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Post by anthony on Oct 17, 2012 15:20:37 GMT
Hello there My name is Anthony and I live just north of London in the UK. I got my first degu about 2 months ago called Lulu-Belle (i didnt name her! ). She's currently alone but we are now beginning the search of looking for some suitable companions for her. She's had a very hard life so far, sadly. The reason we've waited so long to get her some friends is because, well, we feel like we're out of our depth sometimes with her. When she first came here, she was so scared and would literally scream if you even spoke to her. Before coming here, she had 3 previous homes and each time she was rehomed because of her "violence", so I am determined to make this her forever home. In 2 months, she's made great progress and we can now play with her and she really enjoys having her ears played with. However, we still can't pick her up, which is one of the reasons we think getting her some friends would really help her with that! Other than Lulu, we have 9 rats! (7 males living together, and 2 females living together!) as well as 3 mice who also live together. Hi!
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Post by ntg on Oct 17, 2012 15:58:22 GMT
Hi Anthony and Lulu-Belle and welcome to the forum! It sounds like you're making great progress with her! And 2 months isn't that long really, it just gives her a chance to get settled in the new home before introducing more new things to her! I'd recommend reading through the intros section of the forum if you haven't already Even with company she may never allow you to pick her up, it's just part and parcel of degu-keeping,some of them don't mind, and others hate it. In fact, with her being alone she's more likely to be more friendly with you than normal as you're the only company she has!
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Post by moletteuk on Oct 17, 2012 19:05:16 GMT
Welcome Anthony Well done on giving Lulu a forever home, it sounds like you and she are doing really well. Most degus hate being picked up, but do they do learn from each other so you may find that she will learn to trust you a bit more, if you find some more confident degus.
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Post by yasmin on Oct 17, 2012 19:11:32 GMT
Welcome to the forum. Lulu-Belle is a very lucky degu to finally have a forever home. Looking forward to hearing more about her and her progress.
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Post by moletteuk on Oct 17, 2012 19:18:06 GMT
I've just seen you asking about a neutered boy in the adoption area - I think this could be a good option for a girl who might not have the best degu social skills, good luck!
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Post by stargirlj on Oct 17, 2012 19:23:05 GMT
Welcome, aww sounds like a very lucky break for lulu-belle. I have one degu who looks to be climb on me rather then being picked up and his brother who I'm lucky if he comes near me if I don't have treats. I've had them over a year but they to had a rough start in life. So I just accept that they will ever be the cuddliest of goos. But they still show me love in there own special ways. Mainly by nibbles and climbing on my head.
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Post by deguconvert on Oct 17, 2012 20:13:02 GMT
Hello Anthony and Lulu-belle! Welcome to the forum!! I think you are making great progress with her. To you it must seem like things are progressing impossibly slow, but degus can take their time forming trust with people sometimes, and for one that has had a painful history, the difficulty would be even greater. To hear you share that she now loves to have her ears played with, well!! I think you've had great success, and are very likely to see your bond with her grow a great deal more in the months ahead. It really does take a lot of time, patience, and persistence, but they pay us back many times over once they choose to trust us. Well done!!!
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Post by Lrak on Oct 18, 2012 8:50:32 GMT
Welcome to the forum. As the others have said, it sounds like you are doing really well with her, mine don't like having ears played with so you are doing well there I am disappointed in the others for not telling you about the LAW! The law states that all new members to the forum must include pics for us all to go "Awwww" over ;D
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Post by anthony on Oct 18, 2012 10:53:17 GMT
Thank you all for your replies! Lulu is very sweet really, I just didn't think it would take this long to gain her trust We'll wait for as long as it takes though! With Lulu she was sold at a petstore with her sister (who turned out to be her brother) and they had babies. Under stress from her interfering human at the time, she killed and ate the babies. After that, they returned her to the store and locked her in a tiny glass chamber alone with no toys for 5 months in their so-called "adoption centre". She was then rehomed to another home, but they returned her less than 2 days later as she tried to bite their child. My mum then adopted her (my mums heart is bigger than her head with animals!), but again my mum felt out of her depth but didn't want to rehome her again. My mum didn't really try to help Lulu with confidence so I offered to take her and I'm really glad I did (although took some convincing!). Although my flat is now even tighter with animal cages, she's really amazing I really hope it works out for her and her friend when we find her one! I'll post pics soon! I've just seen you asking about a neutered boy in the adoption area - I think this could be a good option for a girl who might not have the best degu social skills, good luck! Yup! I just hope that he's been well socialised. With rats, mice and hamsters, I usually do adopt animals who do need extra help with their confidence or rehabilitation, however, with Lulu I really think it's important to get a degu who is already pretty confident and knows that I'm nice, if that makes sense! Hopefully I'll hear from the poster soon!
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Post by Lrak on Oct 18, 2012 11:08:55 GMT
soo...in a little glass tank with no care, in an adoption section... Are we talking about P@H here?
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Post by ntg on Oct 18, 2012 11:34:52 GMT
It definitely sounds very familiar Lrak!
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Post by Lrak on Oct 18, 2012 11:54:39 GMT
Yea it does sadly
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Post by ntg on Oct 18, 2012 12:03:11 GMT
Anyway, she tried to bite their child after two days? People are far too quick to blame these things on the pet rather than their kid. Degus don't tend to bite without a reason.
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Post by Lrak on Oct 18, 2012 12:07:44 GMT
Mine tend to bite me ;D but then things tend to But yea, you do have to give it more then 2 days really
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Post by ntg on Oct 18, 2012 12:16:36 GMT
Lol mine bite my OH, but they have a bit of a grudge against him (and he has a grudge against the younger ones for keeping him awake ;D). They're nice as pie to me though lol, it's partially why he keeps calling me Dr Dolittle! ;D
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Post by moletteuk on Oct 18, 2012 12:41:58 GMT
I think it helps if you bear in mind that they can live for around 8 years and take a year to grow up, so everything works on a much longer timescale for them than other small animals, including memory and the time it can take to form bonds and trust.
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Post by ntg on Oct 18, 2012 13:01:34 GMT
They haven't bitten him for at least a month so touch wood they've gotten over it! Lol
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Post by Kins on Oct 18, 2012 13:11:53 GMT
Lulu-Belle sounds a sweetheart. Well done you for giving her a forever home. I'm sure she'll thank you in her own way.
A neutered male friends definitely sounds a good path to take.
Keep us posted on her and your progress.
Welcome!
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goozoo
Burrowing Degu
Posts: 129
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Post by goozoo on Oct 19, 2012 6:10:17 GMT
Hiya. I have also posted on the other thread. Seems like my neutered boy might make a good friend for Lulu-Belle. If you don't mind sending me a private message, I'll send you my telephone number.
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Post by anthony on Oct 19, 2012 10:40:39 GMT
Sending now! Thank you
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