Baby surprise!! What to do?

[nex]

I've had my two degus for about a month, they're both female and are approximately 4 months old. I got them from this guy that had many degus and males and females were kept together. It turns out that this morning when I got up my degus were making strange noises, so I checked on them and imagine my surprise when I saw a tiny pup there... it's probably not going to be the only one, but as of now there's only this one.

I wasn't really expecting this so I'm totally unprepared.

I'd like to know if there's anything I need to provide them with, or any special care or any other information that I could use. As I said this came as a complete shock to me and I really don't know what to do.

[emz]

Firstly, have you sexed your degus yourself? A lot of people get it wrong especially when they're infants. Make sure they are both girls! Both males and females have a part which sticks out called the urethral cone it is the gap between this and the anus that tells the genders apart. A female will have no gap or a tiny gap and males have a slightly larger gap. If you haven't sexed them at least sex the degu which hasn't had any babies.

The infants I believe cannot be touched for about 4 days or so and the nest should be left for a week or two. If the other degu is a male remove him as a female is very fertile after giving birth. If it's a girl then she can stay as she should help with the pups and caring for them from what I have read.

If a baby strays out the nest too long and the adults aren't moving it back, move it back yourself (but only if it has been a little while.) Pups need each other and the nest for warmth otherwise I think they can get pneumonia if they get cold.

I have 2 boys so never had accidental litters. Some people who have here will give you more experienced advice soon I am sure - all my knowledge about the subject is from reading only. Hope it at least helps a little for now whilst you wait.

[nex]

Well i got my two degus from this guy that has quite a few of them, and if nothing else the one thig he can do is determine gender. So they're both females. I've only had them for about a month, and obviously she had too be pregnant before that, as I read somewhere that it takes 90 days for them to be born.

I got home from work just now and they built a huge nest, kind of like a bunker they've piled up hay and even put cardboard tubes on top of it. So I can't even take a look how many babies there are. I suppose I'll just have to wait and see.

I've read a little on the subject but didn't find any specific details how this should be handled or if the infants or the mother need any special care or vitamins or nesting....

[iamlina]

I don't know much on the subject but from what I've read both degus will look after the pups. Have you got a metal cage? You may need to put cardboard around the bottom, just to be on the safe side if so. Just incase they decide to escape at a later date.

Like Emz said, I'd still check yourself to see whether or not they are both girls. You wouldn't want any more little ones running about =] better safe than sorry.

Lina x

[nex]

The 'bunker' they built collapsed and they made a nest now. I put toilet paper (non scented) inside the cage and they used all of it. But from what I can see there's only one baby... I read that's extremely rare, so could it be that there was another one but it died? I don't want to go anywhere near their nest, as I don't want to disturb them. From what I can see through the wire there doesn't appear to be any more babies, but I can't be sure.

Yes, I do have a metal cage... it's 6mmx6mm grid so I'm pretty sure it's safe for the baby too, but as soon as he/she starts walking around I'll put something around the lower half of the cage.

I checked the sex of the other grown degu, and she's a girl too, so I should be fine now I can only hope she's not pregnant too, although she's not showing any signs, but there's still some time.

I do have another question... since there only appears to be one baby, and I read that they usually cuddle together for warmth, do I need to do anything special? Or will the mother and the other degu keep it warm themselves?

[emz]

It seems odd to only have one pup, have you had a sneak peak about for any pups (they may or may not have survived, as sad as it is to say it someone has to mention this.)

If you only really have one and you're worried about warmth you can try shining a heat lamp from outside the cage or use a water bottle wrapped in a towel. I think pets at home sell warmers that use hot water like a hot water bottle - some people on the forum have used them and been pleased with their results at keeping warm for a decent amount of time.

[nex]

Well, they built the nest in a corner, and there's a lot of hay underneath it so short of tearing up their nest I can't really be sure. But I think she had it this morning, and I was at home for an hour after I saw just the one, and before I left I checked and there was still only one baby. I read somewhere that the birth is supposed to last about 45 minutes.... but again, I can't be sure until I clean out the cage, which is out of the question for at least 2 weeks.

