rupe
Foraging Degu
Posts: 65
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Post by rupe on Mar 28, 2006 9:03:24 GMT
hi guys, im having difficulty with my two boys. i cant seem to get them to get along. i have read any posts i could find about introduction and read about lots of stuff i see going on with my intros but no one ever mentions that their degus get hurt. both of my boys had had multiple wounds, just bites and scrapes but its making me so worried.
every time they fight and get hurt Pip goes all withdrawn for a couple of days...last time he just crawled into bed and cried for a day and a half. i managed to get him out and he just lay on me hardly moving and whimpering. i thought he was gonna die of a broken heart...it was so upsetting. he seems ok now but i am reluctant to continue with the intros.
i really need advice!! sorry for the long post.
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Post by thegrouchybeast on Mar 28, 2006 9:35:18 GMT
What methods have you already tried for introducing them?
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rupe
Foraging Degu
Posts: 65
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Post by rupe on Mar 28, 2006 11:42:44 GMT
well so far i have the two cages right up against eachother...this goes well and they chirp happily at eachother. then, in an empty bath i let them run round together. this went ok. both tried humping eachother and there was a small bit of grooming and a small bit of fighting but nothing bad. i did this three times. the forth time they were getting more aggressive and Pip came away with two small cuts and spent two days being very quiet. the next time i put them together it was in a more open space and they played happily for an hour before they started having fights. being cautious i seperated it before any wounds were dealt!
however the last time i put them together they went mad at each other and both came away with small wounds. i separate them by spraying water at them. i swapped them round - pip in pops cage and visa versa and they both nursed their cuts (after i did my best to clean them!) but then Pip climed into bed and cried for a day and a half.
thing is that inbetween fights they chirp at eachother all day long through the cage bars. so confusing!
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Post by ra on Mar 28, 2006 16:48:01 GMT
How difficult would it be to just keep them in separate cages like you have been doing? Perhaps they need more time.
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Post by flibble on Mar 28, 2006 19:56:46 GMT
like ra said i would suggest keeping them in seperate cages next to each other for a while longer. Have you been giving them the same dust bath to use so they both smell the same?
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rupe
Foraging Degu
Posts: 65
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Post by rupe on Mar 30, 2006 8:19:41 GMT
i kept them in seperate cages and only put them together for small supervised amounts of time. unfortunatly i think the stress was too much and little pippen died on tuesday night. i am so sad and feel so guilty.
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Post by garrot21 on Jun 3, 2006 19:40:44 GMT
Dont feel guilty. You only had the degus best interests at heart. Hell for all you know it might not of even been stress that did it maybe an undiscovered illness?
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Post by diet otaku on Jun 3, 2006 23:58:50 GMT
i can tell you that you were doing everything by the book, so you don't need to feel guilty about pip's passing. it could have easily been the injuries more than anything else, as a degu's teeth are long enough to cause severe internal damage with a hard enough bite. because of the way pip was acting after each fight, it sounds like pop was the aggressor, and that for whatever reason he is simply not interested in having a roommate. at this point i think it would be in pop's best interest to remain a lone degu with lots of attention. it can be done, rhed and rhedette can attest to that, it just takes lots of effort.
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