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Post by tolisgoal on Dec 3, 2022 13:06:57 GMT
I have separated my 2 degus in 2 cages stacked on top of each other, after finding out that they were in fact male and female, not 2 males(which is what the breeder I got them from had given them as). It was a hard decision to make and I did hold it out for a while but I decided to do it after all, to avoid pregnancy (if it hasn't happened already) and since I would have had to do it at some point anyway. I have never caught them humping or anything that looked like breeding, just some dominance fighting, so I am kinda hopeful that the female isn't pregnant? Even if she is I will separate males/females and keep them on the 2 cages (ofc is she has a bit litter I'm going to have to try to find somewhere to give out some of the pups). Anyway the point of this post is: Have you had any experience with 2 degus living in separate cages, similar to my situation? If so, will they get lonely? I play with them quite a bit during the day, and so far they look fine to me. Also I could keep their cages next to each other instead of on top of each other, so they can look at each other and interact. Would this be better for them or torture since they can't get to each other? Also also, can I put them in the same cage so they can play and groom each other for like 10 minutes under supervision once in a while, or is it too risky?
The degus come from the same parent, they grew up together and with their other brothers and sisters until I got them from the breeder, then lived together for about a month at my place and I have just separated them a day ago. Thank you for the help!
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Post by savvy on Dec 3, 2022 13:23:02 GMT
I kept a male (Dixie) and female (Reggie) separate for about 3 years, until Dixie sadly died aged 10. Reggie still lives alone. They were kept side by side which is much better than top and bottom.
The only issues I had was when Reggie was on heat and she would literally chase him up and down the cage, he could get no peace from her, or her hormones, lol. That actually brings me to another point, has your female been in heat, the cycle is usually about 21 days? Signs are increased vocalisations, increased activity such as running non stop on the wheel followed by a day or two of basically resting in the nest. If you have not seen this, or it has not happened, she could well be pregnant.
On your last couple of points, degus are very much a 'love the one you're with' species so the fact that they are brother and sister won't bother them, and degu mating can be very quick.
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Post by tolisgoal on Dec 3, 2022 15:21:24 GMT
She has been very active lately especially since the new wheel. She basically runs all day long. I didn't have this behaviour in mind though so I have never tried to look for it.
When I say side by side I mean 2 different cages that can't rl touch as they are both inside plastic/cardboard bowls to keep bedding from flying out. In your case you mean you separated one cage that was cut in half (or I misunderstood the chasing him up and down part). Either way I will put them side by side and see how that goes.
About the pregnancy, well at least now that I have separated them I've done my part and I can rest easy, wether she is pregnant or not. If she is I will deal with that when the time comes and depending on how big the litter is. Since the chance that she gets pregnant again by the male is gone, I won't mind either way I think.
Thank you for the reply
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Post by savvy on Dec 3, 2022 15:28:54 GMT
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Post by tolisgoal on Dec 3, 2022 15:35:07 GMT
Oh I see that's pretty funny XD. I have put them side by side and I will look to add layers and shelves so they can climb around and not get bored today or tomorrow. I will also need to get a one more bottle and wheel, as Rhaast, my male is stuck with the old metal one which I now see is very bad both function and size wise compared to the new one and Mpala, my female has bowl instead of a bottle.
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Post by moletteuk on Dec 3, 2022 16:55:07 GMT
They will both need same sex companions, or you might want to think again about neutering your boy when he is old enough. They will be ok side by side while you wait and see if she is pregnant.
I wouldn't recommend allowing them to spend time together even supervised, it's so easy to lose concentration and then it's too late before you know it.
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Post by deguconvert on Dec 3, 2022 20:06:18 GMT
I'm glad you have them separated now, and I'm glad you can see the difference of function and size between the new wheel and the older one. It sounds like Mpala is LOVING the new wheel!
I ditto Moletteuk.
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Post by teemu on Dec 3, 2022 20:33:26 GMT
Being able to see and hear other degus can console separated degus a lot. Since you did not separate them due to fighting but because of necessity, I think they would like seeing each other, even if they can't touch. It's not as good as having a cagemate, but if your girl is pregnant, you will be able to get that sorted after she gives birth (that is, the sons can live with the dad and the daughters can live with the mom after they have been weaned). So for now, having them side by side (but as noted, so that they can't touch each other) is likely for the best.
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Post by tolisgoal on Dec 4, 2022 23:53:00 GMT
I did let them in together for a minute or two (dropped rhaast into mpala's cage) today but they weren't rl doing much together. They smelled each other a bit, then rhaast went on exploring, mpala climbed up on me to get out of the cage and roam around. So it looks like they aren't that desperate for each other anyway and I notice them communicating through their cages during the day, so I'm going to play it safe as you said and not let them out together.
On the other hand, when one is inside the cage and the other outside they try to smell? each other through the bars and try to squeeze through them to get to each other or groom each other? Weird that they don't rl do much if together but they start making annoyed noises if they are close but separated by bars (I'm talking one being on the outside of the other's cage, they don't make annoyed noises when they are both in their respective cages, they just chirp to each other).
As teemu said, I will be separating girls/boys if Mpala is pregnant. If not I will maybe look to adopt and introduce but I'm not so sure yet. I'll think about it after I'm sure about Mpala's situation.
By the way, I weighed them today and they have a pretty noticeable weight and size difference. Rhaast is ~190g, while Mpala is ~160g. They both get and eat the same amount of food (Versele laga degu complete pellets + Timothy hay + A small amount of oats as treats for training). I have noticed Mpala eating more hay than Rhaast but that may just be because her cage isn't a mess yet since it's new and it's easier to notice what she's doing. They have a visible size difference as well, Mpala feels clearly smaller in my hands than Rhaast. Is this weird? Are they overweight/underweight?
Anyway overall the transition is going pretty well so far and I'm relieved. Thank you for your replies!
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Post by teemu on Dec 5, 2022 2:36:59 GMT
Some degus are naturally smaller than others. Since they are still young, they may mature at different rates. They won't really be fully grown until after they're a year old, and some degus keep growing for a bit after that as well. So right now it's still hard to say how much this indicates for their adult weights.
If she is pregnant, that may explain why she is smaller, since her body has to use a lot of energy for growing the pups instead of growing up. I recommend that you give her more sunflower seed and peanut than normal to make sure that she is getting enough energy, as well as making sure she always has pellets and hay freely available (and water of course).
But generally speaking, don't stress about the weight of pups too much. Mostly just weigh them now and then to monitor how they are growing up.
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Post by deguconvert on Dec 5, 2022 4:48:08 GMT
The reason I asked earlier about weights is because if a female is pregnant, there will come a time when she begins to noticeably gain weight and it will being to increase significantly as she gets closer to delivery. I was only thinking it is a very useful tool.
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Post by tolisgoal on Dec 5, 2022 16:08:44 GMT
I see. I will continue to monitor mpala's weight to catch any sudden weight gain, though without too much worry as you both said. Thank you!
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Post by moletteuk on Dec 5, 2022 18:01:45 GMT
I think you may have seen a different response due to dropping one degu into the territory of the other - they can very quickly forget or not realise they know who this degu is when it comes into their territory.
I'll just mention that youngsters need more food than adults so do make sure they have plenty of pellets. And, we also recommend feeding mixed forage if you can find it, or perhaps you could find some high calcium oil seeds just to broaden the nutrition they are getting. Check out our diet section if you are interested.
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Post by tolisgoal on Dec 7, 2022 16:23:50 GMT
At the moment I'm looking to make their cages more interesting and habitable so I'll probably make a post about that soon. I will check the diet section, if I find something that is readily available/easy to get I'll look into it. Thank you!
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