Jacky
Foraging Degu
Posts: 68
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Post by Jacky on Jul 19, 2013 17:14:20 GMT
Started out as such a nice day..Plato let me pick him up for the first time..had a lovely pub lunch, complete new hairstyle..settled down to watch my Hannibal and 2 goos started fighting..more than the usual boxing..(thank god the cage is in my lounge) grabbed my spray gun, and luckily Freddie ran off before I had chance to use it..Plato stood his ground and meeped at me..turns out..Plato had just,or within the last half hour at least, given birth to 6 pups (I think its 6, might be 5) So..the 4 boys I adopted from Leeds..well aren't boys..(the previous owner was adamant they were and has had goos for 4 years so I took her at her word being a newbie myself)..99% sure Freddie and Elf are boys..but Plato definitely isn't, and Digits starting to put some weight on so 50-50 there, tried to take a pic or 4 but they just won't let me handle them, only been 6 weeks or so since I got them still learning to trust me I suppose..but I am currently in a state of shock/panic/fear.. I've separated Plato..praying to any god who'll listen that they haven't mated again..and I've tried to baby proof the cage as best I can, and I've been desperately trawling through the breeding/babies section for any help/advice..if someone could point me to the right threads re nutrition for Plato..which is my first concern, and any other useful tidbits I'd be very grateful..aaaaargh!
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Post by moletteuk on Jul 19, 2013 20:01:26 GMT
Oh what a shock! Try not to panic, degus usually make good parents, so there's not much for you to do...except work out what to do with the babies in 6 weeks. There's no special diet for mum, you could offer some extra oil seeds or nuts to boost her fat levels, but generally it's just more of the same.
If you could try and sex Digit, she could go in with Plato and help with the babies (if she is a girl and there is room and it makes sense space wise?)
Hopefully somebody will be along soon with first hand baby experience, but as long as the babies are nursing and aren't perched precariously, there's nothing much for you to do just now.
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Jacky
Foraging Degu
Posts: 68
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Post by Jacky on Jul 19, 2013 20:41:44 GMT
Theres plenty of room for Digit if shes a girlie..the others are desperately trying to get to Plato, luckily I've two Explorer type cages joined together, so they can't get to her..shes not happy being separated either..but she seems to be a good mum, spending plenty of time in the nest, and they've all suckled..so, I suppose, so far so good..but yeah..thinking cap is firmly on. I'll definitely give her extra seeds and nuts, (at least she'll be happy about that lol) Thank you.
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Post by saddlers on Jul 20, 2013 9:50:27 GMT
Blimey that must have been a shock...it is amazing how often it seems to happen
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Post by klbishop on Jul 20, 2013 9:53:01 GMT
oh my goodness !! thats quite a day!! baby goos!! good luck xx
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Eeeeeek!
Jul 20, 2013 10:23:07 GMT
via mobile
Post by ntg on Jul 20, 2013 10:23:07 GMT
Oh dear Jacky! That's a good start to your degu escapades! Thank goodness you have a cage you can split though.
To check Digit you may be able to coax him into a glass jar and have a look underneath, if he'll let you... I hope it's just a case of growing rather than it being another pregnancy for you!
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Jacky
Foraging Degu
Posts: 68
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Post by Jacky on Jul 20, 2013 11:36:10 GMT
Blimey that must have been a shock...it is amazing how often it seems to happen You know what an understatement is right?
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Jacky
Foraging Degu
Posts: 68
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Post by Jacky on Jul 20, 2013 11:37:55 GMT
oh my goodness !! thats quite a day!! baby goos!! good luck xx Thank you..I'm going to need it..at least I've stopped shaking now lol..was up past 5am making sure she stayed with them during the night, more stressful then when I had my own babies
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Jacky
Foraging Degu
Posts: 68
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Post by Jacky on Jul 20, 2013 11:42:40 GMT
Oh dear Jacky! That's a good start to your degu escapades! Thank goodness you have a cage you can split though. To check Digit you may be able to coax him into a glass jar and have a look underneath, if he'll let you... I hope it's just a case of growing rather than it being another pregnancy for you! Thank heavens for small mercies..don't know what I'd have done otherwise, so relieved I made sure they had plenty of space. They've all been trying to reach each other, not sure if they want to help mum, meet the pups, mate, or just want their space back lol.. I'll try that with Digit, who seems the most anxious to reach Plato..hoping that's a sign he's dad, but I know its probably just wishful thinking..
