Introducing Degu's. Not going well!!

[Charlie]

Hi all,

I have had my Degu Boo for 3 years and recently his brother died suddenly. Boo was not happy at all even with all the extra attention so I decided to get him a friend. I ended up getting 2 young boys Fuzz and Skud (4 months but look older?) Skud is the dominant one over Fuzz and apart from a little fighting (as normal) they get on well. I have had the boys in seperate wire Chin cages next to each other so they can get used to each others smells. After 2 weeks I tried to introduce Boo to Fuzz and Skud but they fight REALLY Badly. At first Fuzz and Boo seemed to get along ok so I have just now introduced them on their own (bathroom, neutral teratory). It started well but ended horribly and I need to take Boo to the vets tomorrow as it looks like he has a badly damaged shoulder (they fought continuously for 15 mins). I will not attempt to put Skud and Boo together again yet as all they did the first time was roll around in a ball, fur flying, until I separated them.

I am really looking for some reassurance that Degu's who fight this much can, with patience, become friends and that someone else has had a really bad experience like this and it all turned out ok?? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Do you think there is any hope? I don't really see there being any benifit to Boo if we have to keep them apart forever?? Has nutering worked for anyone??

Yours hopeful and sad
Charlie

[ra]

Charlie - I have been very lucky. My male Degu turned out to be a female Degu who had puppies! I kept one of the females as a cage mate. No problems there. Once in awhile the daughter, Tanzania Peaberry will irritate her mom Mocha Jave. Mocha usually justs holds her down and thumps Tanzania on her head with her nose then gives her a good grooming. I've seen them tussle a bit but no true fighting.

SunshineMeg, Diet Otaku, Aimee etc have all introduced males to one another. It appears to be very challenging but do-able. Search through and read the other posts on introductions for some very good tips and ideas.

If nothing else could you not keep Fuzz and Scud in one cage butted up against Boo's cage so they could socialize but keep away from one another if need be?

[Charlie]

Thank you for the advice. I will read through the other posts.

I would love to keep them next to eachother but with each cage being 2 foot wide it is hard to find room! I planned to have them on top of eachother with a hole cut through so they could have a two story (5ft high!) house. Hopefully I'll get there one day.

Thanks again
Charlie

[ra]

Stacking them does work well. That's how I built my Degu Condo. (See Cages & Accesories)
Keep us posted on your progress. Good luck.

[Charlie]

It was not a shoulder injury but a lost thumb!! Poor Boo! He is doing ok now. I have bathed the wound and it's doing well. I am going to put them together tomorrow in the run in the garden so fingers crossed for that! I hope the new environment will distract them xx

[Sunshinemeg]

you need to be careful that if they fight they are seperated. Have a sand bath a water squirter and a towel close at hand. if they start to box squirt them. if they form a ball throw the towel over them to seperate them. dont allow a fight to continue as this is just going to stress them.

to allow them to become more familiar with each other swap the bedding in each cage daily. this will cause them to smell more similar. make sure they all use a sand bath that has been scented with vanilla essence before allowing them to meet. this will make them smell neutral and will reduce the instinct to fight a recognised enemy.

it is possible to introduce them, I have done it 5 times. it works but takes time, and is always harder when you are trying to introduce more than one and when the newcomers are not babies.

good luck

[rupe]

hi Charlie,
i recently tried to introduce two males. i had had Pip for nearly two years and then got Pop who was 9months old. intros would go well for a few minutes but would always end in bad fights and it was heartbreaking to see any wounds. Sadly Pip died almost two weeks ago but we dont know why.

please watch out for any of them acting very tired or allowing you to handle them way more than usual as this was how Pip got...perhaps it is how Degus show stress?

the water squirter works well at separating fighting degus by the way!!
good luck!

[freakyl]

hi i know how you feel its really upsetting, i had two boys which i got at the same time thinking they were brothers and that they were the same age. but now i am not so sure

one day they just started fighting very badly for no apparent reason and giving off some very distressed signs. unfortunately this occured quite late at night so didnt think it would be wise to keep them together over night, so we split the cage into two parts, unforunately many attempts have been made to reintroduce and they are fine for a while grooming etc until they realise they are both boys!!!! and it starts really badly all over again, i have tried everything suggested, and i have come to the conclusion that they just really dislike eachother or they both just wanna be top dog and the other wont back down, either way if you arent successful try keeping them all close to one another so it is still company for them but they dont have to get on eachothers nerves.

[Eamon]

hi, I'm also in the beginning phase of introducing my two new boysLouis Vuitton and Dior for my older male Gucci. They met brifely today on neutral ground(My Bathroom) and Gucci didn't bite, nor fight with the two new boys, he just started humping them. Now I know the two new are males, the woman who brought them had them checked by a profesional breder, who used to breed degus. Now I'm a little scared to have them meat, because even though this might just be to show who is boss, he might accually hurt them.

[diet otaku]

don't worry, they can't hurt each other with the humping (except perhaps for a wounded ego!). you only have to worry if one of them puts up a fight to the humping.

[annelise]

Sorry this might sound depressing, but I've had a bad experience with introducing degus: I had a bored adult male and found him a companion at the humane society, another adult male. Even though I had separated the cage in two with wire mesh, they fought continuously through the bars, and when put together, would fight really badly, getting many injuries. They hardly ate or slept for fighting night and day! I never got them to get on together and as that was such a stress for both of them to be fighting all the time, I had to give away the second male to a friend. I didn't abandon the idea of getting him a companion, though, and found him a baby female. They went on really well together from the first day on, never a real fight, a true pair of lovebirds! And they gave me many litters till I decided to neuter him... What I mean to say is that if it does not work out with this one, it does not mean your degu hates all others...