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Post by christie on Jul 22, 2015 19:10:19 GMT
Hello-
I am a new Degu owner. I rescued three female Degus and 6 babies. They were in a rental and the landlord required they leave. So they are in too small of a cage, IMO, but seem healthy and happy. They are friendly. The babies are 6 weeks old this past Monday. They still nurse occasionally but eat and drink well.
Two questions:
1. When do I remove the babies from Mom? They will be re homed in pairs so when am I ok to remove them?
2. I have one male- out of 9. I have never seen Degus around my area. I have no idea what to do with the poor little guy as I understand they shouldn't be alone.
So happy to have found this group- I am going to read and learn!
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Post by uglibug on Jul 22, 2015 19:21:21 GMT
I'm not sure about the girls, but I think your little boy will be able to procreate pretty soon, so I would remove him if he is eating solid food already. Also, if he is the only one, he can be neutered and, after a cooling off period, be kept with the girls. Hope this helps, someone with more baby experience may be able to help more.
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Post by christie on Jul 22, 2015 19:23:23 GMT
I do not believe there are any experienced vets that could do that. Ugh.
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Post by Maravilla on Jul 22, 2015 20:39:41 GMT
How sure are you about their age? At 6 weeks degu moms normally don't nurse the babies any longer, normally they stop at around 4-5 weeks.
6 weeks is the earliest date to separate the babies from their mom, but it would be better to leave them 1-2 more weeks so they can learn more social behaviour. Degu boys are said to enter sexual maturity at around 10-12 weeks so the wee man should leave the family before this date.
If he is neutered before this time, there is no need for a quarantine. But for having a degu neutered you need a really experienced vet, and even more at this early age. As you said that there wasn't any experienced vet you should start looking for a new home in a boy group now and try to rehome him in 1-2 weeks.
It would be better to separate the girls into groups of at least 3, if you have the chance.
Of course they do not depend on it at that age, but degu babies start to try solid food at a really early age. At only 5-6 days they start nibbling on hay or leaves or flowers, trying out how it tastes. They see what their mother or other older family members are eating and by doing so they learn what is edible. Only a few days later they also try their first seeds.
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Post by moletteuk on Jul 23, 2015 10:21:16 GMT
We have had reports of boys being sexually mature at around 8 weeks, so watch out for that, I wouldn't leave him in with girls beyond 8 weeks, but you really do have a headache either finding other boys for him to live with or finding an experienced vet. Do you have any local animal charities who might have useful contacts for you?
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Post by Karma on Jul 24, 2015 4:03:26 GMT
I also doubt any vet would neuter a degu that young - they normally wait until sexual maturity so you may be stuck with a single one :/. Lots of cuddles and things to do until you find another male or old enough to neuter
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Post by christie on Jul 24, 2015 14:51:45 GMT
Ok- would he be able to play with the females when watched? Should I house him near them or in a diff room? I feel so bad for him! I am thinking of calling pet stores to see if they sell them (I've never seen it) so maybe they have a male for him to go with... I don't know but he has to be out of there soon.
I have not seen the babies succeed in nursing the past two days. A few attempts but momma just says no! Lol
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Post by Maravilla on Jul 24, 2015 19:53:38 GMT
Ok- would he be able to play with the females when watched? I would not risk it. Females are fertile every 3 weeks (more or less), but you never know. Besides, with so many females there is always the possibility than one of them is fertile when you let them play together. I would not be happy as new owner of some of the females with a chance of them being pregnant. Besides, this on and off also means a lot of stress. |
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Post by ilikedegus on Jul 24, 2015 20:45:55 GMT
Christie, regarding neutering, phone some vets in your area.
I'm sure that in NY state you have a higher chance of finding a vet with some experience of degus than some of our other North American members who live hours from anyone useful.
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Post by moletteuk on Jul 25, 2015 10:22:31 GMT
It's definitely worth phoning pet shops, sometimes they can order pets in for you, and these guys must have come from somewhere, the dad must be around somewhere. Do be aware that introductions are often not straightforward, see our fighting and intros section of the forum for more info. You could also phone round local rescues, humane society, etc to see if they have any degus.
It's definitely worth phoning round vets too, you will need to find a vet anyway, so you might as well ask about neutering. Opinion differs about the safe age to neuter male degus, they aren't really full grown until around 10 months, so some sources recommend to wait until 12 months old, others are happy to neuter at 6 months, younger than that is more controversial. At the same time, keeping a very young degu alone would also be harmful for development so you are kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place.
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