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Eeeeeek!
Jul 20, 2013 17:16:22 GMT
via mobile
Post by ntg on Jul 20, 2013 17:16:22 GMT
Haha they're probably all a bit upset over their separation, as long as Plato is looking after the babies as well as trying to get back you should be okay!
Any luck sexing Digit yet? Also, if he's put on obvious weight then if you take a picture then we may be able to tell if it's a pregnancy or not?
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Jacky
Foraging Degu
Posts: 68
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Post by Jacky on Jul 20, 2013 19:25:58 GMT
Haha they're probably all a bit upset over their separation, as long as Plato is looking after the babies as well as trying to get back you should be okay! Any luck sexing Digit yet? Also, if he's put on obvious weight then if you take a picture then we may be able to tell if it's a pregnancy or not? Not yet no..since I separated them I'm persona non grata..won't let me anywhere near them, put a glass biscuit barrel in there, hoping to sneak attack..he's developed a bit of a pear shape, (still, so have I and I'm definitely Not preggers lol) , where as Freddie and Elf are still streamlined..Digit is a piggy though, always first to the food, runs between the bowls selecting the choicest bits etc. I hope I'm being paranoid, but, I've a horrible feeling I'll have more pups in the next week or so..and THAT would be not only a rehoming nightmare, but a logistical one too..don't have another couple of hundred quid spare for another cage..sigh..guess I've only got myself to blame..
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Eeeeeek!
Jul 20, 2013 21:17:27 GMT
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Post by ntg on Jul 20, 2013 21:17:27 GMT
He might just be a little porky like my Smeg was - one day he just ballooned and was twice the size of the others so we were scared we might have goo-lets on the way, but he's just a big goo compared to the others It might be worthwhile checking the sexes in a few days for the pups and then thinking about what sort of group/s you want to keep so you have plenty of time to get a home lined up for the ones you want to adopt out?
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Post by deguconvert on Jul 20, 2013 21:35:25 GMT
Don't blame yourself! You trusted what should be an informed and experienced opinion . . . even though I am good at determining the sexes, I doubted myself two summers ago and trusted the "vet confirmed" male genders at a pet store, and turned up they were female. Pups within 6 months!! Wished I had trusted myself more. Anyway, we do tend to do that, especially with people that we think know more or better that ourselves. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. Have you looked up the thread on how to identify the sexes of your degus? Here deguworld.proboards.com/thread/13070/degus if not that is a link to look. What have you done to pup proof the cage? Pups are VERY mobile and you will see them wandering about the cage shortly, so being sure that they can't sneak through the bars and get in trouble outside the cage is very important. They can get through VERY small openings, and will do so to satisfy their incredible curiosity.
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Jacky
Foraging Degu
Posts: 68
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Post by Jacky on Jul 20, 2013 23:41:15 GMT
He might just be a little porky like my Smeg was - one day he just ballooned and was twice the size of the others so we were scared we might have goo-lets on the way, but he's just a big goo compared to the others It might be worthwhile checking the sexes in a few days for the pups and then thinking about what sort of group/s you want to keep so you have plenty of time to get a home lined up for the ones you want to adopt out? I was thinking of sexing them..or trying too anyway..asap, while I can at least catch them..they're already really active, and totally fearless lol. Fingers crossed Digits just a piggy, but I won't properly relax til I know one way or the other.
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Jacky
Foraging Degu
Posts: 68
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Post by Jacky on Jul 20, 2013 23:50:57 GMT
Don't blame yourself! You trusted what should be an informed and experienced opinion . . . even though I am good at determining the sexes, I doubted myself two summers ago and trusted the "vet confirmed" male genders at a pet store, and turned up they were female. Pups within 6 months!! Wished I had trusted myself more. Anyway, we do tend to do that, especially with people that we think know more or better that ourselves. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. Have you looked up the thread on how to identify the sexes of your degus? Here deguworld.proboards.com/thread/13070/degus if not that is a link to look. What have you done to pup proof the cage? Pups are VERY mobile and you will see them wandering about the cage shortly, so being sure that they can't sneak through the bars and get in trouble outside the cage is very important. They can get through VERY small openings, and will do so to satisfy their incredible curiosity. I appreciate that, thank you. The thread is firmly bookmarked!! I've wired cooling racks..(I can live without baking until I can replace them) to the inside of the adjoining bits of cage..so they can at least sniff each other..my cage bars are vertical strips, the racks horizontal, so the holes they create barely fit my little finger through..and I took all my photo frames with 'acrylic glass' down and attached the acrylic panes round the cage level the pups are in, I also closed off the hatch between the levels so no rolling/falling/leaping from the ramp that attached to it before I blocked it..and fixed some chipboard from the back of one of the photo frames around the water bottles.
