Young Degus owner

[alexana]

Hi all!
I’m a fairly new Degu owner, got my first one in October 2022 Pepper , and my 2nd in November 2022 Mint. Unfortunately Mint had a terrible accident and died in February of 2023 and we put a call in right away to our local pet store to order another one of the same gender (female). Unfortunately the breeder didn’t have any up until about a week ago this month. Pepper and mint were not really babies so when we welcomed our new goo Willow a week ago we were so worried as we had heard of bad intros possibly ocurring. It went so well, we united them right away and all was good. I then started to think about pepper being older and dying leaving willow behind that I got excited and order another female before the breeder was sold out again. I figured, pepper was so amazing with Willow she would be great with Rocket….boy was I wrong. Mind you it’s only been 24 hrs but I’m stressing out, and trying to search for as much info as I can but really need to connect with other Degu owners who are more experienced, hence my registration to this forum. Pepper is so aggressive with Rocket, she even nicked her ear with a bite through the cage bar separation. We had attempted leaving Rocket to sleep on her own on her first night to give her a break and all was well, but then this morning I thought it was safe to left the barrier and pepper started off with a gentle grooming and then bam! Screaming, squealing , growling and pain. I jumped in to grab pepper to separate her and got myself 2 puncture wounds and a shredded palm, but that was my fault as I knew better. So now the baby good are together and pepper is back to being alone. Based on the posts I’ve read I’m trying not to give up, but I’m freaked out and would welcome anyone’s suggestions, input or expertise.

[savvy]

Welcome to the forum. I'm sorry you've been experiencing problems with intros and really sorry to hear about the bites.

Degu intros can take a while, in some cases months, but don't give up.

Firstly, they need to live separately until they are comfortable with each other. Keep the barriers in place, but it may be necessary to add a 2nd barrier so they cannot reach each other through the bars.

Also, please check that all your degus are the same sex - yes, even breeders can make a mistake.

Can you tell us how old Pepper and Willow are? Adolescence could be a major factor here so age is important.

Also, do you let your degus out for free run?

What size cage do you have? This is really important as too small a cage will automatically result in fighting as degus are incredibly territorial.

[teemu]

Hello and welcome to the forums.

Introducing degus together can be a long process, and it can be really shocking when things go wrong. What you're feeling is normal, especially after getting bitten yourself. Try to remain calm, these are things that often have to be gone through during introductions, to some degree.

You've no doubt read this from various writings on the topic, but introducing degus can be a very slow process. It is actually a very positive surprise that Pepper and Willow integrated so easily. If I'm reading right, you got them together a week ago, and are now trying to introduce a third one? This can be a very difficult prospect, since they are already shaken up and feeling at least a bit unbalanced by all the changes in their life. If they've accepted each other without any qualms, putting a third one into their space before they have even really gotten to know each other can be very distressing. It would be vastly preferable to allow Pepper and Willow to settle into a somewhat stable life before pushing their tolerances further.

How old is Pepper, exactly? You mention that she was not exactly a baby, but unless she is many years (I'd say at least 3+) old already, I would not be overly worried at this point about someone being left alone. Degus can have very long lifespans, and these can also vary a lot, depending on many things, so some age difference is by no means something that I would consider as necessitating preparations already. I mostly bring this up as a general note, since the new pup is already there.

Now, as for the actual considerations for the introduction situation, it sounds like all three are now effectively in the same cage, just divided? This can be a very stressful arrangement to them, especially after they've had multiple scuffles already. If possible, I would suggest homing the pup in another cage for now. If not, see if you can block visibility between the cage halves. I've used things like a large piece of plywood for this. Any kind of a thing that the cannot easily push aside and that covers visibility will work.

As for actual introductions, you will need to proceed slowly. Very few degus take kindly at all at a total stranger being let out into their home, and they can, as you've noticed, react very badly. The introductions should preferably be done in a neutral space where nobody is feeling invaded and defenseless, and gradually, following the usual procedures of getting them slowly used to each other. You've had a great success with Pepper and Willow, but as mentioned this is not the norm and cannot be relied upon.

