now so I am guessing they're around 5 months.
Yeah it's quite worrying...they're all definitely female and have only been kept at P@H as a 4. So I have no idea how it's happened if she is.
Is it possible they are just older than what P@H said they were?
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Post by bouncy on Sept 12, 2015 19:14:21 GMT
Sounds like you best prepare for the tiny patter of little paws!  |
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Post by yasmin on Sept 12, 2015 19:56:54 GMT
They could be older than what you were told. Hope you can post a picture of Prea for us to have a look at.
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Post by ryanj on Sept 13, 2015 9:28:54 GMT
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Post by uglibug on Sept 13, 2015 10:07:17 GMT
Unfortunately, to me, she defifinitely looks pregnant, and a lot more than 1 month. She looks almost due.
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Post by yasmin on Sept 13, 2015 10:33:36 GMT
Are you 100% sure that the other three are also females? (Years ago I adopted 4 "females". A month later, I noticed blood in one of the female's – Azure's — urine and took her to the vet. That is when I first joined this forum. The vet thought she may be pregnant but I insisted that it was impossible because I was sure that the other three were all females. Azure miscarried a couple of weeks later. Alarmed, I called the Humane Society that I got them from; they insisted that they had never been exposed to a male as far as they knew. So I took another look and, with the help of this forum, discovered that "Sienna" was actually "Sean". I removed him immediately but it was too late and the other two females had become pregnant as well. That is why I now have so many degus.  ) |
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Post by ryanj on Sept 13, 2015 20:59:18 GMT
Are you 100% sure that the other three are also females? (Years ago I adopted 4 "females". A month later, I noticed blood in one of the female's – Azure's — urine and took her to the vet. That is when I first joined this forum. The vet thought she may be pregnant but I insisted that it was impossible because I was sure that the other three were all females. Azure miscarried a couple of weeks later. Alarmed, I called the Humane Society that I got them from; they insisted that they had never been exposed to a male as far as they knew. So I took another look and, with the help of this forum, discovered that "Sienna" was actually "Sean". I removed him immediately but it was too late and the other two females had become pregnant as well. That is why I now have so many degus. ) Above is another picture of her in the cage (sorry its not great!). We are 99.9% sure they're all female but I think I'll have another look tomorrow under a glass surface and maybe take some pictures to show you guys. Do males behave differently to females? Are there any signs we should be looking for? Also, do we need to prep in case of arrivals? On a side note: Prea is the most curious and confident of the girls so we've obviously held her a lot over the last few weeks. I've heard this can cause miscarriage sometimes? Ahhh panic! |
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Post by bouncy on Sept 13, 2015 21:37:09 GMT
Oh bless! She's so sweet! She's going to make a great mummy  Something P@H don't often admit to is having more animals in their store room. It's quite possible they realised there was a male in the group, but all too late? |
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Post by deguconvert on Sept 13, 2015 21:55:04 GMT
She is definitely pregnant, and very close to delivery. I would guess anytime in the next week or two. Yes, you do need to be careful with handling her. There is potential to rupture her uterus, should she fall even from a very low height, which would be fatal for her. As for preparing the cage, pups are very mobile, and you may even see a pup venturing out of the nest on the day of it's birth. Certainly by four days, you will be seeing a lot of exploring from all of them, some more adventurous than others. Because of this, you need to ensure that there are no drops/ledges, from a height where the pups could fall. Try to block them off, or place something like hammocks to catch them and break their fall. Also pups will not hesitate to squeeze out of the cage for even farther exploration, so if you have openings like bars, make sure they are no wider than one centimeter. If you have openings that need to be reduced, you can use wire mesh or lengths of cardboard to block the way. Pups lose body heat very quickly as they are unable to self regulate body heat until they are around four weeks of age. If you find a pup out of the nest, don't be afraid to pick it up, warm it with your hands if it is chilled, and return it to the nest. Doing this will not upset the mother, nor will it place the pup in harms way. Always be on the look out around your cage for any place that may be become and escape route. Know the number of pups you have and count them, so that you will know if one is missing, so you can look for it. In fact, count them frequently just to be sure. If you plan to hoover, count the pups before hand . . . we have heard of close calls a few times.
Give Momma a few more seeds and nuts than you do the others to shore up her energy before and after delivery time.
I can't think of anything more at the moment.
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Post by yasmin on Sept 14, 2015 0:33:55 GMT
Deguconvert has covered most of what you need to know. Is there a nest box (wooden/cardboard hut) in the cage? Mine made a nest in the hut before arrival of the litter and spent most of the first few weeks in there to nurse the young. The other girls will help keep the young ones corralled but they do wander very shortly after being born so place the nest box on the ground floor of the cage.
I fed my expectant moms some rolled oats along with their regular diet. I had read that this would be helpful in keeping their energy up. I kept this up until the babies were weaned.
You probably won't need to do much else. Degus usually make wonderful moms and the aunties are likely to be totally involved with the daycare as well and babysit when mom needs a time out. (And please don't worry about having handled her — what will be, will be.)
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Post by ryanj on Sept 14, 2015 5:24:49 GMT
That you guys so much for your advice. Prea is a Mum! Please see new post!!!
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