Playing or fighting

[fairyprincess10]

Hi,
My recently new boys are funny but i am concerned that the big one is jumping on the little one and knocks him off the ledge, the little squeals and jumps on the big one and they start 'gently' nibbling i get they groom eachother but this is also end in 1 being at the top of the cage and the other at the bottom looking very sad!?
Please advise me what you think?

[w8152]

sounds like dominance followed by grooming to "make up"

mine are almost constantly chsing each other round the cage and trying to dry hump each other, seems to be alternating at the moment.

I'm fairly confident from what you've said its fine.

[fairyprincess10]

Thank you, i had a feeling it was but wasnt sure when i see them sitting apart after all that.

[w8152]

yeah thats the sulking bit, be grateful the looser doesnt whine like Dean does. Sounds like he's in huge amounts of pain but all he wants is a fuss and treats for being beaten up.

[fairyprincess10]

Hey!!
My Degu just nipped my finger quite hard whilst out in my arms, He was with his head down in the crease of my arm as i bend my arms when i have them and i was giving his a fuss i then went to pick him up to put him back as he was looking like he'd had enough and he nipped me just for trying to pick him up... Any ideas??
He was quickly told off and ignored whilst i played with his brother but did i do something wrong or was he the one thats wrong??

[deguconvert]

Usually they will give you a bit of a verbal warning that they are not inclined to being touched anymore, but sometimes they just don't. It is also something that you kind of build up between you and your degus . . . an understanding of their body language as well as the sounds they make. It helps you clue in faster . . . but even saying that, I admit I've been nipped hard when one of them was suddenly out of temper and had no inclination to warn me first. I have done just as you describe doing when that happens. Back in the cage getting momma's cold shoulder!

I'd say it is not your fault and just a grumpy goo.

[fairyprincess10]

He's been very grumpy last few days and they get equal amounts of attention, He didnt even squeak when he nipped me he just did it as i put my hand round him so he didnt even move.... Could he of been nestling to snooze possibly???
He has squeaked when my partner puts his hands thru the cage and usually if i open the open but he had no reaction today which is why i thought he'd cheered up... i was wrong!!
I really dont understand him i get his brother and i understood my girls but he's being very difficult... Could he be doing a "i miss my old home sulking phase? i dont know how good their memories are!

[Whizz]

Goo's have really good memories.

It's likely he was having an off day, a lot of the time Luigi gets grumpy and has a massive go at my other boys for no reason whatso ever. Then the next minute he is really happy and bubbly - like usual. Mine have never bitten me, but I have been told off a few times! Chewy often "Werr's" (defensive squeak, quite long) at me when I'm putting their dinner in and I move the bowl that is near him, usually because he assumes I'm going to steal it from him.

Remember, for him it's a completely new environment, new smells and surrondings. It can be quite over-whelming for them! Plus remember, you are still a bit of a stranger to him, so the circle of trust might not be complete yet! It's likely you moved a way he didn't want you to move so told you off

[whizzer27]

Sounds slightly similar to what my goo Raj does. Sometimes he'll put his whole mouth around the end of my finger but doesn't bite. If he does nip, I flip him on his back (I believe this is a dominance hold?) and then he will sit quitely for a min and then I put him back in the cage with a treat. I'm trying to reinforce i'm the boss without upsetting him and letting him cool down and knowing when he does he gets to go back to the cage with a treat, seems to be working anyways as it hasn't broken our trust or made him weary of me!

[deguconvert]

I think you are maybe rushing your bond with him. It isn't something that happens quickly, and you need to be patient and persistant as you work with him daily. When you take him out, always have a little treat with you. Even give him some treats while he is with you and build up a sense of pleasure in being with you. One of our boys, he's become "my" degu, took a VERY long time to bond with me, and I was the only hand trainer in our home. What I built, the rest of the family benefited from. Snug was very frightened and nervous of people. I lost count of all the nasty bites I endured from him, but on average I suffered 2-3 a week, with little ones inbetween. He just didn't believe there was a reason to trust humans. I worked with him three times a day for five months before we finally had our break through. He never bites now and is the easiest to take out of the cage for a visit. BUT . . . it took a fierce determination (not to be scared of his bites in part) and mountains of patience on my part to get us there. I don't think you have nearly that much difficulty before you. Just go slow, give him treats, and if his body seems stiff when you bring him out for a visit, make it a short one. Give him a treat, stroke his sides, talk to him, give him another treat, and then put him back in. As he learns that these short visits are actually very pleasurable, he will start to relax. Then you can be extending the amount of time you keep him out, and before you know it, he will be clamoring to come out for visits. It's not so much you that is building trust in him, as HIM building trust in YOU. You are teaching him that you are not a predator.

Degus don't like to be grabbed around the middle at all. They will very quickly react to that, even with a long standing relationship. My three boys all let me know their displeasure if I do that. My daughter has been bitten as a result of picking them up with her hand wrapped around their middles. "Her" degu will accept her doing that to him . . . but only for so long and it he isn't in a grouchy mood. The other two . . . nope . . . can't do it. Scooping them up with both hands from underneath them is really the best way to do it.

[w8152]

Dean grabs my finger all the time and pulls it around, he gets told off for it every time but its usually stropping cause i wont let him go where he wants.

The last time one of them moaned at me for going near his food bowl i tipped it over him, only does it now when they gets treats and i get close when he's eating it hehehe