As a separate note, do you have any contingencies for Pepper and Willow potentially coming into conflict with each other? This is not unheard of between young degus, and especially when there is a stranger also in there, it may spark fights for dominance even if the hierarchy was established previously - and in this case it has not been established at all, since they've been cohabiting for only a week and had essentially no introduction period. For this reason also, I recommend giving them space from the newcomer for now.

I'm not very happy to say this, but would it be possible for you to contact the breeder about potentially taking the pup back if things really do not seem to be working out? The current situation does not sound very conducive at all to newcomers. I absolutely do not think this is a necessity, provided you can give everyone the necessary space for a (possibly) long period of time, but if this all was basically totally unexpected, it may be good to seriously consider the situation longer-term as well. As said, I really do not think this is the only possible course of action, but it might be good to know your options. The breeder may also be able to help you with the situation in general if you consult them.

Most of all, try to remain calm. After you have ensured that they cannot harm each other, and that everyone is feeling relatively nonthreatened, you can take things at a slower pace. For now, this means that they cannot physically reach each other, and that they have space to call their own.

[alexana]

Thank you Saavy and Teemu, I appreciate your quick replies.
I know this doesn’t sound responsible but we don’t know the ages because the pet store had no idea either. Pepper was bigger in comparison to these pups and we guessed she was about 6 months old. She was originally ordered to the pet store by a customer for the purpose of breeding with 2 males but she never showed up to take her and the males. This was the first time we had ever seen or heard of a Degu. Anyways pepper would technically now be approximately 16-17 months old. These pups are so light and small, even their poops were tiny at first. I really hope they are both females and we had this query last year when we had both mint and pepper and we used some online photos to compare to our degus. I’ll double check again tomorrow. We have a 2 level cage by with three shelves, and we have the divider option which are using now. After the interaction through the bars we placed a cardboard box to cover the whole bottom.
So it’s 11:43pm here now and we thought we had made the right decision to leave pepper alone on the bottom level and the two pups on top. But based on your suggestion it seems that was the wrong choice. I also thought it was ideal to take turns each day with Willow between rocket and pepper but it seems that’s not a good choice either. Technically the pet store may be good enough to take the pup back but we won’t be refunded. We have no access to the breeder as it is only the pet store in contact with them.
I’m willing to be patient and keep them separated as long as it takes for them to acclimate. Now I feel so bad for getting the third Degu so quickly. Like I have now put all three of these guys under distress due to my naivety about these creatures.

[alexana]

Oh and we used to let pepper free run with mint but she became a good jumper and we couldn’t contain her, and she was causing a lot of damage. We take her out a lot and walk around with her. We had a plan to set up a neutral space with myself, hubby and our two kids so we could let the three of them run around and get to know us as well. We had done it with pepper and mint last year and it worked well.

[teemu]

Alright, in that case it is best to simply consider how to manage the situation and proceed forward. There is no need to feel guilty or bad about it, these are complicated things and it's always much clearer in hindsight. No serious damage has been done and nobody is at risk right now, and the situation is by no means unmanageable or impossible. There are some extra challenges due to the sudden circumstances, but nothing about this sounds alarming to me as such. We'll help you with getting things in order and with how to do the introductions.

I agree that it does not sound like a good idea to alternate Willow between your newcomer and the older female. This may cause her to become suspect to either or even both, since she's constantly smelling like someone neither of them likes now, and it will also make it harder for Willow to understand how she's supposed to take all this in. If Pepper and Willow have gotten off to such a good start, letting them get their bearings and bond more is for the best, as I see it.

(I know that it can seem really sad to have a new pup all alone, but giving her a lot of love and attention will ease the situation, and knowing that there are other degus nearby will at least make her know that she's not just totally isolated from everything.)

Alternatively, it could be that having the pups together, if they look like they do not have issues between each other, could potentially work. Maybe someone else has an opinion on which arrangement would be for the best? In any case, I think that whatever it is, Willow should not be swapped between the two cage spaces daily. Later on, when you start doing introductions, it may be possible or preferable to do single intros (that is, only one of the two meets the lone one), but I can't imagine Willow feeling very comfortable if she essentially doesn't really know where her home is.

