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Post by syntheticirony on Apr 25, 2010 13:22:58 GMT
So I thought I`d come say hello since I`m new here. Last night my boyfriend and I brought home our first little Degu friend. We named him Tommy. I have owned chinchillas in the past and missed having little rodents around .. we tried rats ^the bf has two kids and they wanted pets here everyone told us rats are great^ but that didn't work out so well when one rat decided to kill the other .. it was a sad day. So after a lot of thought and research we decided on a degu. Now like rats everyone says degus should have friends however after our horrible issues with the rats ^whom never really fought before other than one would steal a piece of food type deal but no actual fightng^ we decided a solo degu would be better. So in comes Tommy. Already Tommy is coming out of his cage walking onto my hands on his own, haven't had to scoop him up or anything, he`s eating well, running on his wheel and chewing away. We are excited to have him in our home.. and thought we`d introduce ourselves. The kids will be happy on their next visit to know their cage is no longer empty. Sad but true, I`m already planning on cage ideas to built for him lol its only day 1 and a half!!!
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Post by emz on Apr 25, 2010 14:14:21 GMT
A solo degu is definitely not better, it will dramatically decrease Tommy's lifespan and cause destructive behaviour over time due to mental illness. Degus do sometimes fight but as you may have seen in your research they have a pecking order and sometimes one will scrap a bit to try and claim the top spot. Fighting until one kills the other is extremely rare as long as you buy them as a pair (so siblings) or follow the introduction process properly. I am sorry for jumping you on your first post but a degu needs other degus. Not only does it help calm anxiety but they're extremely social creatures and when in a group they display a wide variation of behaviour that a lonely degu will not show. I really do hope you reconsider because a human cannot replace a degu. I am glad however that you're enjoying your degu experience and welcome you to the site. I do hope you decide to get at least 1 other degu though - some people here will be upset to hear that you chose to stick with only 1 after your research. Everyone else on this forum will agree that a lone degu is not a degu at all. If you ever have any questions about degu care then please do ask. There is always someone here who will answer no matter how small the question may seem. -Emma.
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Post by w8152 on Apr 25, 2010 14:48:15 GMT
Welcome to the forum and i can see that yet another innocent has been claimed by the degu bug! I do however completely agree with Emz on this, a lone degu is a bad idea. Please reconsider you choice to own just one.
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Post by DegutasticJen on Apr 25, 2010 14:55:15 GMT
Hello and Welcome :-)
Degus are just so seducing arent they? their lovely lil faces just pull me in every time :-)
But yes I also agree with emz, degus need the love from another degu, even if you spend lots and lots of time with your degu you will never be able to give it the love that another degu can give, such as a huddle up at night time and grooming, which they find such a socialable exercise.
They are lovely pets, I assure you the introductions -if done properly- work wonders.
I am in the process of introducing a male to one of my lads and a female to my group of girls.
On degutopia.co.uk it has some brilliant guides on how to introduce degus to other degus, which I am finding its working wonders :-)
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Post by syntheticirony on Apr 25, 2010 15:02:55 GMT
i appreciate everyones opinions however at this point we will see .. people said the same thing about rats and honestly iunno at this point.. if the time comes we decide to introduce a new degu to tommy we will do so properly just as i had with chinchillas in the past, but convincing the boyfriend will be hard to do as he is the one who found my rat killed by his rat... and i guess it wasnt a nice picture. that and his kids were here to see that as well... especially coming from two rats that always got along and snuggled and were fine, to wake up one morning and have what happened happen. i will be sure to ask a lot of questions if i have any and i welcome everyones opinions but please dont jump on me because of my choice. i have a lot of time to spend with tommy and plan on doing so
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Post by emz on Apr 25, 2010 15:16:18 GMT
Well depriving a degu of company because you had a bad experience with a different species of animal doesn't seem logical to me is all I am saying. We're not meaning to jump you in a mean way - we just are all passionate about these animals as fellow degu owners and we have experience owning them. Spending a lot of time with him just won't replace another degu.
My example I sometimes give to people is imagine you, as a human, are living on your own and you only ever get interaction from your pet dog. Now don't get me wrong, pets are amazing companions, but a human needs other human company for conversation sometimes otherwise they start to display odd behaviour. There are a few exceptions to the rule of course but I cannot imagine a life where I could never talk to another human, could never hold another human, could not have anyone to sleep with or share my time with - you know?
I hope you don't see me as some crazy animal fanatic who goes over the top. There are only a few things when it comes to pet care that I will defend and not sway an opinion on and this is just one of them.