[emz]

You can clean about the nest but just try and leave the nest in tact. You may need to gently pry it apart a little and put it back (if you can) in a few days just to make sure there are no dead pups as it isn't too hygienic for a new born.

I hope her little pup has good health, congrats on the little critter!

[nex]

Thanks for the advice and well wishes I did try to poke around a bit and there doesn't seem to be anything solid under around the nest so I'm taking that as a good sign. But just to be on the safe side I'll try cleaning it out a bit in a few days, but I'll hopefully be able leave the nest intact.

[iamlina]

I think it was deguconvert that was saying instead of a hot water bottle use a sock with some rice in and heat it in the microwave.
Make sure it is just warm though =]

Hope everything's okay =]
x

[DegutasticJen]

congrats on your lil pup, You will be able to handle the pup when its around 4 days old, thats when the mum should allow you to touch baby.

The mum should keep the baby warm so you shouldnt have any worries there but yes there is a warmer that p@h sell which Ive also heard is brilliant.

Babies are very active very quickly, so youl soon find the baby running around and mum picking it back up and taking it to the nest :-)

Hope all is well

[nex]

Thanks again for the answers. I tried having a light to warm the baby but he/she started squeaking and didn't stop until I turned off the light, so I guess it bothered him/her. I have decided to have the room a bit warmer in general, so I hope that should be enough.

Will report on the progress in a few days

[smux]

Point the light at the cage and put a few sheets of paper up onto the cage where the light is shining in so it absorbs most of the light and heat...and of course make sure the light isn't too close that it could set the paper alight...some heat will still get through plus the paper and the metal of the cage will warm up and dissipate the heat around the local area. You should be able to put your hand on the paper about 10 minutes after doing this to check the warmth to make sure it's not too hot, and I'd check regularly for an hour or so to make sure it's okay...but as mentioned before, toilet tissue is fine for keeping them warm and if you want to you could rip up some old clothes (soft, preferably, obviously) and put strips of the material in their nest for the baby (and they have to be washed in water and dried so they're clean and unscented...washing powder would leave a scent)

[deguconvert]

Congratulations on your surprise pup! Although the shock has been huge, I think you will find that having a pup in the house is an awful lot of fun. (I would secretly like to have some here, but I won't give in a get a female. LOL) The heated raw rice in a sock is a great trick to help keep a pup (or any degus) warm. In a few days will begin to see the pup eating a little adult food already, so you may have to have a little more of hand for them to eat. Also, the cardboard is a good thing to put around the cage where ever you have ledges or tiers, since degu pups are such adept escape artists. They can get through the tiniest of spaces so be prepared. AND when you do any cleaning, check first to make sure the pup is IN the cage so that you don't have a tragic accident.

[DegutasticJen]

How they getting on Nex? I bet they are trying to run around now, Lil cuties :-)

[nex]

Our new pup is doing great!! he's running around the whole lower floor and even trying to climb a little to the middle floor (oh yeah, should I temporarily remove the log for the upper floor, the adults can easily jump up).
It's been 4 days now so I'll be able to touch him today after I get back from work I still don't know if it's a boy or a girl though and I still haven't tried to clean out the cage to try and look for any possible dead babies I'll probably do that today aswell, since it has to be done anyway.

[emz]

I hope you don't find any.

So happy to hear the one pup is doing well! ;D

[deguconvert]

I'm glad to hear the pup is doing well, too! He must be getting well fed, since he gets Mum all to himself. He/she will be a sleek little sweetie!!

[nex]

Just a quick question: about half an hour ago the pup started crying and he still hasn't stopped.... I checked to see if he's alone but he's not. And I can hear the females 'chattering' back but it still sounds like he's 'crying'. Is there some way I can check if there's anything wrong with him?? I haven't had the time to clean out the cage today, so it can't be that....

[emz]

There is a noise that a pup makes when calling to his mother but usually I don't think it is as often as when they're constantly together.

Does it sound like this:


Hopefully someone who has had degu pups like Jen can help you more when they're on later.