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Post by Sunshinemeg on May 20, 2004 20:59:04 GMT
Welcome to the degu message board. Feel free to post anything you like in here! (unsuitable posts will be deleted however!) have fun! ;D
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Post by Rangler on May 23, 2004 15:41:29 GMT
hi meg this is well cool! ;D
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Post by katie on May 23, 2004 15:50:08 GMT
/me hiya meg this is a kool site! ur degus r very kute!!! /me this is katie btw ! ur website is kooooool cya laters bibyez ;D
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Post by dave on Sept 23, 2004 17:19:25 GMT
hey there Meg, my name is Dave and up until a few months ago i had no idea what a degu was. I have 2 kids and whenever we make our way to the "big" city we like to stop and have a look at the pet stores.One particular time my son said,"hey there's some degus over here!"Apparently someone from school had mentioned degus to him before.Anyway the whole family thought the lil critters were kinda cute and it wasn't long before we had 2 kids asking if they could get a degu . We decided to do some research first and after checking out a number of websites and soaking in a lot of info we agreed to let them each get one. We decided to build our own cage.We're pretty happy with how it turned out,it's 2'x3'x2' with multiple levels and a nesting box.We're confident the little critters will be quite happy with their new "digs". Of course once we agreed to let the kids get some degus,the next step was to find them.We live in Ontario,Canada,in a small town that has 1 pet store which mainly sells pet supplies,although they do have fish. We normally travel to 2 neighbouring cities to do our main shopping.We were disappointed to find that none of the pet stores in the one city had any degus on our most recent visit.Luckily a pet store in the 2nd city not only some degus,they had a litter of babies who were just on the verge of being weened. We will be heading off to get our new degus in a few hours. Needless to say we have to very excited children(the parents are a little excited as well ;D) My daughter is pretty sure her degu will be called Munchkin,my son hasn't decided(he says he wants to get a sense of his degu's personality first) We are getting 2 females,or so we are tiold . I'll be sure to let you know how things turn out bye for now Dave
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Post by diddy on Oct 12, 2004 17:24:41 GMT
Hi i was wondering if (by any chance) you would be able to help me out! I have two female degus (about two years old?) which have lived together happily all thier lives. On saturday, for some reason, the more dominant degu, fritz, started to attack the little degu, deefer, so badly that we had to seperate them for fear they would kill eachother! Everytime we try to put them back together they do it all again but its really upsetting as its more than obvious that they really miss eachother and warble when they see eachother (before rolling around hurting themselves!) About two weeks ago the little one had an operation to amputate her tail, there was no problems between the two then and its only recently that there have been! Could this all be connected? Im sorry for going on but i live in the UK where these animals are not common and my vet cant offer any sound advice! Its really upsetting me and i have two very sad lonely babies! Any advice would be really appreciated Thank you, leaf
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Post by Sunshinemeg on Oct 12, 2004 21:00:05 GMT
Its always upsetting when pets that have got along happily up until now suddenly start fighting. Unfortunately I cannot offer a reason as to why, but can only suggest that you seperate them with a wire wall so that they can still smell each other. Keep them like this for a week, allowing them to meet briefly on neutral ground outside of the cage. If you dont have a sand bath, get one, as they will roll in this to smell the same as each other, a pacifier in fights. Other than this, ensure food, water and bedding are plentiful, and try new things in the cage to distract them.
Sorry I cant be of any more help, if anyone else has any ideas, post away!!
Meg
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Post by zachy on Dec 31, 2004 22:59:51 GMT
I got 2 degus for christmas. They are cute and soft. They are excited. My degus like to run.