I know it must have been horrible for your boyfriend and his kids to see that, but shouldn't your degu have the choice of if he wants company or not? Intros can take a few months of hard work but in the end the effort is always worth it. Even if you ignore our words and keep him alone - at least I'll know I have tried.
I won't say any more though, I know it's hard joining a forum and suddenly having a few people "jump" and I apologise again I just really had to say.
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Post by NightwishRaven999 on Apr 25, 2010 16:01:21 GMT
Hello ! Welcome to the forum. First of all, this is not our opinion. This is a fact. Scientific study has proven that lone degus often decay/degrade physically and psychologicaly. They live shorter lives and are much more prone to illness and disease. Many of them fall into depression as they age and live in an almost constant state of lethargy. They may bond with the humans around them, because they dont have any company...but the degu will still be sleeping alone. He will have no one to groom, no one to play or talk with...etc
Rats and degus arent even related. So I dont know why this should affect your decision of housing two degus. I find it very unfair for the degu. You may not see his problems at first. But as was stated earlier, a human can never replace what one degu means to another degu. Degus are animals that sleep on each other...for comfort, security and warmth. They also groom each other many times a day. They talk to each other, play with each other and are extremely sociable animals.
Rats are also quite sociable. The fact that you had a bad experience with your rats, doesnt mean the people who told you that they should live together are wrong. As a rule, rats are sociable animals...what happened to your rats is something that is nearly unheard of.
As for degus, their character doesnt even ressemble that of the rat. Please watch these two short videos.
I know from your posts that you want what is best for your kids and your pets. However, your bad experience with rats should have no effect on keeping degus together. Its very unfair and if you were to see a group of degus sleeping on each other and grooming each other, you would change your mind and you would understand why we are all very disturbed by your decision to house one alone.
Degus are by far the most sociable rodents. One site has a saying...."one degu means no degu". These animals are not meant to live a life of solitude.
You will find all degu owners to be very united about this matter. The first and most important thing for a degu's mental and physical health is another degu. Without this your degu will never be happy.
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Post by syntheticirony on Apr 25, 2010 18:07:05 GMT
ok now there was only two in the cage where i got them.. being it has been 24 hrs... will bringing its sibling home now effect the territorial issues rodents have .. i believe its probably to late to put them back together.
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Post by DegutasticJen on Apr 25, 2010 18:13:15 GMT
Oh no of course it wont be too late...I did the exact same thing I brought two of my girls home, then came home thought about their sisters and went back the next day and bought the other two sisters, there were no territorial issues or anything like that at all. They fitted right in with each other again. Everything worked out to be perfect...apart from one of the females being a male and getting all of them pregnant.. but thats another story :-)
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Post by emz on Apr 25, 2010 18:13:32 GMT
If it has only been 24 hours I think you would possibly be all right.
They might mount each other and do some "boxing" but that is normal. If it does seem like they don't recognise eachother you will have to separate them for a while and re-homogenise their scents by swapping cages/sides of cages every few days for a while and then introduce them on neutral ground.
A good tip some people found works is to rub vanilla essence on your hands and handle both degus this results in them smelling the same when you introduce them to each other.
If you do get his brother, take some of his cage substrate into the carry cage/box/etc. so that during the journey he can possibly get use to the scent during the car ride.
But I personally think only 24 hours should be fine but no guarantee. There are times when people have to separate their degus for a few days due to infections and they are usually fine afterwards together.
Edit: With the above post by DegutasticJen I feel even more positive that it'd be completely fine the chances of any fights seems slim. Good luck in whatever you do.
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Post by NightwishRaven999 on Apr 25, 2010 18:30:40 GMT
I am very relieved that you are considering this. Degus can be introduced to each other at any stage. To give you an example, I own six degus. They are all females. Two of them are over 2 years of age. The other two are a few months younger, and the other two are 6 months of age. I adopted the two younger ones less than a month ago and introduced them to my group of degus.
There were a few squabbles, since introducing a group of degus to each other will change the hierarchy of the group. But after 3 days, everything was settled and all the degus are sleeping together and grooming each other like you see in the video of my previous post. My four degus where together for over 1 year and a half. When I introduced the other two degu girls, it took 3 days for them to settle happily together. You boy has been alone for 24 hours. The introduction process will be very quick.
Give this some serious thought. This isnt a minor issue. Living a solitary life can cut your degu's lifespan in half and will make him more prone to depression and other health issues. This is a serious matter. Whatever you do, make your move quickly.
