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Post by kennethsmithesq on Jan 11, 2018 20:45:47 GMT
Hi folks,
We have two degu boys – Castor & Pollux. We got them from the RSPCA in October 2017. We have a huge cage and they’re generally very happy with minimal bickering; always sleep together in a huddle – very cute. Apparently they were abandoned with a female in a box at the rescue centre, and were then separated from the female. Castor had an eye wound and a broken tail (it’s much shorter). Castor seemed to dominate at first – the “bruiser”.
Today they started fighting big-style; Pollux is trying to dominate (mounting, and undue interest in Castor’s rear end) and won’t let Castor settle for a second. The fighting is boxing and kicking and squealing and chasing, but none of this “locked in a fur ball” stuff yet. However, we decided to separate them today as poor Castor’s little stumpy tail was bleeding a bit. Their cage is big and has levels, so we can just take the stairs away. Is this wise, or should we just let them fight it out? We just thought Castor should have a rest from all of this unwanted attention.
They are such cute buddies normally. They are settled now individually themselves, but they seem to miss each other and are squeaking in the others’ direction. Castor tried to jump up to Pollux’s level, and Pollux is staring down looking lovingly in his brother's direction.
Kenneth & Annika (mildly concerned degu owners)
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Post by kennethsmithesq on Jan 11, 2018 20:47:21 GMT
(ps. they seem to be now re-enacting the Romeo and Juliet Balcony scene.
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Post by misscatafer on Jan 11, 2018 22:59:38 GMT
What cage do you have? Just be wary that this may not stop them getting to each other and they could injure themselves by jumping/falling to each other - degus can be stupidly stubborn!
Can you think of anything you have done differently recently such as new additions to the home, different cage cleaning regime, different noises etc - anything which could have unsettled them. It sounds like they are in the teenage phase and may be particularly sensitive to change or disturbance, as well as beginning to argue over the heirachy of each other.
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Post by deguconvert on Jan 11, 2018 23:52:03 GMT
Hello and welcome to the forum, Kennethsmithesq! Do you know what their age is, because that can be a rather important bit of information that will inform us if they are indeed in their teenage stage. The teenage stage lasts anywhere from age 6 months up to age 18 months.
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Post by savvy on Jan 12, 2018 0:07:22 GMT
Welcome to the forum.
I'm sorry to read that you are having problems, the bickering could be down to several reasons so we really do need more information such as age, cage size and layout, etc., also are you sure they are both boys?
We are also just coming into breeding season so there will be increased activity between them.
Also degus can jump, and land with a thump from levels so I wouldn't recommend removing ladders as it could cause injuries.
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Post by bouncy on Jan 12, 2018 9:16:37 GMT
I can only echo the others. Degus think they're Tom Cruise's stunt double from that climbing scene in Mission: Impossible. The reality is more like a baby trying to stand up. The wounds don't sound serious, so don't worry. Just keep an eye on them. If you want, you can bathe them in boiled salt water, but I've found that the goos take care of their wounds better than I ever could. The smallest thing can upset degus. A thorough cage clean (with disinfectant) removes their scent, and they start fighting to see who is going to be Lord of the manor in the "new" territory. Someone in your home using a different air freshener or soap, a new pet, building work going on in the street, or even one of your neighbours having a new pet is enough to set their paranoid, sensitive, little noses and ears off. The good thing about this kind of fighting is that it will settle. Mine often have spats (or rather my biggest alpha goes mental at the others), quite violently at times, but I generally leave them to it. I very occasionally wag my finger at alpha Spidey to signal him to back off. Effectiveness is often related to the colour of my nails
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Post by kennethsmithesq on Jan 12, 2018 11:16:57 GMT
Thanks guys, this is all good advice. So the difficulty in working out their age is that, because they are rescue animals, we have no idea. As for sex - er ... we were told they were both boys but I gather it's not as straight-forward to tell as in humans.
The cage is a pretty huge tall one and has three layers of panels which we can use to completely seal off two layers if we want to. I've noted your point about them taking risky jumps. Thanks!
Here's an interesting one. The only real change in enviornment (apart from maybe the season) is that Annika has come home after a month away, so is it possible that is making a difference?
They seem to have settled down together now - well keeping their distance from each other - let's see how it goes for the rest of the day.
