Have I found the right degu friend - new to degus

[morton235]

So, I think I've finally found a friend for Mr Goo, my three year old lone male. A lady is rehoming her lone male and once we have moved we are planning to collect him.

Here's a bit of info about my boy and what I know about his potential new friend:

Mr Goo (mine):
I've owned him since about October last year
3 years old
Has been known to snuggle up to rabbits and guinea pigs when he's escaped
Currently tries his best to befriend my dog
Currently shouts a lot, bar chews and always wants attention 
Been alone since a baby
Unsure of how dominant he'd be with others, but doesn't like people near him when he's eating (makes that little grr sound)
Was split from others as a baby as was bullied by other goos and his cage mate wouldn't let him eat, and he got really sick

Chewy (new goo):
2 years old
Lost his cage mate about a month back
Is lonely and depressed
Has started fur chewing
Was with his brother until he died suddenly, and was with an old neutered female after that but she recently passed
No history of fighting other than light/play fights
Was quite dominant in the pairs but it did fluctuate

Cage Chewy will be in during intro's (temp housing): single storey thicketts

Cage they'll be in together: Adventura

Cage they'll be in if it doesn't work out: half each of the adventura

Time until we rehome Chewy, if it happens: about a month, since we are in the middle of a house sale/purchase and have to move first.

I'm hoping that, because they are both lonely boys, that they will bond. Even if it's not easily, that it'll eventually happen. I really don't mind if it takes months so long as it sticks and they don't terribly damage each other. I'm planning to take time off work for when they first go into the cage together so that I can be around to observe them.

That being said, is Chewy the right goo for Goo? If he's self harming at this point, and Mr Goo doesn't bond with him, there isn't enough space in one half of the adventura for two goos. That'd mean Chewy would end up on his own, which so far he hasn't been coping well with. I am slightly worried about Chewys health if it doesn't work out.

I'd be willing to get Chewy neutered if it'd help make the bond more likely. I know it's selfish, but I wouldn't want to do that with my own goo for personal, entirely selfish reasons. He is my baby and I don't want him to change, as I've had happen with a previous pet (rat), or to put him at any risk with surgery. I know that's real crummy of me, but if even after that it didn't work out, I'd be more likely to be able to find Chewy a home with a group of ladies if it came to it and he was getting depressed. I've told the lady that if a home turns up for Chewy before we are ready to go for it, since he's already so depressed he's harming himself and a goo family is clearly very much in need.

But if it does all go ahead, do you guys have any advice, tips, or things I should ask his current owner? 

Thanks for reading guys xx

[deguconvert]

At his age, neutering will not ensure bonding. However, the fact that they are both lonely, and deeply desiring a companion can help things along immensely. As you said, it can take a while, and I hope you are aware that may mean MONTHS . . . like many months . . . but I think you have a really good grasp on things and will do very well working with them and helping them get to know each other.

When you first bring chewy into your home, you need to place him in the same room as Mr. Goo, but not too close, and let Chewy acclimate to his new surroundings. Since it will also be a new home to Mr. Goo, he will also need time to acclimate. DON'T rush this process, it can take 6 weeks to begin to feel at home in new surroundings/new house. They will NOT be welcoming when things are so new and their stress levels are high. Take your time to let them settle. Crucial . . . bring dirty substrate with you when you move and from Chewy's old home so that they will at least have all the scents and cues that they rely on to give them their bearings. Yes the new home will smell different, but at least their substrate will not!! When you clean only clean out sections of the cage at a time, not all at once, and over the course of days not hours. Feed them, water them, as per normal, but don't demand attention from them. Take things slowly as if you are hand training them from the beginning. A move can really upset them. In two weeks start to make a bond with Chewy so that you get to know him well and are able to read his body language, which will help you when you start introductions. Move their cages closer together. Start reducing space between their cages every few days until they are nearly touching. Watch their reactions to each other and then report what you see here and we will help you know what things to do or to try.

Hope this is helpful to you!

[bouncy]

Only thing I can add is to ask whether Chewy was previously a dominant goo. It's obviously no real indication, because each relationship is different, but it may give you an indication of how to approach the process.

[morton235]

Thanks for the replies

Deguconvert - Thanks for the great advice:) I'm totally kicking myself for not thinking about bringing substrate! It's so important! Thanks so much for the reminder, I'll be sure to get some Oh, don't worry, I'll be harassing you lot day and night with 'is this normal' 'what does this mean' and 'is this ok' hahaha, it's great to have a supportive community where I can ask questions and be guided by owners far more experienced than me I know intro's can take a while and it has to go at the pace of the animal not the owner, hopefully it won't take months but if it does that's cool too, it takes time to become friends no matter the species and they can't go from strangers to house mates in the blink of an eye ^^

Bouncy - The owner said he was more dominant in the pairs, but it seemed to fluctuate. In all honesty I was hoping for a submissive goo but I doubt I'll find one, hell, this chap is already going to be a two hour drive away and that's with us meeting half way! Trying to find a 'lonely adult goo who's lost his cage mates' automatically eliminates a lot of options for me so adding 'submissive' to the search is just gonna make it near impossible Apparently there were no serious fights in either pair he was in (one with his brother who died, one with an old neutered female who has recently passed), it was more play fights or light fights than anything which is good. Would this mean I'd need to approach intro's differently?

