New Degus!

[txdegudaddy91]

Ok so I picked my 2 new friends up 7-30-17 and think they are girls my daughter has named them Bella and Stella, both are about the same age. Bella is more brave and will come to me when I put my hand in their cage but Stella runs and hides in her house any time she thinks I'm going to get close to their cage. I guess my question is is there anything I can do to help Stella not be so nervous and run/hide from me. I've tried to feed both from my hand and neither will take the celery from me but if I just put it in their food bowl they will eat it, I know I have only had them 4 days but it is very bothersome to have them and not be able to pet/play with.

[deguconvert]

Hello Txdegudaddy91! Welcome to the forum!!

Degus take a while to build a trust bond with us. Some just instantly do, like extroverted people seem to do, but there are those that are much more cautious and careful, which often tend to be lower in the pecking order of degu hierarchy, and these just take time. To push them to a faster adaptation and acceptance will not work. What you will end up doing is creating a sense of threat and they will become more and more fearful, which will bring out a self-defense reaction that you don't want to encounter. Degus will bite when pressed, and the more fearful they are (or angry if you interrupt/breakup a fight between degus using your body to come between them), the deeper the bite will be, and it can cause horrible infections and swelling.

Degus are not friendly and playful in the way that rats, or some hamsters, or even gerbils are. They a more like . . . cats in rodent form. They will interact and love you when they want to, and prefer not to most of the time. If you have a large playpen in which they can run free and you can sit/lay on the floor in, they will gladly run all over your body and get to know you, but they DO NOT take to cuddles and being held or picked up. This is something you need to know right off the bat and get used to. This is also something that your daughter needs to learn and understand so that she discovers how best to form a bond with the girls on their terms and not on hers. Actually it is a good thing for you both to know. Degus are complex characters, and there is a LOT to know about them. For practically everyone that gets degus, the learning curve is steep. There is a lot of misinformation out there that leads a lot of people astray and can cause frustrations that are not the animals fault, but the fault of bad information.

If you are willing, there is a TON of reading I can easily put at your fingertips that will help you to learn about the wonderful little loves you have brought into your home.

[deguconvert]

Well . . . rats! I was hoping I had sent that quickly enough to catch you, but I see you are gone. However I will give you links to the reading I mention above and I strongly encourage you to wade through it as well as you can. It is all very important to knowing and understanding your degus and the lives you can enjoy together as you grow to know each other.

Basic information for getting started
deguworld.proboards.com/thread/19754/beginners-guide-degu-keeping
and this one too
deguworld.proboards.com/thread/13040/nightwishravens-beginners-guide-degu-keeping

This is for helping you to know how to identify the sex of your degus, because even vets get it wrong, and almost always the pet stores get it wrong.
deguworld.proboards.com/thread/13070/degus


New Owner advice
deguworld.proboards.com/thread/5337/new-degu-owner-advice

Cage size recommendations of our forum.
deguworld.proboards.com/thread/9396/forums-cage-size-recommendations

More cage things, like choosing and improving a metal cage
deguworld.proboards.com/thread/18717/choosing-improving-metal-cage

Making a DIY cage
deguworld.proboards.com/thread/18718/guides-diy-cage

Good nutrition
deguworld.proboards.com/thread/16425/degu-feeding-guide

What do you feed your degus discussion among members
deguworld.proboards.com/thread/21261/feed-degus

Internet shops for specialist degu foods
deguworld.proboards.com/thread/15794/internet-shops-specialist-degu-foods

There are a lot more stickies than the above in the diet and nutrition board, so if you are game for more reading, do browse through them. They have little red stickpins at the front of the thread title.

Degus, male and female, hump each other, they box, they chase, they dispute. All normal, and to be tolerated up to a point. There are things to watch out for though, so we have a fighting and introductions guide and board. Here are the two guides that we refer to.
deguworld.proboards.com/thread/17619/deguconverts-detailed-introductions-fighting-guide
deguworld.proboards.com/thread/17618/introductions-fighting-quick-guide

Babies happen more often than one might expect as a result of mis-sexed degus. So . . . here is a babies guide.
deguworld.proboards.com/thread/1363/basics-babies

We have a vet guide for vets that have been very good, very knowledgeable, and very helpful to us humans as well as our loves.
deguworld.proboards.com/thread/15521/vet-guide
Degu dental health
deguworld.proboards.com/thread/17319/important-recent-research-dental-health
Cataracts
deguworld.proboards.com/thread/9481/different-types-cataracts
Woods toxic to degus
deguworld.proboards.com/thread/3667/woods-toxic-degus

That should keep you very busy for days!! Start with the beginners guide and pace yourself.

We encourage lots of questions and are glad to help.

Be patient with your little loves. They have a lot to adjust to right now. New cage, new sounds, new people, new smells, new everything, and it is a lot to take in. They will adjust, and if you are gentle of voice, slow of movement, and persistently and frequently taking time with them (do your best not to have a time frame/agenda for when you will be great buddies and what that will look like), you will begin to see them making small but delightful steps towards trusting you and forming a bond.

[moletteuk]

Welcome to the forum

Deguconvert has given you a comprehensive answer, so I'm going to keep it short - the two secrets to building a relationship with degus are food - you need to try plenty of treats and discover what they love, and secondly a playpen or safe room where you can sit or lie down and let them explore you in a non threatening way will advance things once they have settled in.

OK, there's another secret, you have to be patient and let them come to you in their own time, offer attention and treats and wait for their curiosity to get the better of them, if you force it you will drive them away. They are very clever.

[txdegudaddy91]

Thank you both very much! I hope I can can get some ot that info read pretty quickly!