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Post by moletteuk on Jan 12, 2018 11:31:35 GMT
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Post by kennethsmithesq on Jan 12, 2018 11:44:24 GMT
Great so the cage is 100x65. They actually have 4 layers (I always forget the top one). They must've resolved their fight, or are at least knackered, as they are cuddled up together like yin and yang having a nap!
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Post by bouncy on Jan 12, 2018 13:09:55 GMT
Awwwwwwwwwwwww it may well have been Annika reappearing, especially as she's a, well, she!
Degus can be seen quite easily. At this stage, the key issue is having two that look the same! They both have a bum hole and cone. The difference between the sexes is whether there's a gap between the two. No distinguishable gap is a girl, a noticeable gap up to 1cm is a boy.
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Post by kennethsmithesq on Jan 22, 2018 22:12:54 GMT
Hi folks.
The boys have started bickering again. We’ve noticed that Pollux is constantly chasing Castor to try and bite his tail stub. Actual fighting only happens when Castor turns around and boxes him one or two.
Does anyone know why this tail biting is happening? It’s drawn blood a couple of times.
They get on so well normally, but Pollux is being relentless at the minute and poor Castor can’t lower his guard for a second.
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Post by bouncy on Jan 23, 2018 10:32:59 GMT
Poor little dude!
Again, has anything changed?
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Post by kennethsmithesq on Jan 23, 2018 14:31:34 GMT
Hmm not really - we put a new piece of bark in there. Could that do it?
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Post by bouncy on Jan 23, 2018 15:40:52 GMT
I shouldn't think so.
Unfortunately, their age means that they will fight at the moment, but it should ease off as we move into spring.
You could try separating them, but you would then have to go back to an introduction process. If you can bear the wounds, I would personally leave them. I know it doesn't help much, but perhaps some of the others will have some ideas.
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Post by deguconvert on Jan 23, 2018 16:56:57 GMT
Can you have a really good look at his tail? See if there are any changes in colour, hair loss, or anything that might indicate that there is an infection or something that Pollux is alerting to? Maybe even just take Castor to the Vet and have his stub looked at. When a degu has lost a tail, sometimes there can be a hidden infection that is difficult to discover and hard to treat. We have had one degu here that had repeated amputations to take off dying tissues, and before long the poor lad had not tail at all, but by that time thankfully the infection was completely defeated! This is not common, but it can happen, which is why I bring it up.
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Post by kennethsmithesq on Jan 23, 2018 18:26:24 GMT
Thanks for that. Very interesting. I’ve booked the poor lad into the vet for Thursday. He does tend to drag his stump around (it’s really half a tail), and we think that the very tip is a little raw/ white/pinkish if you look closely. We’ll keep you posted.
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Post by kennethsmithesq on Jan 26, 2018 21:38:36 GMT
The vet said the tail is fine and Castor's weight and heart beat were fine too. He gets weighed again in two weeks.
Annika's noticed Pollux eating droppings (probaly Castor's) and she wondered if it could be a sign of diabetes (I think she read it somewhere). This obsession with sniffing Castor's rear end might be part of that? We never feed them sugar, but they came from a rescue centre, so who knows...
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Post by savvy on Jan 26, 2018 22:00:23 GMT
Eating poo is perfectly normal, well for rodents anyway, it's a way of making sure they get all the residual nutrients that are in it. I know it sounds gross, and degus will actually grab it and eating as they are pooing, but it quite normal behaviour for rodents as they have two types of poo. I've never heard of it being associated with diabetes before.
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Post by savvy on Jan 26, 2018 22:02:39 GMT
The butt sniffing is part of the dominance I think, but I could be wrong. We are in breeding season so hormones are running high at the moment.
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Post by moletteuk on Jan 27, 2018 11:23:52 GMT
Just to confirm that eating poo and bum sniffing are both totally normal, the bum sniffing is a social and/or dominance thing.
Diabetes is a lot more unusual than you might think, the signs of it are excess drinking and weeing, changes in appetite, weight loss, hyperactivity followed by lethargy, possible aggression. Excess drinking and weeing is always present and the easiest thing to spot.
The biting the tail stump could be an extension of bum sniffing activity, fussing at other's tails is quite common. Essentially it is about dominance but can get quite complicated on both sides. One degu wants to inspect and sniff the bum of the other, the other can partially, completely or reluctantly submit...or not. Sometimes one degu will offer their bum for inspection or mounting but then run away, sort of taunting the other. Sometimes it's completely peaceful, they sniff each others bum, no mounting, make twittery noises, and it's just a social thing of reinforcing group bonds and smell.
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