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Post by deguconvert on Jun 8, 2016 3:57:15 GMT
Do you know the diameter? Anything less than 30 cm is too small and will cause back injuries.
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Post by Maravilla on Jun 8, 2016 7:07:19 GMT
I waited until week 4 or 5 before I let mom run under supervision. But: The running wheel I use in that cage is a wooden one that is very heavy (3-4 kg). It would have caused severe injuries and even a couple of weeks later when the girl used it alone, she was unable to stop it. Fortunately, I was in that room and could stop the wheel. She quickly learned how to move it, how to stop and and when it is time to jump out. Nevertheless, this moment with her in this wheel at top speed was frightening.
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jade86
Foraging Degu
Posts: 73
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Post by jade86 on Jun 13, 2016 12:20:28 GMT
The wheel is 27.5cm so obviously that isn't going to be big enough, we have put in a flying saucer and pup seems to be managing and enjoying this quite well. We are going to try make a big wheel because iv had a look online and I'm struggling to find 30cm wheels :/
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Post by deguconvert on Jun 13, 2016 16:11:55 GMT
They are hard to find, and you can often make one for a good price, even less than what some places charge. Look here deguworld.proboards.com/thread/20093/flying-saucer-wheel . I know there are a lot more, but not very awake today, and not successfully putting my finger on them. LOL!
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Post by Bexi87 on Jun 13, 2016 16:50:34 GMT
I struck lucky on eBay and got my massive metal wheel for about £25. Always worth keeping an eye out on there and places like preloved
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Post by moletteuk on Jun 13, 2016 19:56:32 GMT
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jade86
Foraging Degu
Posts: 73
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Post by jade86 on Jun 14, 2016 6:47:06 GMT
Thanks very much guys, I'll have a good read at the links
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jade86
Foraging Degu
Posts: 73
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Post by jade86 on Aug 16, 2016 15:55:06 GMT
Well hamish seemed to be nesting again last night! And she's acting very timid around my partner which is what happened when she was pregnant before, so we're thinking she might be expecting again. We have the boys and girls in separate cages but they are side by side, does anyone know if this will be stressing each other out? Like the boys might get frustrated with trying to build a nest but not being able to get to the females?
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Post by deguconvert on Aug 16, 2016 19:31:10 GMT
We had our male and female degus in the same room, although they were stacked, with the boys up top, but they never had any trouble being so near. If you do see changes in behavior, then move them apart, or even just put a piece of cardboard between the cages and see if that calms them down. If it does, just know that they will chew it through between the bars of their cages, so you will either want to keep replacing the cardboard, or put in something more durable.
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jade86
Foraging Degu
Posts: 73
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Post by jade86 on Aug 16, 2016 21:08:31 GMT
Brilliant thanks for that! It will be interesting to see if she is pregnant and how many pups she will have, or if it'll just be one pup again...
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Post by Bexi87 on Aug 16, 2016 22:22:03 GMT
How has she become pregnant again? I thought they were separated. I hope you don't have a super fertile girl
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jade86
Foraging Degu
Posts: 73
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Post by jade86 on Aug 17, 2016 11:32:13 GMT
They are separated and we separated her male pup from her when he was about 8 weeks, but by that point he had already been mounting her :/ so we're not certain if she is or not, just looking at her behaviour is reminding us of when she was the first time. If she is then we've worked it out that she should have between a month and a month and a half to go. Can pups reproduce at this young age?
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Post by uglibug on Aug 17, 2016 19:42:39 GMT
Unfortunately, yes. Boys have been known to be able to mate as early as six weeks, so it is possible.
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Post by deguconvert on Aug 18, 2016 2:03:21 GMT
Well . . . I'm not sure if male pups of six weeks can, but they certainly can at eight weeks. I know that a young pup, male, that had managed to escape whilst we were herding all the pups to be taken to the pet store (after the store had incorrectly sexed the mothers as males several months earlier), and which was put back in with the females for two weeks after the store refused to take him, SHRUG??, managed to impregnate all eight of the girls before he was in his own cage. So he was eight to ten weeks of age when that took place.
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jade86
Foraging Degu
Posts: 73
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Post by jade86 on Aug 18, 2016 16:58:54 GMT
Wow he was a busy pup! So it's quite possible that she is then, we'll just have to prepare ourselves! I just hope she's going to be ok, I read that the more pregnancies the female goes through the worse it can be for her and can be dangerous for her too?
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Post by deguconvert on Aug 18, 2016 20:32:05 GMT
I have heard that too. I have no idea how true it is, but I think it is must be somewhat factual.
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Post by winic1 on Aug 19, 2016 13:22:01 GMT
The biggest strain on a female having multiple pregnancies back to back is that her body doesn't have the nutritional resources she will need, restored and stored up from previous pregnancies.
Feeding her the best diet possible and being sure to provide the extra nutrition she needs, not just calories but minerals and other nutrients that are needed (like, for example, calcium, as all of the pups she is growing need it to form their bones, and her body may provide it at the expense of her own bones if she isn't getting enough extra in her diet)
Not sure if there are diet requirements for pregnancy listed in the files? But giving her a well-varied and healthy diet should help allow her to eat what she needs. If you notice her selecting certain items first, offer plenty of those as generally nature leads a creature to seek what it needs.
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Post by deguconvert on Aug 19, 2016 16:06:37 GMT
Ahhh!! Totally missed the "back to back" context of the question. Not sure how I missed it . . . except I was dead tired, so perhaps that's why. Thanks for catching that, Winic!! Good answer!!
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Post by winic1 on Aug 19, 2016 18:46:04 GMT
It's the same with birds, of which I am a bit more experienced. Even if not breeding them, some kinds are prone to chronic egg laying, so if I don't provide sufficient calcium sources, (egg shells are made of calcium), the female becomes depleted and then can suffer health consequences, even health emergencies. So, it's basically the same across all creatures, whether gestating babies or putting all the needed nutrients into eggs for them to develop in.
The one caution on the feed-them-extra and feed-them-what-they-crave advice is to NOT overdo things that would be outright unhealthy for them to eat so much. She might readily eat corn kernels, as much as she could get, but the sugar content she'd be taking in would be unhealthy for her and the babies. Don't mix up needs with wants. Not always the same thing.
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Post by saggy on Aug 24, 2016 0:32:08 GMT
Just wondering (out of pure curiosity as trying to learn more about degus in general to see if I can find any more hints as to what's going on with mine so apologies for interrupting), would having just the one first time round mean she might not have suffered the same amount of depletion with the first one as a pregnancy with a more normal sized litter?
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