taffy
Newborn Degu
Posts: 19
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Post by taffy on Jul 29, 2019 11:45:49 GMT
Thankyou, I was so excited when I got the cage and transformed it for them.. Couldn't wait to see them enjoying themselves.. Just suppose I got my hopes up.. I'll keep on trying I don't give up easily.. I'm totally committed to trying different things aslong as they are happy.. Not nice seeing them fighting.. I'll keep the sand bath out for a while and will attempt to bathe Billy's wound.. Thankyou so much for your help you guys are amazing
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Post by savvy on Jul 29, 2019 11:52:05 GMT
Degus are just plain weird sometimes and rarely do what you expect.
They will settle down, they just need to cool those hot little tempers.
You have said that they are 2 years old, it's possible that they could be a bit younger and therefore still in adolescence. The 6-18months age for adolescence isn't always true for every degu and they could be taking their time getting through it. Just a thought.
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taffy
Newborn Degu
Posts: 19
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New cage
Jul 29, 2019 13:57:16 GMT
via mobile
Post by taffy on Jul 29, 2019 13:57:16 GMT
How long should I wait to try again and how often should it be done please? I want to make sure I'm doing everything right and not forcing anything
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Post by savvy on Jul 29, 2019 14:07:19 GMT
You will need to check Billy's wounds first to make sure it's healing as he's going to be at a disadvantage with an injury.
I'd keep swapping substrate, maybe toys etc to get them used to each others scents being in their part of the cage.
You could try putting one of them in the Thickets cage and placing it next to the Adventura to see how they react through the bars. That way there is a safety barrier should they decide to kick off again.
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Post by moletteuk on Jul 29, 2019 17:08:47 GMT
Wait at least a few days before you try any meets again. I'm wondering about putting the sub dominant degu in the new cage and the dominant one in the thickets side by side, with the idea being that the bossy one will be too pleased at being allowed to join the other degu to fight too much. I could be fantasizing. Anyway, side by side in some form is a good way to safely see how they feel about each other.
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Post by deguconvert on Jul 29, 2019 20:07:50 GMT
Hello, Taffy, and welcome to the forum! I'm so sorry that your boys have fallen out after being put in the new cage. Take heart, they will recover, though it may take a while, and they will enjoy their new cage together! It is not at all unusual that being put into a new cage results in fighting, most especially if the new cage has none of their familiar smells in it. Smells are a chief vehicle for information with degus, so if put into a new cage with their cage mate, but none of the odors are there that would be present in used substrate, it is almost like their memories are erased and they no longer recognize each other as their friend. If enough time has transpired between loss of familiar odors and the onset of fighting, sometimes the memory loss and associations with those smells is irretrievable and must be reset and rebuilt. It sounds like you are in this state. I like the suggestion that Savvy gives of placing one in the Thickets and the other in the bottom of the Aventura to begin to relate through the bars for a while. Several days at least. I would also recommend that you start to daily swap used bedding between their cages. Used bedding only, don't swap them themselves between the cages. This will begin to build a repertoire of smell associations between them along with seeing each other and learning to accept each other through the bars. Moletteuk's further recommendations of who goes where with the hope of good responses also well worth the try. Just know . . . because degus are persistently weird . . . so they don't always comply with our really very good ideas. The little sods!
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taffy
Newborn Degu
Posts: 19
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New cage
Aug 1, 2019 9:03:19 GMT
via mobile
Post by taffy on Aug 1, 2019 9:03:19 GMT
Morning all.. Tuesday I decided to start the side by side in different cages process.. With them having injury thought be better to get started than wait to do meets out the cage when they are better.. Any ideas on how this should work out or time scales will be great.. I'll start swopping toys and substrate daily anything else I can do to make the process run smoothly? Thankyou
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Post by savvy on Aug 1, 2019 9:57:54 GMT
Great plan. At least you will be able to see how they interact through the bars.
However, there is no timescale on this. Some will reintroduce really quickly (hours/days) others will take longer (a week or more.)
The only thing you can do is watch their interactions and body language to see what's happening between them.
Please keep us informed!
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Post by moletteuk on Aug 1, 2019 10:06:20 GMT
Wait until you see them ignoring each other or interacting in a relaxed way. Make sure the cages are at a similar height, I would probably restrict the degu in the new cage to only half the area.
