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Post by deguconvert on Dec 2, 2010 16:51:50 GMT
LOL! Not at all surprised to hear that you have become very attached already. Pups are just TOO cute, and when you really love your babies, well, THEIR babies are family!
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Post by kristenfiddes on Dec 3, 2010 18:56:13 GMT
We've already got a list of potential names. They'll all be named after a character from Mario as me and my boyfriend have an obsession with the games haha.
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Post by smux on Dec 3, 2010 19:37:11 GMT
Make sure you have a bowl of food at baby degu height because after a few weeks you will find they will climb into the bowl and have a nibble at the food in it...this is perfectly fine and it is also a lot cuter than anything you have seen yet, as is their first drink from the water bottle so make sure it's not too high (and also not too low for the girls)...I'm sitting here looking over at the big cage and watching one of my Theresa's babies (no more than a few weeks old now) standing up and drinking from the water bottle without any problems whatsoever, he's not even holding onto anything.
Next you'll have the fun of giving them their first taste of so many treats, giving a baby a shelled sunflower seed and watching him take it from your hand and tuck into it is so enjoyable, even better when they can open the shells themselves. P@H have this bag for £2.99 with apple twigs and blackcurrant leaves in, it's well worth getting it to put the leaves in as forage material, and the babies will probably love having a nibble of the leaves too (I offer them directly to these babies now, they've got used to me over time) as will mum and her family (and the adults will enjoy the twigs for the bark :-))
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Post by kristenfiddes on Dec 5, 2010 20:01:17 GMT
The babies already seem to recognise my smell as if I put my hand in the cage and they're nearby they'll crawl over and climb onto my hand. They seem to like falling asleep in my bra too, like just at the edge of where it stops, I think it's the warmth but it's so cute.
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Post by smux on Dec 5, 2010 20:07:57 GMT
They do like warm skin, yes...all the babies seem to like my flatmate's chest and stomach and sit on his arm and snuggle up to him :-)
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Post by kristenfiddes on Dec 10, 2010 1:24:56 GMT
Okay, we have a problem. Tink used to help Penny and was okay with the babies but today I've realised she has it out for the lone baby girl. The 4 boys, she doesn't even acknowledge most of the time. But this girl... she picks her out and gives her these nasty nips. For example, the baby girl -Daisy- had just come out of a tube that Tink had been above. Upon seeing Daisy, she nipped the tip of her nose and dragged her a few good centimetres. Daisy is the most curious out of all the babies, so she's mostly with out her brothers around the cage so Tink is using that to her advantage. Daisy already knows that if Tink's about and my hand is nearby to get on my hand and I'll move her away but obviously I can't do this 24/7. What do you think Tink's issue is? She's also started humping Penny, and Penny humping Tink. I noticed Penny did it to her when they first met so I assume it was a dominance thing but why are they doing it again now?
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Post by smux on Dec 10, 2010 9:20:25 GMT
It's still a dominance thing, the babies are possibly becoming a threat to the hierarchy and Penny/Tink are establishing who the boss is...they don't dominate the babies yet, but will do once they're a bit older.
As for picking on one of the babies, one of my first brood was picked on by mum and had her tail nipped regularly, and I realised eventually that the baby was doing it to her as well. In my case I wasn't able to do anything about the situation as removing the mum wasn't an option, but you could take Tink out while you're not around. This isn't an ideal situation, but is one solution.
Edit: As I pressed to post, I realised the baby bullying thing at Daisy MIGHT be her form of dominance, as it is likely that Daisy is going to be sharing with the two of them...she doesn't care about the boys because they won't be there long, but the girl will be there forever with her and she wants to make sure the baby knows her place. Sounds awfully sentient for a degu, I know, but it may be a variation on that which fits better to the situation and degu's perspective.
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Post by kristenfiddes on Dec 10, 2010 18:19:41 GMT
That does make sense, I still feel really awful that poor Daisy has to fend for herself against Tink though. Thinking about it Tink has been a bit different recently, she's more restless and after attention.
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Post by harpic01 on Jan 14, 2011 12:06:46 GMT
kristenfiddes and penny well done - ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh they are beautiful ohhh i so want more but 6 is our limit ive been told they are such wonderful creatures im totally captivated by them - but more goos into this world can only make it a better and happier place and a single mum bless her
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Post by smux on Jan 14, 2011 13:34:39 GMT
6 is our limit ive been told "Accidentally" mix up a male and a female, you'll soon have some babies to take care of and there's not much that can be done once they're pregnant :-P
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