We have babies!

[weeble257]

So, this was not intended. The people I got them from a few months ago said they were both girls - guess not! We now have 5 very cute little babies. I've been doing some research and separated the other one because I read that the female is very fertile right after the birth, but how long shall I keep him out?  I read that the male will help take care of them so I am guessing he should be put back in a week maybe?  Any advise would be appreciated. Thanks.

[yasmin]

Welcome to the forum, weeble257.

This happened to me (I was told that the four I adopted were all females – ended up with one of them being a male and the three females were pregnant). I separated the male, Sean (aka Sienna), from the females immediately.
I waited until the babies were 6 weeks old and then took them to the vet. The vet separated the male babies from the females (into two separate carrying cases) and, when I got home, I put the female babies in with the Moms and the male babies in with their father.

My recommendation: The male should not be put back again ever unless he is neutered. Otherwise, they will breed again and this will be difficult on your female's health and you will have even more degus on your hands.

How is the Mom doing? She will need lots of food so that she can regain her strength and nurse the babies. I gave mine some oats to help with their recovery.

[deguconvert]

Female degus have a 21 day cycle, which means you need to be able to know without doubt when her cycle starts so that you can count accurately. That also means that you only have about 15-16 safe days, but it is really difficult to determine when a female is having her cycle. They don't bleed, so there is no telltale evidence. The only safe way is to have the male neutered, but that requires a 6 week separation to ensure that there is no residual sperm. (I'm not exactly sure how it is that sperm may still be present after the testes are removed, but that is what we are told) The males do provide excellent care and training for their offspring, but degus also reproduce like crazy. Of the pups you now have, the female pups will be viable for pregnancy as early as 6 weeks of age. The male pups can impregnate females themselves as early as 8-10 weeks of age. So if their father is in with them, not only will he impregnate his partner, but he will any female pups. If you still have blended genders beyond 8 weeks of age for the pups, the male pups will also start to try mating and, believe me, they can be very successful.

What is the age of your original two, do you know? Do you know if the two you have were also in a group of mixed genders where you got them from? Do you know how to tell the difference between the male and female degus? At this point I think you need to keep the "male" apart until we can ensure that he is either male or female. This will help you to know what you are looking at. deguworld.proboards.com/thread/13070/degus

[uglibug]

I too would keep them separate. When the pups reach 6 weeks of age the boys can be placed with dad and the girls can stay with mum. This should stop any further breeding. Keep dad in the same room as mum so that he can still see and talk to them all and give him some extra attention and he should be fine on his own for a while.

[moletteuk]

Well done for separating them ASAP, be prepared that dad may get a bit distressed at being separated but there isn't really any way round that.

Are mum and babies doing well? Is the nest in a safe place in the cage, not teetering on the brink of a tall shelf? Does the cage have small enough mesh that babies can't squeeze out (up to about 12mm should be OK), you might be able to weave cardboard through bars, or attach cardboard with cable ties if the spacing is too big.

There are no special diet requirements, especially if you are already feeding forage and a variety of oil seeds, the forage and oil seeds and a few nuts will make sure mum has all the vitamins and minerals she needs and the extra fat from oil seeds and nuts will help her produce enough milk.

As long as mum is relaxed it is uaually OK to handle the babies quite soon, and sexing is usually possible quite early too. Hopefully there will be at least one boy and one girl so that mum and dad can each have a companion they are related to.

[weeble257]

I thought I replied earlier but guess it didn't post so if this comes in twice, I apologize. Thanks for the advise everyone. When I adopted the "girls" I was told they were about a year old. Mom is doing well and was smart enough to have the babies on the ground floor of the cage (it's 3 tiers). Dad does not like being by himself so I am trying to give him some extra attention. I am going to have to make a bigger cage for him and his sons. I saw some pictures on sexing them so I will give it a try, otherwise will take them to a vet to make sure.

[bouncy]

How many boys do you think you have?

[weeble257]

I haven't checked yet. She just had them yesterday so I didn't want to disturb her and get her stressed. Maybe over the weekend I will check.

[deguconvert]

If she just had the pups yesterday, and you already have them separated, perhaps you have intervened in time to prevent a follow up pregnancy! That would be great!!