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Post by DegutasticJen on Mar 24, 2010 19:04:48 GMT
Hello, I have 4 adult degus :-) all were sold to me as girls, however one of them has just given birth to 3 pups, unfortunately one died, but the other 2 seem to be very well and very active. I want to keep them all together so i have booked the vets apt on friday to get Tink (the male) to get snipped. But i am very worried about this, i understand it needs to be done, and i am very aware that the others may also be pregnant so i am also getting them checked aswell.
I was just asking if anyone could give me any advice really about the snipping process, and if there are a lot of risks, i know the vet will go through this with me on friday but i thought i would ask. I will be keeping them all, i have bought a much larger cage and i am prepared to seperate the babies (if one of them is male )with the father if anymore of them are male. But for the moment i still want to get him nuetured.
So if anyone who has had their goo snipped, anything you can tell me i would be very greatfull, as i am very worried for him. Bless him
Also heres a pic of the babies when they were born yday :-)
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Post by emz on Mar 24, 2010 19:34:12 GMT
Firstly, make sure this vet knows how to circumcise a Degu and is a reputable vet with good Degu experience as I have heard about them doing it wrong thinking it is like other rodents, which I have heard is not the case.
Also, how old is your boy? They should be at least over a year old before you snip a Degu. Something to do with hormones and their development. I think you should wait until you can sex the Degus in a few weeks or so first and see what gender the pups are but that is just me.
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Post by DegutasticJen on Mar 24, 2010 19:38:53 GMT
Well i have asked the vet lots of questions on the phone and they seem ok, and ive gone to the best vet in our area. But i will ask a lot more questions before he goes in on friday, i will not leave him there if i do not feel 100% that he will be ok.
Also he is only 7 months old himself so not even a year yet so thanks for that advice, Yes i was thinking about waiting untill i could sex the pups but what i was worried about was that two males (or possibly more) would fight if one or more are not snipped? are you aware of that at all?
Thanks again
Jen
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Post by emz on Mar 24, 2010 23:39:18 GMT
They may have small squabbles when the pups start to reach sexual maturity (around 5 - 10 months old) but this is common and shouldn't become dangerous. Because they're related there shouldn't be any immediate issues most daddy Degus are very good with the kids. Just make sure all the pups stay with the mother until 6-8 weeks old which is their weaning age. Also interaction with parents such as sounds is essential to their brain development I remember reading and early separation can cause behaviour issues.
Also if you've kept the male (dad) in the cage still, although they're great fathers and will help with the work he may have already impregnated the mother again. Female Degus are very fertile just after they give birth.
Snipping a male to stop fighting is a last resort and is rarely needed to be done. Most Degus are pretty docile and well natured.
I also forgot to mention how cute the picture is. ;D
If you ever struggle with sexing the pups this video shows how to sex 4 week old Degus and adults:
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Post by deguconvert on Mar 25, 2010 14:34:46 GMT
The anatomical difference between degus and rats is simple. Rats are built with the testicles on the outside of the abdominal wall, in full glorious view. Degus, however, have their testicles inside the abdominal cavity, safely tucked inside, which necessitates a very different surgery. It is this confusion that a vet unfamiliar with degus can run into, and very likely can result in a painful fatality. With this information in your file, you can very pointedly ask your vet if they are aware of this difference and are prepared for the different surgery that is required. That said, while on this forum I have been pleased to note that more degus survive this surgery than do not . . . so long as the vet knows the differences and the degu is not too young.
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Post by DegutasticJen on Mar 25, 2010 18:03:39 GMT
Thank you both for both of your advice. I have canceled the appointment and have decided to wait until the pups are old enough to leave the mother and then if any of them are males they can go and live with dad :-)! As i had 4 degus in total and 3 are females i am now expecting to have more babies as i doubt he would have only impregnanted on female. I have prepared and got a huge cage for them to transfer into whilst the babies are weaning then i can seperate the male babies and the females babies. This was such a shock when she gave birth but now i know what to look out for..as i thought they were all females i wasnt looking for pregnancy signs or anything like that...but as we speak the two lil goos are very healthy and both have their eyes open and feeding off mum well. :-)
I was very worried about the surgery so im pleased i dont have to put him through that... thank you for your advice :-)
Also does anyone know if i need to feed the pregnant/nursing mum anything special to eat? esp if she is pregnant again...because i didnt remove the male quick enough... just wondered if there is anything i can give her to help her really?