For right now, letting things calm for some time and slowly getting them used to each other will be for the best. The usual advice is things like making them bathe in the same sand (not at the same time, but using the same sand for both parties), swapping substrate between the cages so that they will become more used to the smell of the other, and so on. You should wait with this until you feel that things have calmed and that everyone is feeling basically secure. It's hard to say how long exactly this will take, so you will need to gauge their behavior and how they react to small changes at first.

One important thing right now is also for you to get to know the newcomers and make them feel safe and welcome. Willow has gotten a bit used to you already, but to Rocket you are still a total stranger since it's been only a day. Building trust between them and you is a very important part of all of this, because all of this will be much easier when they trust you. I would even suggest that before you do any serious attempts to integrate them together, they should be at least somewhat comfortable with your presence - if for no other reason then because it is very hard to handle a degu that is not used to you at all, especially in a stressful situation like an introduction where you need to possibly quickly get someone out. So spend time with them, build your own bond with them and make yourself someone they are willing to trust with their safety. That in itself is a very rewarding thing

As for the sexing, if you are able to get any photos of their undercarriages, we will be able to help. This may be difficult at this stage, but if you can manage it, it will probably be a big relief and prevent a very difficult extra problem in the future.

Do not hesitate to ask for advice or input about anything related to degus. They are an exotic and demanding pet, so we will be more than happy to help with getting things in order.

[teemu]

As a quick extra note, the cardboard box may not last long as an extra blocker, so you'll need to keep an eye out for when it needs to be swapped. Degus go through those things very quickly if want to, and they very often will want to. But it will do as a quick measure.

[alexana]

Thank you for your wonderful reply. So we decided to leave the pups together on top level and pepper on the bottom. We are focusing on making them feel safe and with each day that passes we see them getting more and more comfy with us. Willow, the first pup is the most comfy as we have had her since the 19th and Rocket, the 2nd pup has bonded with my hubby and goes to him more easily. Rocket is still very scared overall and anytime we go near the cage she runs to the corner where she feels safe, but as I said we are working on getting her comfy. So let me tell you about the trial we did with the girls and please share your thoughts. So we decided to set up the neutral area with a wooden blockade and large enough space for myself, my husband, and my two kids as well as the degus to run around and be comfy with us and eachother. As I read in one of the introduction posts I kept a spray bottle with water handy incase. And what we observed was quite horrific, in the sense that pepper appears to want to make it her goal to go after rocket. Rocket is not bothering her she staying away from her, and in fact, always looking to see where Pepper is because she’s afraid of her and rightfully so. We see pepper Hunting around looking for her and the moment she gets close to her, the attack strikes up immediately without hesitation. My husband must have had to spray pepper several times and then eventually we took rocket out and put her back and let pepper socialize with Willow. Now based on our observation, this is our theory and you tell me if you think I’m close. First off, pepper has been along for the last six months or so, she’s always been a very gentle soul, even with mint our Degu that passed. When we brought Willow home, based on all the warnings we were cautious and then she did a slow introduction, but it went very well. Now we noticed that Willow came from the reader with her tail bit off at the end. We actually had to separate Willow from pepper for a few days to let the tail heal because it was still raw at the tip and every time she would groom the tail tip it would bleed. Now we see Willow has a very timid personality, and it looks like she gave in to Pepper easily submissive to her, allowing her to take lead. It appears that rocket perhaps wants to be the lead as well, or maybe with her littermates, she was the lead, I don’t know how that works. But I feel like rocket is just not giving in and that makes pepper mad enough to want her eliminated. We have come to peace that we will keep the good separated as I mentioned above, but will continue to take them out, handle them, love them, and have play time individually with pepper and willow. We will occasionally try to have the neutral space intro again in the future but I’m not sure how often to go about that. It’s very scary. As I said when pepper attacks she goes straight to the rolling fur ball of death.

[alexana]

Also how do I post pics here? Am I also able to post video intake on my iPhone.

