Another month, another issue.

[cookiedegus]

Hey everyone,

Finally it's december and it started snowing. Happy early holidays!

Back to the topic, my girls are doing just fine, Vanilla was tested negative for diabetes , but Milka had an error, so we are going to redo it.
However, it's always the issue with the boys. I do understand that right now it's the start of the breeding season and their teenage hormones are really hyped this time. (They are entering adolescence, so it is worse, by the way, Hugo and Vanilla had their 1yr birthday! Hooray!) so Hugo and Marshmallow are in one cage, doing just fine, but Cookie is insane! I don't know, but he's one aggressive degu ! He has already painfully bitten three family members, including me. The bites are very painful and bloody. I have him separated from everyone, in his own space. He seems to be living well alone. When we try to pet him or even take him, move items out of his space, he charges at you. 

Any ideas what could that be?

Early thanks for the asnwers!

[deguconvert]

How long has he been alone, and can you remind me why he is alone? Have they all been fighting, and what does the fighting look like? Have the degus drawn blood from each other? I am wondering if he is blaming humans for his separation from the other two? Cookiedegus . . . what size is the cage that you have Cookie living in? Does he have a wheel? Does he get free range time? When did the biting start?

Lots of questions I realize, but there are SO many things that can contribute to a fearful, or angry degu.

[teemu]

Is there a specific context in which he bites? You mention situations that seem to mostly have to do with handling or moving his furnishings. Degus can be very touchy about personal space, so especially if a degu is already on edge, they can nip you painfully for handling them in a way they do not enjoy. Has he bitten people without provoking, just when a hand has been within reach? From what you describe, he obviously does not like anyone entering his personal area (his cage). This might have to do with unpleasant past experiences, either with handling or with other degus that have caused him to become withdrawn and hostile. Essentially, it might be that he's considering humans intruders as well. This is probably made worse by the fact that he's just had a lot of conflict with other degus, and has now been placed in an environment he does not know (which was the right call in all likelihood, but can still be stressful for now). So he's very on edge and very ready to take any kind of questionable situation as a fight or flight situation. So your first step needs to be to address this tenseness and make him understand that things are fine and that he is not being threatened.

I would suggest attempting to get him used to hands by just placing a hand inside the cage, without trying to grab him or hassling any of his stuff. Simply keep the hand there, do not attempt to touch him unprompted, and let him know that you are not going to intrude on him, that you are just there. If even this seems to be causing aggression, simply open the cage, sit or stand outside it and talk to him. Let him get used to humans being in his space without laying hands on him or forcing him in any way.

As Deguconvert says, this might be compounded by a small cage and having no outlet for his energy, which will make tension issues much more pronounced. But in any case it sounds like he is essentially very aggressive (which might be due to many reasons, including fear or being tense), and should only be engaged on his terms. So certainly do not attempt to grab him, take him out of the cage or touch him in ways that he construes as aggression. Slowly try to find ways to engage with him without making him feel like he is being harassed or cornered, starting with simply being present and letting him come to your hands instead of forcing him to come in contact with them.

These situations can be very frustrating, but a hostile animal only becomes less hostile when they're allowed to accept the situation on their own terms.