Also i spoke to the vet and i didnt feel positive at all that they knew what they were doing...so im even happier that im not putting my lil goo through that...id never forgive myself.
Thank you again everyone :-)
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Post by emz on Mar 25, 2010 18:17:10 GMT
Yeah most likely he will have impregnated more than one of the ladies, so you might end up with a lot of pups in the future!
I'm glad to hear you checked the vet thoroughly before making a decision and I am sure your little boy is happy that he doesn't have to have the snip.
Also I don't think you really need to do anything for her if she is pregnant again, maybe someone else who has had a similar situation can offer insight. Lucky for me I only have 2 boys and I sexed them multiple times to feel safe lol. You won't know if she is pregnant till quite late into the pregnancy though from what I've read.
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Post by DegutasticJen on Mar 25, 2010 19:12:46 GMT
Yes i was thinking that i will probably have a lot of pups soon, but im hoping it will all work out ok, obviously if they all have loads then i will rehome some of the pups.
I do have two huge cages, so i am well prepared just incase, because when they are all weaned i can put males in one and females in the other,but it just depends as if it works out far too many then of course re homing is the only solution as i dont want them getting over crowded and annoyed with each other..as i bet that will eventualy lead to fighting...I just want to do what is best for my lil goos as i love them to bits.
Thanks
Jen
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Post by emz on Mar 25, 2010 20:33:27 GMT
Degus love to be in large groups. I don't think you could end up with "too many" lol. ;D
As long as they have the right amount of space fighting usually doesn't happen. Small cages are usually the biggest cause of fights.
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Post by DegutasticJen on Mar 26, 2010 9:29:42 GMT
yeah thats what i was thinking, i do have two huge cages but they are not attatched so im thinking of getting a cage from john hopewell, they look very good on there one of the double ones with the stand on wheels.
But yes i suppose i better wait and see how many we have in total and can get a double cage or even a triple cage if i have to :-)
Off into town later to get them some new toys :-) and a new hammock :-)!
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Post by DegutasticJen on Apr 2, 2010 21:28:56 GMT
Just a quick update on my lil goo babies,
Here is a pic of one of them at 7 days old :-)
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Post by DegutasticJen on Apr 2, 2010 21:30:08 GMT
10 days old :-)
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Post by DegutasticJen on Apr 2, 2010 21:31:17 GMT
Lil goo
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Post by DegutasticJen on Apr 2, 2010 21:31:58 GMT
Just another one of them both at 10 days old
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Post by DegutasticJen on Apr 2, 2010 21:34:35 GMT
Last one, but however a good one,
As the babies are a bit more active now they are climbing and all sorts, i have covered the cage in cardboard, but however as i was taking pics i took it down for a bit.
This is one of the babies, on top of the nest box, with mum and dad, nibbling dads tail :-)
Gorgeous pic!...They are all being transfered into a bigger cage at the weekend so will post some pics in the thread for pics next time of them in their new cage :-)
Hope you all enjoyed looking at my lil goos :-)
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Post by emz on Apr 2, 2010 21:49:17 GMT
They're lovely. ;D
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Post by DegutasticJen on Apr 2, 2010 22:04:03 GMT
i just sit and watch them for hours on end :-) and with the easter weekend coming more hours of fun with my degus :-)!
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Post by DegutasticJen on Apr 2, 2010 22:04:44 GMT
and thank you :-)
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louwra
Burrowing Degu
Posts: 136
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Post by louwra on Apr 7, 2010 13:56:03 GMT
awww goo babies are the greatest arent they!! the pictures are great!! Makes me all broody again!
My girls and boys are safely seperated though, no chance they get together. ;D
When I adopted the girls, from an unwanted situation, one girl has had 11 babies!!! Yikes! the other 2 girls had 5 together, one litter of 4 and one single male pup . We still have the boys, and from the 3 original mums we sadly lost one, but have adopted a little baby girl (blueish girl ) and these have settled very well together and get on great.
Keep postin gpics, would love to see more!
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Post by deguconvert on Apr 8, 2010 0:36:18 GMT
They are adorable!! I could scoop them all up in a blink and run home with them. Well . . . flag a taxi to the airport and fly home . . . but you know what I mean. LOL!
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