We may be having degu pups...

[jusjus]

We bought a pair of "male" degus about a month ago from pets at home. They are just eating pets@home degu nuggets and hay, however, quite quickly Spook became very fat. We took her back and it turns out he is a she. And we (and they) believe she is pregnant. She is gaining weight very quickly and spending a lot of time in the nest. While back at P@H, they taught me how to sex degus. Turns out we actually have two girls, therefore, she must have been pregnant when we bought her.

We are concerned firstly, that she is too young to have babies. She is not at her full adult weight yet so we don't know what to think of the rapid weight gain. It was steady to start with but is now literally at 4grams a day!!!
We also don't know what we should do with the other girl when the babies are born... will she help out like a father figure?
She also seems very stressful. She is nesting vigorously, only leaves the nest to eat and gets very protective of the nesting box when she is not in it.
It would also be useful if there is a way to tell how pregnant she is!
Could someone tell us anything about this?
Thanks
Jus and Duncan

[deguconvert]

Well, I would say VERY pregnant. Degus have a 90 day gestation period, and usually do not show at all until the last 30 days. If she is getting so grumpy, is spending much time in the nest, and gaining that much each day, she is very close to delivery.

Leave the other girl in with her. She will be a real help to the mom in caring for the pups, which will relieve the stress on the mom. Since your other degu is female, she won't be a risk for re-impregnating the newly delivered mom, so that is good too. I would say, just leave them together and enjoy having the pups for the next 6 weeks. They are a lot of fun and truly adorable.

Pups are SO tiny, and SO very mobile, that they can very easily escape out through the bars of your cage. You need to tie cardboard strips to the outside of your cage in any location that is near flooring. Have a careful count of your pups, so that you can tell if one has managed to escape. By about day 4-6 they will begin to nibble on the solid food, so you will need to have lots on hand, as well as lots of hay. Don't worry about picking them up for a cuddle, especially if you have a trust relationship with mom and the other degu. They won't freak out on the babies because of your scent. Handling them from shortly after birth (day 3ish) will make them very friendly and well trained. (At least as "well trained" as a degu can be. )

If I think of more things to tell you, I'll come back. This babies board has great information it, so have a read through as well.

[jusjus]

Very useful, noone else has been able to tell us that much! Thankyou!!!!

[phoenixm]

i completely enjoyed the google pups......u are in for a real treat...=)
they ARE very mobile within the first week.....so ensure they are safe from escaping or other nosey critters ((i.e pups...cats))

go here to see all my foto's of the babies...=)
www.flickr.com/photos/minta360/sets/72157619967168794/detail/