Clumsy Goo

[woodchip]

Hi all,

As you've probably read I've adopted 2 goos, and one has only got half a tail. She seems a little clumsy than the one with a complete tail. Is this normal, could she naturally be a little more clumsy, is it anything to be worried about? I think they're about 5/6 months old going by the dates that P@H gave me so is it something she'll grow out of?

Thanks from a marginally worried parent.

[kovu07]

Firstly please use the degutopia sexing guide to check you have two girls, P@H are not best known for getting the sex right.

Also she is most likely more clumsy because she has lost part of her tail since their tails help them to balance. I don't think it's anything to worry about, she will be fine when she gets to grips with not having a tail. A bit like a cat or dog who have 3 legs.

Finally congrats on getting your cute goos, they are amazing animals and very rewarding.

[woodchip]

Thanks for the reply.

I plan on doubling checking they're two little ladies when they have the trust in me for me to handle them. At the moment they're still quite timid after being badly handled by the previous owners (two kids and a stupid parent). I did get Buffy (half tailed one) to walk across my hand earlier as she went from one shelf to another, and she stopped half way for a good sniff. Willow (the higher one in their hierachy) isn't quite so keen on the idea. What's confused me is I thought the one that's more injured (physically) would be the one that would take longer to train. That would assume goos follow normally logic though. lol

I kinda thought it would be tail related as my ex brother in law had a rat with only half a tail and she was quite clumsy for a couple of weeks.

[kovu07]

Maybe it's Buffy's personality, perhaps she is more willing to trust again even though she's been hurt in the past, where as Willow is naturally more cautious. Also i'm sure she'll be ok soon enough once she works out how to balance.

[Cherpi]

Haha, few months ago I caused Joe to lose the end of his tail ( :{ ) and he always jumps and totally misses shelves, I laugh but it's not funny :x ok well it is. Joe is still clumsy even though it's been a while... He might have been born that way (lol lady gaga) not sure. But ye nothing to be worried about! If something serious happens like a broken leg then might be something to worry about. Good luck!

[woodchip]

Thanks Cherpi. I'll just have to keep an eye on her a bit more I suppose.

I'm very proud of Buffy at the moment. I put my hand in the cage earlier and she run onto my hand, then onto the nest box, up to my forearm, back to box, upto elbow, then back to box, and then just kept running upto my elbow and back to her box about 6/7 times pausing on my arm a little longer each time. She's so much more confident today. I did put my t-shirt in with them this morning and I think that may have really helped. All the time this was happening Willow watched on through bleary eyes from the nest box. lol

[philbailey1806]

AAAAAw, they sound cute! yeah, I agree with cherpi and kovu, you never know how long she's been without a tail, it may have only just happened before they were put in for adoption, so she may just be getting used to balancing without it bless her.

As for the sexing, its veeeeery important it is done asap! males become fertile at roughly 6 months old and like kovu says, P@H are rubbish at it! They gave me a boy and a girl and told me they were both girls and when challenged tried to tell me that some boys aren't as "proud" a male when young, anyway, the degutopia website has a very easy method to tell the difference thats virtually fool proof, and if you're still unsure, theres lots of people can help you on here.

Other than that, congrats on your new additions and enjoy getting to know them!

[woodchip]

Thanks Phil. Buffy seems to be having a shy day today after being really brave at play time yesterday. I can confirm their, err, "bits" match and look like females so P@H have got it right this time.

Working on the times P@H gave I think she's been missing half her tail for about 3 months, but P@H didn't have much for them to climb or jump from so she'd not have had much chance to learn to jump again. Poor things were in the adoption centre for 2.5 months.

[woodchip]

Hi all, just a quick update on Buffy and Willow's retaming. We had them out for 2 hours today and after about 75 minutes myself and the girlfriend were like assualt courses. They seemed to enjoy running up my girlfriend's back and sniffing her hair. Buffy is definitely the one to take more risks now.

They're by far the most addictive pet I've ever had. Rats are boring compared to degus.