Neutering advice and Bonding advice for lonely degu

[coronasol]

One of our two Degu's passed away last week so we now have just one little boy. He is 4.5yrs old and whilst he seems a little sad at times, I think he is doing OK so far. He's been out running around the lounge each evening and is eating, coming to us excitedly for treats and such. We are debating looking for a similar aged Degu to adopt and pair him with but he was the Alpha male of our two so I am not sure how well he would bond with another male. I am toying with the idea of getting him neutered and then maybe getting a pair of similar aged females as company and wondered what advice all the experts on here have?

Is 4.5yrs old too old for neutering? Whilst he is friendly in terms of taking treats and climbing on me if I am on the floor with food, I cannot pick him up as he panics so I do not really know how he would cope with a vet handling him ahead of a procedure and examining him, it would definitely stress him. I did used to handle him but he once bit me and I had a massive allergic reaction to his bite so it has made me wary of picking him up again. He is also quite skittish to sudden movements when he is running around. He would never just sit on us during an evening as if we moved he'd run off. I spent loads of time with both boys when they were youngsters but they just never became bonded with us to the extent we could handle them if need be or have them sit near us or on us.

Does anyone have experiences of partnering an alpha male with another male if neutering isn't advised in this case?

Thanks for any help you can all give. We want to do the best for our little Sol now he has lost his brother and as soon as possible, but I don't want to give him up and add to the already too many Degu's out there for adoption. I'd rather give another a home and make two happy Degu's!

[bouncy]

I would consider surgery as a last resort. It's a big operation, plus the risks of anaesthetic. Even after the surgery, there's no guarantee that he would bond with females any better than males.

My initial thought would be to try introductions with a couple of male pups? It would mean the youngsters have each other when his time comes, too.

[coronasol]

Thanks Bouncy, we don't really want to get pups as then when little Sol's time comes, we will still have many more years with Degu's and I think we have concluded they aren't the pets for us. We were really hoping they would be more interactive with us - happy to come out in the evenings, sit with us (not be held or cuddled but sit on a lap or a shoulder or something), play, be tickled etc. but they are happier running around the floor or in their cage, they are very independent in that sense, not at all like some of the degu's I read about on here before we got them. That is why I would prefer to rescue another Degu of a similar age.

[animalmadchloe]

I had Mr grey booked in for surgery as a baby as he was so aggressive and ended up on his own. but I couldnt put him through it I'd never forgive my self of he didn't wake up now he's doing great with one other degu very happy.

[coronasol]

That's great to hear animalmadchloe. It sounds like Mr Grey was a youngster when you bonded him with a friend whereas our Sol is 4.5yrs. He isn't aggressive at all to us and he wasn't to his brother once dominance was established (unless there were treats involved!). But I don't think he would take to another male very easily. Maybe we should look at rescuing two male pups and seeing if I can tame them more than we managed with Sol. I think I just have a fear that if I cannot handle the two new pups either, I'll end up with 3 independent Degu's that are only fun for a few minutes every day when they get treats.

I would just like to be able to pick them up if I need to, give them a little tickle and check them over but neither of our two really ever took to that. I can only catch little Sol in tubes if I need to move him to a travel cage. So the prospect of two more pups and many more years isn't inviting based on our first experience with Degu's as pets. But we still love little Sol to bits and thoroughly miss his brother, Corona.

[Maravilla]

Apr 25, 2016 8:54:25 GMT bouncy said:

My initial thought would be to try introductions with a couple of male pups? It would mean the youngsters have each other when his time comes, too.

I would not consider pups. At first sight this sounds like something easy (and unfortunately is recommended far too often, no matter how old the lone degu really is), but problems are often coming, sooner or later. Pups are crazy, active, hormone-driven little things. Full of energy but lacking a good social behaviour (they still have to learn it). Depending on how active the older animal is, they might be too active for him. And, once they are in puberty, it is likely that problems will begin when they start to aspire for being the boss.

My first choice for a 4.5 years old degu would be a degu of 3-5 years, approx. Depending on how big your cage is and on how good they get along, you can look for another degu a couple of months later.

[coronasol]

Thanks Maravilla, I did wonder that too about youngsters and when they hit puberty. We have a huge cage, 4 levels and big enough for lots of Degu's! LOL! I will keep an eye on rescue centres locally and see what is around, if we could find a lonely little male 3-5yr old then maybe they would be better at accepting each other. Sol is quite active but I can imagine when he is 6.5yrs, living with 2 2yr olds may be an issue for him!

[moletteuk]

I think Little Bites rescue in Luton are still desperate to find homes for degus, if that is close enough to you.

[coronasol]

We are in Kent so it is a little far away but I would travel if need be. I guess I need to decide whether to go for pups or an older Degu, I just want to do what is best for little Sol and soon before he gets lonely. He seems ok most of the time now but I hate seeing him all alone. I think he would be better with a single adult than an already settled pair.

[coronasol]

Does Little Bites have a website or FB page I can see what Degu's they have?

[bouncy]

I believe this is the degutopia site - www.degutopia.co.uk

Thanks for the insight Maravilla, not something I had considered!

[dops]

i have just started introducing a male pup to my male 6 month old and i can definitely say that the young pup is very sweet but is so overexcited that it ends in tears sometimes! It will take time, he is getting a bit calmer everyday and their meets are going better, but the pup is very hyperactive, bless him

[moletteuk]

www.littlebitesluton.co.uk/

they also have a facebook page. I think you would need to speak to them to find out who might be suitable, they had about 100 degus last time I heard, so there may even be a choice, and they be able to allow you to bring Sol and see if you get a more promising reaction from anyone.

[coronasol]

Thanks Moletteuk - they say they have none for adoption right now, they will have babies in about 8 weeks but no adults :-( so the search continues for a friend for Sol. I do think a 4yr age gap is risky so my preference is another older Goo right now.

[moletteuk]

oh, that's a shame... they must have found a lot of homes pretty quickly!

If you are on facebook, then the facebook degu rehoming group listed on the rescue sticky in the forum adoption area is very active. It might be worth posting a wanted message in our adoption area to.

[skardsen]

Other people's experiences can be quite misleading. While they show a side to degus where they're cuddly with their owners, it's usually because that degu has always lived by itself. Degus who end up being separated because of fighting or another dying eventually show these traits as well. They do it because they get lonely without the company of their own kind, and no matter how much you dote over them, a human can never fill the emptiness that a lonely degu must feel.

If it helps, I initially got my degus thinking they'd be like that too.

[coronasol]

Thanks Skardsen, everyone's experiences are definitely different. We do want to get another friend for Sol as it's not fair on him when we aren't around to be on his own. He hasn't shown any signs of depression or grieving so far and it's been a week. He comes out for an hour or more each night and is interactive when we go to his cage but he will only have a full Degu life with a companion. I just don't know whether to get pups or an older boy - although I can't locate any older boys.

[moletteuk]

Maravilla is very experienced, she makes a very good point about pups being too much for a 4.5yr old through their puberty, and an older boy sounds like it would suit your situation too, so I would say it is fine to take some time to try to find a suitable older boy.

[coronasol]

Thanks Moletteuk, I appreciate your advice :-) my only concern with taking time to find a companion is that we travel a lot so we have a few of overnight trips coming up where Sol will be alone for around 40hrs each time so I worry he'll notice it more then.

[sarahraisin]

I got a degu from little bites in luton. Peggy was lovely and very helpful. She showed me around all the degus there and had some pups there couple days old and was showing us round letting us interact with the degus so we could see there temprement etc. would recommend xx