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Post by winic1 on Jul 22, 2013 0:47:23 GMT
Wow! You are handling this great!
To get a picture or a look at the others, can you offer them a treat through the bars but holding it way up high so that they have to stand up and stretch for it? That's what we did when the young male hamster we had had for 12 days suddenly had a "growth spurt". Found the info and pictures I needed on day 13, only female hamsters have nipples, got a look at his/her belly by holding treats overhead. Babies born the early morning of day 14 of having this "young male" hamster. Curses on that pet store!!!!
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Jacky
Foraging Degu
Posts: 68
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Post by Jacky on Jul 22, 2013 10:20:40 GMT
Wow! You are handling this great! To get a picture or a look at the others, can you offer them a treat through the bars but holding it way up high so that they have to stand up and stretch for it? That's what we did when the young male hamster we had had for 12 days suddenly had a "growth spurt". Found the info and pictures I needed on day 13, only female hamsters have nipples, got a look at his/her belly by holding treats overhead. Babies born the early morning of day 14 of having this "young male" hamster. Curses on that pet store!!!! Lol..theres that saying about swan on the surface, frantic paddle underneath..thats me atm! Sounds like whatever species with rodents there's a gamble on the gender..can't say I've spotted any nipples on the goos though..shame, because that would really help.. So far Freddie and Elf have succumbed to the glass jar, and I'm confident they are definitely both male, but I think Digit is wise to me, or just deliberately torturing me, and completely refusing to play ball..I'll try the stretching trick, thank you.
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Jacky
Foraging Degu
Posts: 68
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Post by Jacky on Jul 22, 2013 13:33:16 GMT
A quick update..tried sexing the babies today, if I've got it right there are 2 girls and 3 boys..unfortunately, when rummaging through the nest to catch them, I found one of them has died, and it was missing most of its head..I know its silly, but it took me ages to pluck up the courage to move it..and I find I'm oddly upset by its death, even though the last thing I wanted was babies..
I'll recheck in a few days, once they've grown a bit, and take pics so you guys can cast a more expert eye over them for me if that's okay?
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Post by winic1 on Jul 22, 2013 18:21:55 GMT
That's fine. Pictures are a great idea.
Our hamster babies turned out to be two girls and one boy. It was so easy to tell them apart, even when they were older. No excuse for that store. Actually, "he" was in isolation in a small tank just inside their storage room. Gave me a big story about him being the last of a whole cageful of mom and "about 20 babies" that were dumped on their doorstep one morning. He was indeed young, and friendly. (the others in their tanks weren't) But hamster gestation is 16 days, and "he" gave birth on day 14 of us having him. I think they noticed some illicit activity in the males tank, and pulled "him" out, and then passed "him" off on the first suckers they found--us. The kids were thrilled, however, and the whole experience was indeed fun. Buying and setting up four complete separate cages (regular hamsters cannot live together), not so fun. At least degus can share cages.
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Post by Karma on Jul 23, 2013 14:28:08 GMT
Young hamsters, degus and any rodent can be hard to sex at the beginning. There might not be a clear "distance" or "no distance" until they are close to sexual materinity. I re sex all our animals at work because I have the best success with it - our head tech for some reason just can't get his head around it and always makes mistakes. I have had hamster that looked like males with a large gap between their gentilia but when they grow for a couple of weeks it completely disappear and defintely was female. Degus and chinchillas though are pretty consistent and as long as they don't try to curl their bottom up - I've been super accurate on sexing It is the reason why we do not guarantte sex or not pregrant with our animals purchases BUT we will take back any babies born once they are weaned so there is no extra stress on the family that bought a prego. ! I think you are super lucky though to have babies!! I want goo babies so bad!
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