Advice before I take the plunge.

[plutoblue]

I have two groups of degus (one consisting of three males and the other of four females) that live in separate rooms. One of my males and one of my females are particularly special to me (I know, I'm a bad Mammy for having favourites!) and I really don't want to think about them dying and leaving nothing behind.

So, I've been thinking that I could breed the two of them once. I'd be keeping the babies myself, the male babies would go with my current male group and the females can go with my girls. They both live in huge cages that have room for three times the amount of degus that they are currently accommodating, so finding room for the babies isn't a problem.

I had been thinking of letting the male and female spend the day together in their own cage but returning them to their groups at night until she falls pregnant. That way they have plenty of time to breed and enjoy each other's company while still maintaining the bonds with their original groups.
Are there any problems with this idea that I'm may be overlooking?

I'm just wondering if there is a way to do this that won’t result in the male and female I'm using for breeding being rejected from their original groups.
I'm not so worried about moving the prospective mother back in with the girls; my females are pretty easy going. But would my pair of boys re-accept the father?

[jacky]

My worry would be that when they were returned to their own groups they would have the smell of the other Degu on them and this could lead to fights. I know someone who tried this only to find that when the male was put back the others had a terrible fight with him. The vet said it was because he had the smell of the female on him. When the babies had to be split up the others would not mix with them. So she ended up with four cages. Sorry to put a damper on your plans, perhaps someone else may have had better luck.

[Philip]

do sandbaths get rid of smell? just a thought!
Philip

[jackdaniels]

With added vanilla essence