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taffy
Newborn Degu
Posts: 19
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New cage
Aug 2, 2019 8:29:53 GMT
via mobile
Post by taffy on Aug 2, 2019 8:29:53 GMT
Thankyou I will keep you informed.. Waterslide is in the thickets cage at the same height as the bottom of the aventura and Billy only has access to the bottom of the aventura too..im just moving them slightly closer daily or every couple of days.. What do i do about cleaning them out while I'm doing this process? as don't want to put a spanner in the works regarding smells etc
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Post by moletteuk on Aug 2, 2019 9:51:39 GMT
Clean them out as little as possible. Use deep substrate and just clean out the piddley areas as much as you can. You can try scattering used substrate into each others cage to try to keep the smells mixed between them.
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taffy
Newborn Degu
Posts: 19
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New cage
Aug 5, 2019 18:28:24 GMT
via mobile
Post by taffy on Aug 5, 2019 18:28:24 GMT
Well it's a week tomorrow since they've been side by side.. When I've moved them closer Billy initially grinds his teeth slightly.. There been a bit of bar chewing but they stop after a bit.. They are now a couple of inches away from each other and waterslide seems to be sleeping on the ledge closest to Billy and Billy's in his house.. They spend alot of time watching each other.. I've swopped and changed toys and substrate regularly anything else I should do now they are closer? They just get on with their own business most of the time
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Post by moletteuk on Aug 5, 2019 18:50:28 GMT
That sounds pretty good, you are doing everything right, I can't think of anything else.
I think I would give it another couple of days at least until they seem completely calm and seem like they want to be back together before you do a meet. I think I would do the meet in the empty half of the new cage, sand bath them both first, have only mixed smells in there. If it looks sketchy separate them again sooner rather than later.
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taffy
Newborn Degu
Posts: 19
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Post by taffy on Aug 7, 2019 10:42:40 GMT
Yes I will leave it a bit longer I don't want to rush things.. They are literally an inch apart and sleeping on the ledges right next to each other.. Next step is to push the cages together and see how they go..
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Post by savvy on Aug 7, 2019 10:49:58 GMT
You're doing great!
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taffy
Newborn Degu
Posts: 19
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New cage
Aug 13, 2019 21:26:24 GMT
via mobile
Post by taffy on Aug 13, 2019 21:26:24 GMT
Hi all.. Sorry its been a few days.. Billy and waterslides cages are as close as they can get now.. They sleep on the ledges next to each other.. Thinking about trying them together over the next couple of days..whats the best way to do this? Who's cage do I try them in or do I try them in the top part of the aventura and put toys from both cages in there.. Obviously living in separate cages for a couple of weeks they have diff houses and toys.. I have swopped toys and substrate around every couple of days..any opinions would be greatly appreciated thankyou
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Post by yasmin on Aug 14, 2019 2:51:58 GMT
I think it's best if they meet on neutral territory first - the bigger the territory, the better.
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Post by moletteuk on Aug 14, 2019 9:57:06 GMT
Since it was a territory issue that set them off, I think it's going to make quite a difference where you let them meet, but I'm not actually certain what the right option is. My gut says try them in the empty half of the Aventura and sprinkle scents from both of them over it. This would be jumping the main hurdle, if it works you have a clear path to procede along. There would also be an argument for letting them meet somwhere completely separate like a safe hallway or bathroom/bathtub (this would be the normal procedure) - if they don't associate the space as territory they might not fight over it, but they have to go in a cage at some point, so that hurdle would remain. There could also be a small argument for letting them meet in one of cage spaces they are currently in, if you put them in the submissive goo's space they might just welcome the other goo in. There's also an argument for letting them meet in a small space like a travel cage since we know that they didn't fight in the old smaller cage.
I'm hoping my thinking out loud helps you figure out the way forward.
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Post by deguconvert on Aug 14, 2019 17:29:11 GMT
I was having the same thoughts as Moletteuk, so Ditto! There are options as you can see . . . does any one in particular stand out to you?
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taffy
Newborn Degu
Posts: 19
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Post by taffy on Aug 14, 2019 19:42:53 GMT
They had their first meet today.. I let them both out in the living room to run round.. I gave them 10 minutes
There was plenty of smelling each other and just generally having a run around
Only low aggression by grinding teeth.. I'll keep doing it this way atm and see how they go.. Hopefully extending times accordingly if it goes well
My biggest challenge will be obviously getting them together in a cage again not 100% sure how to go about that.. All your opinions are very much appreciated and without your help I wouldn't of even got this far. Thankyou
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