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Post by cprime on Oct 7, 2012 1:34:22 GMT
Hi,
I am new to the forum, and I have yet to get any degus. Still looking.
My question is: would I have an easier time taming younger degus from a pet store or some older ones (9 months and 15 months) that are currently looking for a new home.
I would really prefer to go through a breeder but the closest one is a 3 hour drive ( I live near Montreal, Quebec) .
Thanks!
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Post by Kins on Oct 7, 2012 9:09:45 GMT
To be honest, it depends on a) the degus themselves, they all vary on how tame they will become and b) how much time you are willing to put into taming them.
I adopted 2 1 year old boys a couple of years ago, I've never really tried to tame them as such, I've always just spent time talking to them and giving them the odd treat. They are now happy to come out onto my lap if I sit in front of their cage, they don't like being picked up, but I'm happy with how they are.
I got another pair a few months later and they were younger, one of them will come straight out on to my hand as I open the door and clamber all over me, but the other is a little more reserved.
Some people find them very easy to train, some not so. It really depends on the degu I think. So if you're willing to put in a good amount of time with them, it doesn't really matter about their age at all.
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Post by Kins on Oct 7, 2012 9:10:02 GMT
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Post by Lrak on Oct 7, 2012 10:13:14 GMT
Welcome  looks like good info from Kins again so i'll just say hello  |
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Post by moletteuk on Oct 7, 2012 12:26:01 GMT
I guess you could say you usually get a clean slate with young degus, but rescuing older degus can be very rewarding. Are the 9 and 15 month olds two different groups, or have they been paired up at some point. Can you quiz the owners of the rescue degus or go visit them?
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Post by ntg on Oct 7, 2012 12:52:38 GMT
Speaking from our experience with rescue goos of different ages, it's taken a lot longer for Gandalf (he's 6) to become comfortable with jumping on us than it did with the 3 young ones who were 6 months when we got them. But at the same time, I wouldn't have it any other way, it was so rewarding the first time he willingly jumped on my leg and, although he still doesn't do it that often, it's just part of his charm that he'll only be like that to people he trusts.
As Kins said, all degus are different, you can't guarantee that you'll get easily handled ones by getting them at a young age. None of ours are really pick up sort of goos, but that's fine with me as they're still so affectionate when you're around. My only dislike is their preference for grooming my feet :/ lol
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Post by Karma on Oct 7, 2012 14:22:27 GMT
I have noticed a VERY big difference in degu personality from babyhood - although it takes until they are 3-4 months to really notice the difference. I have found all very young babies to be super easy to hold and cuddle, they will submit to almost everything.
When they reach roughly 3-4 months, the personality is more developed and they start to balk at the things they would rather not do.
The last bunch of goos we got at work, bunch of things happened so we ended up with a single boy and girl. The single boy got ringworm so he was in iso and minimal handling for 2 weeks until we had it treated. These two got put together after 3 weeks of being single (trying to limit the possibility of babies since they were from the same breeder) because the girl was very depressed. When they were alone I would sneak one of them into my work hoodie pocket and walk around working with (shhhhhh my managers didn't know). So they both got the same amount of attention when they were single. The boy loved me and wanted to run up and down me all day and snuggle in the hoodie. The girl STILL ran away and hide when the door was opened and needed treats to coax her out.
So not all degus want to be handled and even with taming may not become super handleable babies. We had these babies from 10 weeks on too so they were fairly young.
I would see the older ones and how tame they are, if you can get degus that have already been started on taming then you know more of the personality than getting babies that may not really want to be handled.
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Post by cprime on Oct 8, 2012 0:48:35 GMT
The three older ones are a mother and two daughters. I am having difficulty getting accurate info about their temperment and behaviour as I am dealing with a language difference as well. I am going to see if I can go visit them this week, try to get a feel for them.
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Post by deguconvert on Oct 11, 2012 15:42:33 GMT
Welcome to the forum, Cprime. Have you had a chance to meet with the mother and two daughters yet?
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looks like good info from Kins again so i'll just say hello 