[teemu]

It is much, much too early to put them in the same space again yet. It's been only two days (possibly three?) since they had a violent encounter. You will need to be much more gradual with this. Degu introductions often take weeks or even months. It will inevitably fail if they are forced together so soon after having a fight earlier. If degus do not instantly hit it off, and this is very rare when one is an adult, it will usually take weeks even when it goes well. It is entirely doable, and degus that are totally prepared to kill each other can be introduced together. But it takes time. At the moment, your degus are experiencing really rapid changes in their conditions that they can't hope to cope with in a constructive manner. That's why they need a lot of time to actually come to accept newcomers.

At the moment, after the first fights, Pepper and Willow are basically identifying as enemies. They will first need to come to terms with even the idea of existing together, and then slowly with the idea of actually cohabiting.

For now, especially after two fights, you should be prepared to keep them separated for much longer, and only gradually expose them to each other, first through smells and other very low-intensity methods. I would suggest a minimum of a week before you should even see how they react to seeing each other again through the divider, and only if they seem to be getting more comfortable with the smells of the other cage. It may well be that it will even take multiple weeks. Simply putting them in the same room again will almost certainly result in more fights.

It is entirely possible to introduce them together (or at least there is no reason why it could not work, even though it ultimately depends on the degus themselves to a certain degree). I have had degus who have had really bad first impressions and have seemed like it would never work out, but over time they came around to it. It takes a lot of time and patience, and there should be no expectation of "Now or never" with these matters. Introductions must advance entirely at a pace that works for them.

For now, if it seems like the pups are fine being together, and they are now together, keep them as they are, and do not change this situation for now. Pepper will likely be less distressed by being alone, as she is very familiar with you, and has already been alone for some time, so there is no problem with that. Letting her think things over will also very likely help her with accepting the new situation. You should not swap any of them between cages from now on.

About the injury that Willow sustained, how badly is her tail at the moment? If there is an injury, clean it with sterile water (for example, by boiling, and then COOLING some water, do not use hot water), and possibly apply mild antiseptic spray or similar to it. Most tail injuries heal well and without much issue, so it should be fine, but keep an eye out for signs of infection or the wound becoming worse.

I'll say again that what you are describing sounds like very normal interaction between unfamiliar degus, and that the situation does not sound hopeless at all. It will simply need a lot of time to work out.

-

About pictures and video, the forum itself does not support posting them, so they will need to be uploaded to a different site (I upload videos to youtube, and use a site like imgbox.com for pictures). After that, simply putting the link in a post will be enough.

[alexana]

Teemu thank you so much for renewing my hope and providing me with much much needed support. Thank you for telling me that their next meeting should be far in advance, I was worried that we were “supposed “ to have them interact sooner because maybe too much time in between will result in permanent dislike. The fights are too scary and it gives me anxiety to think about getting them together so I’m ok with being patient and holding off. Willows tail has actually healed quite nicely as we separated her from pepper for a few days before rocket had come along, just so that pepper would stop grooming it and continuously open the scab. We bought some colloidal silver spray as well because we were told it was a good natural healing topical treatment. But yes we were worried about infection too and kept it clean and an eye on it and she’s doing so well that even the fur has started to grow over it a bit.
Teemu I can’t thank you enough for your words of wisdom, it has brought me much peace. This site is a godsend! I’m from Ontario Canada and finding people, even vets who know anything about Degus are hard to find.

As for the photos/videos and YouTube, I’m not too familiar with how to do that. I don’t use it all that much. If I figure out how to do it without posting anything publicly I will share the link created here.

And by all means, if you think of anything else that you want to share or provide me advice on, I welcome and encourage it!

[teemu]

Oh, sorry, I misunderstood your earlier post about Willow's injury. You meant that it was an initial thing from when they first met, and not something that happened just now, right? In any case, if it is healing well, just keeping an eye on it will be enough. I'm not sure about the silver, I haven't heard of it being applied to animals. It should not be toxic, at any rate. Most of the time, smaller injuries that will just scab over and heal are fine with very basic cleaning and keeping their environment clean so that no filth can get in the wound.

