fat degu

[dashndelila]

recently purchased 2 female degus, did a bit of research before buying but took the ladies word that they were 2 females and have had them approx 1 month now
they live in a 6x2x3 tank with everthing they could wish for and are becoming quite tame now
now they both run around like nutters and get a hugh amount of exercise in their wheel(at the same time lol) and are let lose once a week to reak havoc in the house and both are still very active, however one of them has swelled like a balloon just lately doubling in size in about a fourtnight not in length but belly wise, it eats just as it always has and gets no more food than the other degu that has remained the same in size, they are fed on xtravital complete food timathy hay and a treat once a week of broccoli
is it preggers or is there something else i should be worring about here, confident it isnt eating all the food and getting the lions share as it were

[deguconvert]

Gotta say . . . preggers sounds like the right diagnosis. Goo gestation is 90 days, and some goos seem to start showing up to a month before delivery. If she is pregnant you can expect to see babies any time in the next 30 days I suspect.

[dashndelila]

good old pets at home lol
oh dear not quite what i was wishing for as im still getting to know them talk about jumping in feet first, pleased i stumbled across this site as i now have a little bit better knowledge on what to expect in the near future
think she is beginning to nest up using the hay although the other is eating it as fast as she is building it
as exiciting this is for us im upset my 2 "females" are going to be giving a headache so soon after getting them all this seperating him after the birth so she doesnt end up preggers again or looking to get him castrated as for rearing the babies and looking to pass them on after 6 weeks which as mum and dad are prob siblings isnt prob the best thing to do is a little daunting, they are a wonderful together and gaining our trust on a dialy basis just hope this doesnt stop us enjoying our new found family members

[deguconvert]

I hear ya. It is a lot to adjust to! Castration of goos is pretty dicey. They have a high mortality rate because most vets are unfamiliar with them and don't realize that their testes are inside the body, not held externally like they are in other rodents. It requires a very different procedure than that which is used on most animals. There have been some very sad losses because of vets being unfamiliar and inexperienced. IF you do feel you want to follow the route of castration, find an exotic pets specialist vet. Even then, the outcome is not certain. Goos don't take anesthetic well.

One option to consider once babies are come and almost ready to go is an extra cage for males and Daddy, females in other cage. Or maybe keeping all one sex and giving away the other sex. That still means separation, and that can be traumatic for all concerned. I don't envy you. I would want to keep them all.

[creativexangst]

Quick question, are you sure that they arent both female? I adopted to female mice and one turned out to be preggers, and it happened at the store. So maybe you do have two females, but one got knocked up before she came to you.

[dashndelila]

there were two males in the cage next to them and they were frequently let out so it is possible a coming together happened then,
can see movement in the belly area so no doubt at all anymore we have babies on the way dont think to far away niether now

question though cage is due a clean but she has built a nest shall i try to clean around it or leave it for a week or so till she has had them

[loulousweetie84]

if you are def sure she is expecting dont worry about my next quote!!!!! but feel i must say just in case,


i had a pair of degu, both females, i say pair as they were sisters, i started to notice a slight size difference after the first few weeks and i was worried that i may have had a pregnant one, then sadly one developed a cataract, and was getting fatter fatter, it turned out she had diabetes

not wanting to scare you at all i promise, but because of my lack of understanding im sad to say that she may not have gotten the help she needed in time,

if you are worried go to a vet they will soon be able to rule out pregnancy, especially if she has been looking larger lately

[dashndelila]

time 21:38 gmt we have our first little baby little n hairy with its eyes open, mam still very fat so a few more to come yet, the other is anouncing to the world they have arrived and is almost singing the joy of new life will keep you postd

[Joe Sinclair]

Wow, I hope it goes well. good luck!

[loulousweetie84]

aww babies,im so happy for you
glad it was that,

new little family to care for
well done xxx

[dashndelila]

22:04 number two is here with dash once again singing his head off

[dashndelila]

i think there are 4 of them mum is doing a bloody good job of hiding them from us, they are in a four inch cardboard tube and she has sort of blocked the ends with bedding preventing any proper view....cow lol although the odd glimpse i have had are they are sooooooo cute
the other one is in there with them n seems to be joining in looking after them
hopefully get a good glimpse over the next few days
ooooo tis very exciting

[deguconvert]

Congratulations!!! They really are adorable little loves!

Have you had much chance to look the "non-pregnant" goo over close enough to determine for certain the sex of it? It's kind of late to say much now, but momma goo is most fertile in the first 24 hours after delivery. If the other goo, "dash" is it?, is male, well . . . you may have a repeat performance in 90 days. Hopefully not, for your sake and momma's sake!

If you are not over sure how to get the good look, I can recommend a method that has worked well for others. Get a treat, coax the goo in question over to the side of the cage, hold treat up high enough for him to stand and stretch out, keep it just out of reach but close enough to keep him interested long enough to get the viewing you need. All going well, you will discover that you do indeed own two females! Heres hoping.

[dashndelila]

well got up this morning n we could see nothing the cardboard tube nesting site was blocked up solid with delila one end n dash the other on sentry duty, opened the lid and true to form they couldnt resist being nosey and a few treats later the pair of them let us have a proper glimpse of the new arrivals we have FIVE of them, all seem to have their eyes open n hair, one did escape for a very short while before mam usherd it back in and closed the door again not before i got a piccy of the little cutie, when lads home tonight from school i'll get him to put the camera disk on n post the first piccy of mam n a little one