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Post by listracian on Jul 3, 2007 20:11:41 GMT
I have a problem, a rather big one.
I have 3 Degu's one is a lot older then the other two because her sister died and I got two babies to go with her. They have been with each other for about 5/6 months now and they have been fighting all day long.
I don't know if this is normal because I mean they fight over food and things but Whisper is getting really touchy. If they even go near her she is fighting with them. I don't know whats wrong with her.
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sarah
Burrowing Degu
Posts: 182
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Post by sarah on Jul 3, 2007 20:19:37 GMT
Did they just start fighting recently? My first suggestion is to check and make sure they are all girls. Ours started fighting suddenly, very viciously, and it turned out that one of the girls was a boy and the female went into heat.
Are you sure about the sex?
Sarah
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Post by Sunshinemeg on Jul 4, 2007 9:37:01 GMT
Assuming you have a group of all the same sex, what are the ages of the younger two?
A degu will become sexually mature from as early as 9 months. At this point they will be far more interested in establishing a pecking order. The current "boss" may well be older, but still far from past their prime. The result will usually be that the "boss" will feel threatened, and will re-establish with the group that they deserve to be in charge! this will result in bickering and even prolonged fighting.
If the current "boss" is unable to maintain dominance, the new "boss" will want to really push home the advantage, and will become overly aggressive towards whoever has been disposed.
Generally, if the fighting is due to dominance, it will be settled after 2 or 3 days of aggression. It is far from pleasent to witness, and needs to be closely monitored to ensure that nobody is badly injured. you can offer treats, change the cage around, and put in fresh chinchilla sand in an attempt to settle things. the sand especially will help as they will all roll in this and smell much more similar. Move things around in the cage but do not clean it out just yet. A clean smelling "new" cage could be perceived as new territory, and would just aggrevate the situation as they fight to be the boss of the new area.
generally speaking fighting for the reasons I have outlined above is far more pronounced in males, but this doesnt mean it doesnt occur in females. It is a natural instinct that cannot be stopped, but needs to be watched.
Good luck
Meg
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Post by listracian on Jul 4, 2007 11:56:36 GMT
They are all females, I just checked and got severely scratched.
The eldest of the three I think is 2/3 years old, the babies being 5 months old so there is a large age gap between them. One of the babies is really skittish and nervous and is keeping out of it all so I guess it is the dominance thing. Whisper was dominant when Winter was alive and she likes to get her way and gets grumpy if one of the other two is on her perch.
If Saphira ends up boss and Whisper is kicked off her position can it become dangerous to keep them together?
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Post by Sunshinemeg on Jul 5, 2007 9:24:21 GMT
No, it shouldnt be dangerous to keep them together. you need to keep an eye on things, most likely if saphira becomes boss, the nervous one will do a great deal of sucking up, you will see lots of grooming etc. Whisper will most likely be very hurt (emotionally) by it all, but she will recover. You will need to keep an eye on how things progress. If the fighting becomes far too severe and they are being hurt, you will have to consider seperating them into different parts of the cage. put in a mesh divide so they can still see and smell each other, but they are unable to hurt each other. give them time to settle down and recover, then re-introduce. hope it doesnt come to that though!
best of luck
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Post by listracian on Jul 6, 2007 8:40:38 GMT
Thanks for the help!
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Post by Sunshinemeg on Jul 6, 2007 12:09:42 GMT
no problem! keep us posted with the progress, i understand completely how distressing it is when they fight, but more often than not it is resolved in time with no lasting damage! Good luck!
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Post by listracian on Jul 15, 2007 17:37:36 GMT
They have stopped fighting for now, slightly worried though as I am going on holiday for two weeks soon and a friend is looking after them. Saphira is quite something, she is pure evil! She seems to be bossing Houdini around loads when Whisper is higher up in the cage and she is a biter. Go to put food in their cage and she will run at you and bite you! Houdini won't go near you most of the time and Whisper is weary but Saphira is just evil!
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