In any case, I know that feeling of being nervous about how things might not work out if introductions are not done quickly. When I was trying to introduce degus together for the first time, some years ago, I was really goal-oriented and the way these things dragged on and sometimes seemed to suddenly take a turn was really distressing. However, now with more experience I can say that it is absolutely impossible to hurry them along about these things, and that trying to do it more when they are already really wound up will basically have the opposite effect and make things just harder. It is definitely the right call to dial things back and approach them more gradually when it seems like there is a real risk of violent confrontations between them. Taking things slower will certainly not make them dislike each other more. That would only happen if everything is stopped completely and they just grow used to the idea that the other degu doesn't have any thing to do with them. Slower introduction methods, like swapping substrate between their cages, or using the same bath sand for all of them (that is, allowing them to bathe in the same sand at different times), still keep them in the mindset that the other degu is present, and allows them to slowly process the idea that their smells are also part of their environment. So it is definitely not a bad thing.

Basically, when it comes to introductions, it's good to think that the situation is what it is for now, and that it will change when the degus start to look more like the want it to change. Basically, when they slowly become more receptive to being exposed to each other and seem to be at ease about seeing, smelling and being near the other.

(I definitely agree that it can be absolutely nerve-wracking when you are not sure what they will do during a meeting. They are small, quick animals, and even if you are watching them very carefully, they may not give a clear warning before a fight happens. If it doesn't seem just possible that it might happen, but very likely, then it is definitely not the right time to put them in the same space).

For now, I recommend letting everyone calm down, like I said earlier. They are still able to hear each other and are aware that the other cage exists, so it's not as if they will forget that there are others. Slowly (after a couple of days of letting them take a breather, since things have been quite hectic) start to do the things I mentioned above, like swapping smells between cages (not too much at once, just put small amounts of substrate from one cage to the other), allowing their smells to mix by using the same sand bath for both cages, and so on. When it starts to look like they are not minding this, it may be the right time to gauge their reactions to allowing them see each other through the divider again. They may be shocked by this at first, and there may be violent reactions, so only do it for short amounts of time at first, and of course end the situation if it looks like they're going to get actually violent through the bars. Only after they are actually not trying anything aggressive (biting or lunging at the bars, it is fine if they do some posturing or make faces at each other) when they can easily see each other should you consider putting them face to face for an introduction again.

It's hard to say how long exactly it will take. Degus are very individualistic about these things. But I would guess that it will not be done in a matter of just days. During this time, it will be important to support and comfort them, and make it clear to them that they are not in any danger. When they feel safe and secure and that their owners are caring for them, they will be less likely to react badly to changes in their living conditions.

[moletteuk]

Sorry if I missed this, but did you manage to double check the sexes? I'm just thinking it could explain the wildly different intro experiences.

[bouncy]

Ok. I've done introductions several times, and my instant response is WHOA! Stop, and take a breath!

Let's go back to basics. Degus are different from any other rodent pet. They have the same brain structure as humans, meaning they're very smart, suffer emotions (including depression), and devious. They're also very territorial, and their territory in the wild can be a couple of sq km. All of this space is on or under the ground.

With all this in mind, there are some points we have to review. Some of these are questions already asked, so please bear with me.

* What are the dimensions of the floor space in your cage? If you try to put too many degus together in a space they don't think big enough, intros will never work! Have a read of this thread: deguworld.proboards.com/thread/9396/forums-cage-size-recommendations
Bear in mind the German recommendations are even more spacious, so these are a compromise.

* Degus need to see each other for introductions. They can smell strangers, and will be champing at the bit to find out who they are and beat the crap out of them! Try to keep them side by side, perhaps in a second cage. Start with distance between them, so they can see, but not feel threatened. Gradually move them closer if no-one shows aggression. Don't rush this. It could take weeks or months!

* Start swapping handfuls of substrate between cages. Mingling their scents will help smooth the way.

* Think about ages. We know how moody young adults can be with hormones flying around. For degus, this can be 12-24 months. Perhaps Pepper's aggression starts to make sense?

* Double check the sexes. The difference you're focused on is the space between the cone and their anus. Females have almost no gap between the two. Males can have a gap up to 1cm. Obviously, scale this down depending on pup size. Pepper should be fully grown.

* Don't try face to face intros until the two cages have finally moved together, and the pups and Pepper are either ignoring each other, or have relocated their nest to be close to each other.