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Post by taz13 on Jan 8, 2005 2:56:52 GMT
Very informative site. I have two degus, one is very friendly the other runs and hides. Question, what type of sand can you uses in their home. In Canada, we have different types. i.e children's play sand or builder sand? Can you put paper towel tube in their area??? Thanks Taz
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Bosley
Foraging Degu
Posts: 59
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Post by Bosley on Jan 13, 2005 21:23:02 GMT
They LOVE paper towel tubes, just like toilet paper tubes! This much I know... I've been reading as much info as I can find on Degus - I recently aquired 5 that were abandoned by our neighbors. (just left them in the garage to die) Two have been adopted by a friend (they took 1 male an 1 female) so we have 2 female and 1 male left. One thing that I'm wondering is how to know if either of my females are prenant??? We named one Mama, because we think she is - she's rather wide and also seems to be the matriarch of the group...the first to come check me out when i come to the cage, the mildest temperment, and does the most nesting. Mabel is very skittish, chirps at me whenever i approach her and runs away. She's also pretty good sized, but I have no idea if she may be pregnant or just naturally bigger. Timothy is our male and the smallest (and possibly youngest) of the three. He is very high energy and is the one that gets taken out of the cage and handled the most, although he still seems a little skittish himself. Part of Mama's tail is gone and it's clear that they were all poorly handled before (not surprisingly considering the family that had them) as it is taking a lot of time and care to get them used to us. We have no way of knowing if they are related to each other. Any advise that anyone can give us on these topics would be greatly appreciated! We find them absolutely adorable and get a kick out of watching them. Since we got them while our budget was suffering, we haven't been able to do as much for them as we'd like yet, but hopefully in the coming weeks and months we'll be able to expand their living environment (they are in an aquarium right now) and get a wheel, as well as expand their diet with some of the great suggestions I've been reading (we added timothy hay this week). Anyway, this forum is great and I look forward to getting to know everybody!
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Heddy
Foraging Degu
Posts: 63
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Post by Heddy on Jan 14, 2005 17:57:31 GMT
Hello Bosly, is seems you have no idea how old your degus are. But from what you describe it, Mama sounds really pregnant to me and it is likely that the other female is pregnant, too. I recommend splitting them up. Get the boy in an own cage or give him his own seperate space in the aquarium (put some mashes in between, so he still can see and smell the girls and will not be alone). I suggest you split them up NOW, as the femal can get pregnant again right after birth! When you take into account, that a female can have 12 babies at a time... you might not want to end up with 30 or more degus! Several week after the little ones were born, you can put the male in a cage together with the male babies, because a degu is not made for beeing alone! Degus require big cages, so if you want to keep the little ones, have a look around for really big cages. Giving them a wheel is a good idea. I recomment wheels of 12 inch and bigger, as smaller wheels can cause spinal problems after a while. Other than that 12inch give them just enough room to run flat out - vabiulous to watch, too! Please be carefull, when handling the presumably pragnent females. If they got squased or squeezed, this can lead to problems. I can go in more details another time, just ask what you want to know. For now I just urgently recomment to put the boy extra - unless he is castrated.
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Post by Sunshinemeg on Jan 14, 2005 20:48:30 GMT
I have to strongly dissagree with what Heddy has said about seperating your degus! The male plays a very active role in raising the young, and should be allowed to do so. If you dont want any more young, have him castrated, but keep him with them. He is used to them and would be destressed to be seperated!
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Bosley
Foraging Degu
Posts: 59
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Post by Bosley on Jan 14, 2005 21:08:58 GMT
I think a little of what both of you said is in order, from what i've been reading. Since Mama and Mabel would both be able to conceive right away, my game plan was to pull Timothy out for the first couple days only (i think i read that about 3 days would be recommended), then put him back in. Since i have no idea if he's the daddy, i'm not sure how he'll be with the babies so we'll have to watch very closely! The only problem is that since i work all day, i can't keep close tabs on the situation, so it will be up to my husband...this will probably mean moving them upstairs soon (right now they reside in the basement so i can restrict access to the kids, especially the 3-year-old) since i have NO idea when either or both of them are due to have their babies. So many details!! And like i said, we do plan to expand their territory, but it will take some time - we didn't exactly plan on this! Don't get me wrong, it was the right thing to do, the timing just isn't the best. But we're head-over-heels for them now so we'll do everything in our power to give them the best possible home! This forum is a wonderful tool and i'll be checking it regualrly! Thanks for creating it!
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Heddy
Foraging Degu
Posts: 63
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Post by Heddy on Jan 17, 2005 12:10:59 GMT
Even if you get the male one castrated, he will remain fertile for up to 6 weeks after the operation, as always some sperm remains in the spermatic cord after the operation.
When the females look quite big alrady, you can reckon, that they are not far from giving birth anymore, referring to my experience between one and 14 days. Some females do not show any change in shape at all if they have only a few babies.
Castrations are extremly risky for little animals and due to the remaining sperm, the male degu cannot be put back to the females for 6 weeks anyway. I personally would not put my degu through an operation and seperation of several weeks if I can prevent it. I would seperate him now and put him in a group with the male babies. Worst case it will mean 8 weeks alone, but no operation.
About the male taking actively part in raising the babies: every degu in the group will help raising the babies - adoptions in the degu world are very common - and as there are two females, they will help each other out with the babies.
