dhyme
Newborn Degu
Posts: 5 
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Post by dhyme on Mar 22, 2013 3:46:21 GMT
This is Sookie and Tara. Sookie, the bigger, is about 5 months old and Tara, the smaller, is over a year old. Sookie came from a pet store. Tara yelled at me at the NSPCA, so she came home with us. I have taken many pix and vidz. Here are some. One is of them meeting for the first time and can be educational. The others are just general behavior. |
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Post by moletteuk on Mar 22, 2013 12:04:32 GMT
What great videos  And really good modifications to the cage, I don't think I've seen a metal cage lined with wood before, but it's a good idea. And it's so cool to hear you both talking to them with such affection So Sookie looks like she could be pregnant, but you've only had her 5 weeks, so she would have become pregnant before you got her. Has she increased in size/ weight quite a lot since you got her? Have you double checked the sex of both of them? You just need to have a look and see if the gap between the two openings looks similar on both of them, see this thread deguworld.proboards.com/thread/13070/degus?page=1 Degus are fertile just after giving birth, so you just need to make sure both are female so you don't need to worry about any further pregnancy. Have you found a vet? It's best to figure this out in advance of needing one, especially as I understand it's not always easy to find an exotic vet in the USA. The other thing is diet, I heard your wife on the video mention a couple of things about food. You need to be careful there is no added sugar of any type in any of the foods, and also be careful of protein content with rat or gerbil food. I would recommend looking for a degu specific food or a guinea pig food, or possibly chinchilla, but chinchilla foods often have sugar or raisins in. Have a look at our food guide anyway deguworld.proboards.com/thread/16425/degu-feeding-guide here is a link to some USA specific info deguworld.proboards.com/thread/16569/links-herb-supplies-american-threadsIt's very nice to meet you and Sookie and Tara, welcome to the forum  |
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Post by dyzired on Mar 23, 2013 16:54:24 GMT
Welcome to the forum! Such adorable videos. I absolutely love the modifications you've done to the cage. It looks great! The only thing that caught my eye was the "seed bell" thing you had hanging. Those are usually held together with something sticky like honey or molasses. Which isn't good for them. And there'd have to be a lot in it to hold it together like that. Correct me if I'm wrong though looks great otherwise! |
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dhyme
Newborn Degu
Posts: 5
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Post by dhyme on Mar 23, 2013 18:04:06 GMT
Yes we feed them no sugar (or any form of it) foods. The seed ball is held together with some "gum". The "cheerios" we refer to are Alfalfa rings, that look like green cheerios. We mix 4 foods for them: guinea pig, chinchilla, parrot treat, rat; and we have to pick out most of the peanuts. The parrot treat has dried veggies like carrots and celery, and some dried flowers and shelled nuts like postacios and sunflower (very minimal and challenging to open for them), they love it.
Sookie is, correction: was definately pregnant, we have two healthy newborns(of 4).
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Post by dyzired on Mar 23, 2013 18:29:48 GMT
What do you mean by "gum"? But aww! I love degu babies! |
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dhyme
Newborn Degu
Posts: 5
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Post by dhyme on Mar 23, 2013 19:06:54 GMT
It was gelatin, not gum, thought it might have been xantham gum but doublechecked.
The babies are adorable but my wife forbids me to touch them for one week, with threat of life and limb.
The firstborn died during birth, 2 healthy and we found a partially formed baby when cleaning up.
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Post by Kins on Mar 24, 2013 7:22:45 GMT
I was thinking she definitely looks pregnant and then...babies! Aww, the babies are adorable. Lovely video.
Don't hold me to this, but with degus you can touch the babies almost straight away. I'm sure someone will be along to back me up shortly ;D
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Post by ntg on Mar 24, 2013 9:32:09 GMT
Awh baby goos are always adorable, they grow up so quickly though!
I have seen people handling them pretty much straight away, they don't seem to be as protective of their pups as some rodents. Although, I think the norm is after a few days...
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Post by moletteuk on Mar 24, 2013 17:01:58 GMT
I think it depends on your relationship with Sookie, let her guide you with what she is comfortable with. There shouldn't be a problem with your scent on the babies, and after a week or so it's a postive thing to start handling the babies.
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Post by deguconvert on Mar 25, 2013 3:48:21 GMT
Beautiful degus, and adorable babies!!
As Moletteuk suggested, let Sooke determine if you can hold the pups, so if she freaks when you come near, leave them be. If she moves away but doesn't scold you or squeak from a distance, you should be fine to pick them up. The sooner you start to handle them and get them used to human touch, the more friendly and welcoming they should become. If, when you are holding the pups, they start to cry a lot, you shouldn't keep them apart from Sooke for too much longer. Also, be aware that during the first 3 weeks of life, pups have difficulty regulating their body temperature, so if you find one out of the nest and feeling chilly, don't hesitate to scoop it up and put it back with Sooke. OR, you can tuck it inside your shirt to help it warm up. Likely it will get nice and snuggly and fall asleep for a while.
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Post by xxxshadsxxx on Mar 28, 2013 23:34:31 GMT
awww the babies are sooo cute!! what a surprise that must have been  hope mum and babies are doing well (and your other goo of course) |
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And really good modifications to the cage, I don't think I've seen a metal cage lined with wood before, but it's a good idea. And it's so cool to hear you both talking to them with such affection 
we miss you