I really hope you decide to go for it. Best wishes and please keep us updated.
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Post by syntheticirony on Apr 25, 2010 20:09:00 GMT
So we went and got the other lil guy and brought him home. I took some of the shavings and droppings and hay that was already in Tommy's cage with me and put it in the box he came home in. I had a huge printer box we put shavings, hay food and sticks in and put them in the box to introduce them. They are snuggling in the corner together now. They even let me pet them both while snuggling ...
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Post by DegutasticJen on Apr 25, 2010 20:12:55 GMT
Oh that's fantastic :-)!
You will have lots of fun watching them, they are amazing pets :-)
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Post by NightwishRaven999 on Apr 25, 2010 20:13:29 GMT
I am very happy to hear this. You made the right choice and it will pay off well. Its amazing how degus bond with each other and its truly amazing to see to how sociable they are.
Once you see them sleeping together at night, grooming each other and chatting to one another, you will see why its so important for them to be together. Well done.
Keep us updated.
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Post by emz on Apr 25, 2010 20:29:13 GMT
Sounds like they are getting on great, I bet he missed his brother.
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Post by w8152 on Apr 25, 2010 21:10:40 GMT
I am sorry if i came across as jumping on you, it was never mine or i'm sure anyone elses. Hell i worry so much about them have company i was afraid of the day 1 might pass on i went and got brothers for them lol Worst part is 1 of them is a toerag and wont get along with anyone! You will see within a day why they should be kept together. its really stupid just how soft it makes people
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Post by syntheticirony on Apr 25, 2010 21:25:19 GMT
Tommy wouldnt use his dust bath and now I put the dust bath in the neutral box and both are using it. I always worry about company for animals.. when my ex took our pug I got a boxer friend for my older boxer because I figured he'd miss his friend... turns out the old goat hates the puppy lol... but the bf was not game for two. Everyonce and awhile I'm hearing squeeks I'm not sure if they are fighting though... I can hear them talking right now it's cute.
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Post by emz on Apr 25, 2010 21:51:56 GMT
The only fighting that you should be worried about is if they're in a ball locked into a fight with fur pulling out. Anything else is either playful or just them deciding who is the top degu.
I love it when my two play chase about the cage chirping. ;D
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Post by NightwishRaven999 on Apr 25, 2010 22:11:05 GMT
Well said emz. @ syntheticirony You must remember though, that degus are hierarchical animals. In a group or pair, they form ranks. Some are at the top of the pecking order, others are at the bottom. One of your degus will become the boss of the other. Sometimes when both want to be the boss, they start squabbles...but this is very normal for degu boys to do. Degus use their physical strength to decide who is boss. They also do a lot of play fighting (especially the males). Its very common for degux to "box" each other. They stand up on their hind legs and push each other with their front paws...exactly like kangouroos do. Also keep in mind, that your degus will not eat at the same time. The boss or "alpha degu" always eats before the other degus. The boss will eat and stop the other degus from approaching by emiting loud noises and pushing the other degus with his paws and body weight. Its really quite funny. They even do this for human hands. Later on, once they settle....you might try to touch their food while one of the degus is eating. He will try to stop you by pushing your hand away : ) Once the boss is done eating, the other degu will eat and it will be his turn to own the food bowl. This is how degus are. They are competitive, but also playful and very loving to each other. Sometimes two degus will squabble during the day, but at night they come together to snuggle...its amazing. And although some of us have had degus for years and see them do this every night, its still amazing ! It brightens the day considerably. Another thing to remember is that degus are very vocal animals. The more they are...the more they talk. Sometimes I wonder what my six girls gossip about You will hear many more strange chirps and sounds they make as you get to know them : )
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Post by deguconvert on Apr 25, 2010 23:06:34 GMT
Hello and welcome to the forum! It is good to have you here, and I know you are going to love the degus. Tommy will be SO glad to have his pet store cage mate back with him . . . as I am sure the second one you brought home today is glad to be brought back together. You weathered the concerned encouragement to get the second one very well, and I thank you for being so gracious and open to bringing him home. I believe you will see evidence of them being very happy, and they will bring a great deal of entertainment to you. We love our boys so much! I love it when I have all three of ours crawling all over me. And I LOVE their happy sounds when they are talking with each other.
Please feel free to ask any and all questions you may have over the next while. There really are NO silly questions when it comes to degus. We've all been at the beginning of learning about these little loves and know how strange they can seem at times. LOL!
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