If you get him an own area within the aquarium, only separated by mashes, you will find them all sleeping together at the mashes during resting times - and it only is temporary.
If you take Timothy out when the babies are born, and put him back after a few days, he might rergard the babies as strangers, intruding his kingdon. Do not forget, HE is the boss, not the girls! I do not know, where you got that information from, but I think it is highly risky!
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Post by kellynax on Feb 4, 2005 14:20:28 GMT
This is an excellent site, thank you. Im glad to see people all chipping in their own experiences and ideas and its excellent to be able to get advise from more experienced Degu owners as my little ones are only tiny and ive not had any before. Best wishes to everyone and their little ones! ;D
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Post by Sunshinemeg on Feb 4, 2005 16:59:42 GMT
thanks for the comments Kellynax, and welcome to the board!
Hope you enjoy coming here to share your degu experiences!
SUNSHINEMEG ;D
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Post by ra on Mar 16, 2005 21:48:39 GMT
Hi everyone. New to your board. I have one Degus, Virgil. Bought him three weeks ago from a local pet shop with a good reputation. Asked if Degus could be kept singularly and was assured he'd be ok as long as I spent good quality time with him. Did some research and found it's preferable to house two together. Virgil was sold to me as a male but when pressed the pet shop owner said she was pretty sure he was male. Since I have been working hard to gain his trust I have yet to confirm that! He has learned to "jump up" and sit in my hand for a bite to eat. He will sleep in my two hands too. Soon I should be able to sex him.
Has any one on the board had good luck keeping just one Degus?
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Post by ncratgirl on Apr 22, 2005 7:22:35 GMT
I only have one degu. He came in to the rescue alone and while in many ways I'm open to adoping a friend for him sometime, on the other hand he really seems to like his solitude so I don't want to push it. He's shy, but starting to come around, letting me scratch his head and belly and chirping when I come near the cage. He's so sweet and timid and I've been (and am) working on building his confidence and earning his trust. I'm his 5th home already. Poor guy. Has anyone had any positive esperience putting a shy degu with a more social one. Right now I'm really thinking I'm going to keep him alone. Once he gets more handlable, he can share some out of cage playtime...cautiously of course!
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Hanlou
Burrowing Degu
Basil
Posts: 284
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Post by Hanlou on Jun 8, 2005 18:43:13 GMT
Hello!! I think this is a lovely site and it's good to find a degu forum!! I don't have any degu's - I do have 10 rats (!) - 7 of which are rescues. I would like to get degu's at some point in the future. It may be a long way off yet, but I'm learning all I can about them in the meantime. I love all rodents - I've had Mongolian Gerbils and also Shaw's Jirds in the past. Degu's seem so, well, interesting soehow. I like their 'vocalness' and the fact that they're so sociable too. I house my rats in a Tall Speedy Chinchilla cage and also a Ferplast Medium Brio. I have a Terenziani Michelangelo cage as well - as a spare for intro's etc. Would degu's be ok in an aviary-type cage? I know that it's a way off, but I've been wondering... knowing their chewing abilities I wondered what you could use for shelves as the Ferplast plastic corner shelves I use for my rats would almost certainly be useless! Otherwise, I thought a Terenziani Moore would be good as it's bigger than the Michelangelo. Anywya, hello to everyone!! and the degu pics are lovely....
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Post by Sunshinemeg on Jun 9, 2005 8:27:28 GMT
I've had Mongolian Gerbils and also Shaw's Jirds in the past. Hi, Its good to find someone else who has kept Jirds. I had two females when I first began keeping Degus, I used to allow them to meet my original Degu Gizmo in our long hallway, as this was a good place for them to run about safely. They got on very well and would run around together as well as cuddle up when they were ready to go home! never any fighting! Degu's seem so, well, interesting soehow. I like their 'vocalness' and the fact that they're so sociable too. I think all degu owners can share in that, but you only truely realise it when you have more than one degu. They just come alive with company! Anyway, welcome to the forum, I hope you enjoy it! SUNSHINEMEG ;D
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Hanlou
Burrowing Degu
Basil
Posts: 284
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Post by Hanlou on Jun 9, 2005 9:02:51 GMT
Lol! one of my jirds (Percy) got on well with my guinea pigs. I never kept them together permanently or anything, but they played together when I was there occasionally. I've always had my animals in pairs or more! I think this is one of the reasons i've never had a Syrian hamster. They can't live in pairs and I don't like to see animals alone!! My jirds were lovely - real characters. Percy only died fairly recently. He was 5 1/2 years old tho - so not a bad, bless him!
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