Together for the first time!

[erika]

Ok - I have, again, many more questions. I really appreciate you folks I tell yah! Thank goodness for you all. So, I cleaned both their cages today. I then placed them both into the bigger cage...together for the first time. At first things were going really well. I thought it was a miracle or something. They seemed to be just grooming eachother for the first 10 minutes or so. Then it started to escalate, and then they started to box...I had heard so much about this "boxing" but I still was amazed to watch it. They tried to mount eachother which I know is a domination thing. They boxed for quite a while...throwing eachother around a bit too. No biting though and not much barking. Then Dali ran away. But Chili hadn't had enough or something and turned into a bully. He started following Dali around and constantly picked fights with him afterwards. NOTHING would distract him from confronting Dali. I was worried one of them might fall off one of the upper floors. Then I noticed a tiny amount of blood on dali's foot. I think it was from their nails and the boxing. I'm very sure their were no bitemarks on either of them. So, I then decided to separate them again into different cages. Now what???

[Sunshinemeg]

well done. you did the right thing by giving them time to try and settle. Leave them apart until tomorrow, and then do the same thing again. You could try putting them in neutral ground if one of them is still in the larger cage, it may be good if you have a hallway or something where you can shut all doors and just have an open area of floor for them to move around. Let them meet for a short period, like you have already done, allow some fighting, as they really are just working out who is boss, then if they dont settle, seperate them, and repeat it again the following day.
Try not to let it get to you, its a fairly common practise for them to fight when they first meet.

goodluck

meg ;D

[Anna]

I didn't have a problem when i bought my younger degu. My older one had been alone for a while to. I think he just needed a friend because when I brought wiggles home he started acting like his father. Wiggles was really small tho. You should get some dust bath and let the one you've had for a while roll around in it for a while and then put the little one in there and let him roll around in it. Then try to put them together and see what they do.

[erika]

Thanks Meg, and Anna. I will try neutral ground if I can find a decent place in this apartment. I was thinking of the bathroom but am concerned I may have sprayed for spiders in there. I will have to give it a good cleaning first before I can do that with piece of mind. Yeah, the new one was supposed to be younger but he is actually quite big. They have been sharing the same dust bath for a while now. That may be why they seemed so good for the first 10 minutes. It really looked like they were just grooming eachother. I don't really mind the fighting so much as long as it is on the bottom floor. But I don't like the bigger guy chasing the smaller one around and not giving him a moments peace. That worries me.
I'm also having them trade cages once in a while so their scents are all over.
I really feel like something is going to work, but I just don't know what that is yet.

Cheers,
Erika

[deguqueen]

reading that makes me think twice about getting more degus now. i get so nervous i would probably seperate them right away.

[themoosevodka]

i hope i dont have to go through that when i get moose a friend, would they fight less if i got him a female or a younger male friend?

[Aimeelou]

Id get him a male freind first

[tigerlily]

Have you ever heard about this: koti.terrieri.net/gerbils/valmis/Gerbsuja%20ja%20kisuja%20011.jpg

In my opinion... You cannot put 2 degus (who don´t know their chater) in to the same cage. You must accustom them to their chater. Almost every time they start to fight. My friends degus finghted so badly, that they had to go to vet. It´s not so simple.