* You remember Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction? Nothing is worse than a woman scorned........apart from a degu. If you keep trying to force an introduction before they're ready, you'll create grudges between the two parties. Don't let it happen, or you'll never get them together! The slightest bit of aggression means you take your introduction back a step or two, so no-one feels pressured. It also prevents wounds!

Read through this, and the link, then come back with some answers. We'll then try to work out the best way forward. Just remember what Savvy said - an intro can take place relatively quickly, or it could take over a year! If you rush, a grudge will develop and they'll never be joined.

Don't stress, we're here to help, but we need to slow things down and gather some facts!

[alexana]

Hi everyone, so I have never used any sites to upload photos and this is my first time. I hope it worked. I went to imgbox as Teemu mentioned. The one clear photo is pepper, the 2nd clearer photo is Willow, and the last two which are not the greatest is Rocket. It was a challenge but I tried my best lol. They all look female to me as I don’t think the cone is 1cm apart from their anus.
Let me know if these links work. I just copy and pasted them.
imgbox.com/gw8Wnt6c
imgbox.com/jwasK5cp
imgbox.com/MOROLZrH
imgbox.com/uoUi8PMr

We have a huge 4 level cage quite identical to what the illustration in your link shows.
41 cm top level
72 cm 2nd level (pups live there as we blocked with the divider)

48 cm 3rd level
72 cm last level (bottom) and this is where pepper resides.

48 cm is the width of the cage front to back
104 cm is the length of the cage top to bottom

Each degus has their own wheel, although the pups enjoy trying to spin on the same wheel from time to time lol.

Thank you all for your kind and gracious help and advice. I have been following it all carefully. We have not attempted another intro since 2 weeks ago and I don’t plan on it anytime soon. Right now we give them play time to run outside the cage ( kitchen area blocked off) once a day when we can. The pups go out together and then after an hour we switch rocket back to the cage and take pepper out to run with Willow. And they get along just fine that way.

[alexana]

This is the cage and the girls

imgbox.com/mggRIBkO
imgbox.com/a2lo3p34
imgbox.com/bDQHYfSp

[alexana]

Also note, we will be buying clear plexiglass glass to replace the cardboard we are currently using. Pepper can smell Rocket but we had to block the gaps in the bars as pepper and rocket were go at eachother through the spaces.

[teemu]

(I'll include some comments about your cage setup in this post. Do not be discouraged if it seems like I have a lot of things to say. I think everything here is workable and I'll just make some general notes about what I see as being clear ways to increase the comfort for your girls. I'll talk about the girls themselves and introductions in the next post under this.)

Okay, I see how it's laid out. Getting a more durable replacement for the cardboard will be good. Is the divider between the upper and the lower cage removable? If and when you get them all to play nice, they will have a lot more space if the divider between them can be removed.

As a general comment about the cage, it is really tall, but one issue I see is that it does not have a lot of floor space. Degus generally need a lot of running space to feel comfortable, so we usually recommend that cages should be wide, and have levels that run most of the width. Now, it is still definitely possible to increase the floor space in a cage like this and make it much more comfortable for the girls. If possible, I would advise looking into getting larger levels, basically as large as possible that still allow them to move between them (via a ramp on the side, for example). Especially since the whole front wall opens up, you can make the levels as wide as possible without blocking anything off from yourself. This will also make your girls feel that they have a lot more space, which will ease potential tensions.

(I have also seen some people actually use a tall cage like this by putting it on its side. Since the cage has a metal frame, it will likely be able to support its weight even like that. I would be careful when testing, if you want to try it at some point, and of course without anyone inside at the time. You'd probably want to put it on something instead of directly on the floor, as well. But looking at just larger levels will likely be a lot less of a hassle as a first step.)

I'll also note that the way their substrate is in small boxes will make things feel even more cramped, since it's basically limiting the floor space they feel comfortable walking on to just those boxes (since walking on the grid is not pleasant to them at all, and the boxes themselves take up some space). Usually, people will simply cover the floor of the cage in substrate. This is of course not possible at the moment for the upper cage, and the substrate you are using does not look like it'd work great with this, since it's quite fine and will likely just fall through the grid. I am a bit unsure about how to even address the upper cage situation right now. When you get the plexiglass, you can of course just cover that in substrate. Degus greatly enjoy having a good layer of substrate, since it will allow them to dig around, which is a natural activity for them.

I'm not sure if I'm just not seeing it, but do the girls in the upper cage have hay? Hay should always be available, it is a crucial basic part of their diet. I see that Pepper has a hamper, so she has access to hay, but if possible, I'd maybe replace that with some other arrangement that allows them to get directly at it. I just put a pile inside my cages, and my degus often enjoy digging into it, hiding in it and so on in addition to just eating it. If that feels too messy, it is possible to use some sort of a larger box or a hamper with more hay in it that they can pull out.

[teemu]

Now, as for the girls themselves. Some of the images are a bit blurry, but images 1, 3 and 4 are quite clearly females to my eye. The second picture (Willow) is harder to make out, so I can't say with 100% certainty yet. Would it be possible to get another picture of her, just to make sure?

It's good that you are taking things slowly and calmly with the introductions. Have you attempted exposing them to smells from the different cage (for example swapping some used substrate between the cages, or letting them use the same bathing sand)? That will allow you to gauge their reactions and overall comfort level carefully.

One issue with the situation, which is not insurmountable at all but does have to be accounted for, is that the cages are on top of each other. This is by design and can't really be changed, but it does mean that while they are in the cage, they will not be able to be exposed to each other in a good way. Degus generally regard being higher as a sign of dominance, and of course it's just physically very hard for them to even be in any interaction. I have a wide cage that has a vertical divider, so that there is a wall between each cage, rather than a floor. This kind of a setup allows them to be exposed to being in close vicinity to each other without being able to actually get at each other, which is a good way to slowly increase their tolerance.

Now, since that is not possible in your cage (unless you actually go through with the idea of turning the whole thing on its side, but that would require a great deal of work in a situation that is already demanding a lot, so I'm not actually advocating it right now), I would not even attempt to give them more opportunities to interact through the bars. For this reason as well, after you get the plexiglass sheet, cover it with a good layer of substrate. It will both block visibility so that Pepper does not have to put up with the youngsters staring at her from up high, and just be a lot of fun for the girls). For now exposing them to smells, and over time trying new introductions when the time seems right, is how I see that things should go.

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There is another form of in-cage introduction, which you may also consider when they seem to be becoming more comfortable with each other. Not yet, but at some point if it looks like a direct introduction would be too large a step. Basically, you get a small cage (it does not have to be a cage any degu can actually live in, but should be large enough that they can spend some time there without feeling absolutely cramped) and put one party inside that cage, and then put the cage inside the actual living space of the other degus, and let them spend some time like that (so for example Pepper is in the small cage, and the small cage is inside Willow's and Rocket's cage). Then you'd ideally do it the other way around the next time, so that it's the other party in the cage now, visiting the other living space (Willow and Rocket in the small cage, in Pepper's cage). This is basically similar to a vertical cage divider in that it puts them in close vicinity, but but does not allow them to come at each other. Ideally, over time, they'd grow more used to the presence of others in their living space.

However, as I said I don't think you should think about this at all yet. It's for when they seem to be getting more comfortable with just the idea of each other, and will likely only be worth doing if it looks like face-to-face intros would be too drastic. Though I will note that since Willow seems to be fine with both of the others, and they are fine with Willow, you will likely not need to worry about her as much. So focusing on getting Pepper and Rocket to accept each other is the main hurdle right now.

[teemu]

As a small additional note, do keep a careful eye on how the others interact with Willow. Since she's associating with both of them, it is possible that at some point someone will start having issues with her having smells from the other degu like that. Since smells are such an important identifier to degus, Willow is essentially wearing the "other team's" colors, as far as Pepper and Rocket are concerned. If it starts to look like someone is picking fights with Willow, you may need to consider not allowing her to free range with both.

It is actually quite interesting that they both accept her, even when she associates with them both separately. If it does not result in actual problems at some point, it is very likely that it will help the other girls accept each other over time. So I don't think it's something you should stop, at least at the moment, but do be careful about it and keep an eye out for potential issues.