[morton235]

Deguconvert - if Chewy proves to be dominant and Goo won't take the hint and let him, would neutering Chewy not lower his testosterone and therefore his need to feel dominant? We did this with one of our rats after he would literally terrorise his brothers, going on rampages, throwing his weight around and well on his way to becoming a single rat if he didn't sort his crap out. It got to the point where all he would have to do was eyeball his brothers and they would scream and run (no joke). He didn't bother with them at all after the neutering, it calmed him straight down although it did also make him a very quiet and reserved boy.

[bouncy]

Hi morton235, degus are strange creatures in every sense of the word. Unfortunately, their testosterone is produced elsewhere in the body, so neutering won't really have any effect on behaviour.

Let's see what happens after he arrives -we don't want to imagine the worst case scenario before we get there! We'll still be here to help!

[morton235]

Wooaah, seriously!? How/where is it produced? I can't find anything on google that suggests their testosterone is produced anywhere else, do you have any links I could read? It's quite an interesting statement and I'd love to learn more

[savvy]

I think I've read somewhere that degus produce testosterone in their brain, but I could be wrong.

[moletteuk]

They do produce testosterone in the testicles, but they also produce it in the adrenal glands (as do humans). I don't know how much they produce in each, presumably more in the testicles, but it is fairly widely accepted that neutering degus rarely has much effect on behaviour, or at least is not worth doing in the hopes of changing behaviour. I wonder if when the testicles are removed the adrenals are able to compensate and produce more testosterone.


I think this sounds like a pretty good match, as good as you are likely to find.

[deguconvert]

@savvy . . . maybe testosterone lodges/or is stored in the brain of degus, which is (potentially) why removing the testicles doesn't really change their behaviors. LOL! Could explain an AWFUL lot!

@morton. Glad to hear you will not be shy about asking questions! We genuinely encourage questions and their discussion. You will definitely be helped as much as we are able! Chewy is old enough to have certain behaviors established and reinforced through more than just hormonal drive, so if he is dominant, it won't be just the testosterone that is pushing that. However, degus are also very capable of learning new behaviors, which is what your introduction will be promoting. He will be learning a new relationship, then learning a new bond, and then reinforcing that once it is established. Due to "personality," not all degus are open to living with another degu, but this is pretty rare. Since Chewy has already been with two other degus and formed good relationships with them, I think it is fair to say that he should be willing and interested in forming one with Mr. Goo. Mr. Goo however could be more difficult to introduce, having been alone as long as he has been, especially if he has forgotten basic degu "culture". He certainly sounds very interested in having companionship from your descriptions!!

[bouncy]

May 24, 2018 15:27:32 GMT deguconvert said:

@savvy . . . maybe testosterone lodges/or is stored in the brain of degus, which is (potentially) why removing the testicles doesn't really change their behaviors. LOL! Could explain an AWFUL lot!

I often think (and say aloud) that men seem to carry their brains between their legs - explains why goos are so smart! Lol

[deguconvert]

I'm not going to reply to that . . . LOL!! My lips are zipped!

[misscatafer]

I also would not recommend putting a degu through neutering unless you plan on mixing sexes.
I just wanted to add that Mr Goo sounds very much like my Boo. She was alone for at least 3 years before I adopted her, aged 4.5. when I tried to put her with my two 18 month girls she clearly lacked the social skills to be able to mix with them and they instantly rejected her. When living alone she would hide most of the day in a huge nest. She didn't know how to use a wheel and toys seemed alien to her. She would deliberately tip over her food bowl then hide the contents to try to manipulate us into giving her more food. She enjoyed strokes through the bars only but hated it if you tried to give her a treat - she would become highly distressed, crying and growling, we suspected she had been teased or food had been used as a ply to catch her previously (she came from a home with young children). It has taken us close to a year for her to become comfortable and relaxed accepting food from us and she still makes disgruntled noises when eating from our hands.
We neutered a 2 yr old male who had been alone for a year to put with her and the intros went really smoothly, they were living together 4 weeks after neutering. But the point I want to make is that she is definitely the dominant one, Toby loves her enough to put up with her awkwardness (we call her moaning myrtle a lot of the time!) and we were lucky that Toby is a very submissive goo. You may find this will be similiar with Mr Goo if he has been alone so long.

[savvy]

With all this in mind though, and you've had some great advice, both Chewy and Mr Goo have the final say on if they'll be friends.

All the planning in the world will never compensate for the opinion of the degus in question.

[morton235]

May 25, 2018 7:14:21 GMT misscatafer said:

But the point I want to make is that she is definitely the dominant one, Toby loves her enough to put up with her awkwardness (we call her moaning myrtle a lot of the time!) and we were lucky that Toby is a very submissive goo. You may find this will be similiar with Mr Goo if he has been alone so long.


This is something I do worry about Goo has been alone for such a long time, he is not used to having to share anything and I worry that he has lost the vast majority of his ability to read and send signals like a normal degu. I guess it's something we won't know if he can pick up or not until we try, and these are things he could learn, but it's whether or not others will be patient enough with him to allow him to learn and whether he will tolerate someone sharing his space. I'm hoping his desire for companionship will override any selfish feelings he gets once he realises he has a playmate and a snuggle buddy.

[morton235]

Hey guys, thanks for all the advice but Chewy has found another home. It sucks for Mr Goo, but at least Chewy isn't alone anymore, especially as he was pulling his fur out. Thanks for all your help, but it's back to searching for a friend! x

[deguconvert]

AWWWW RATS!!! I'm so sorry, Morton!!

[bouncy]

Whereabouts are you? Perhaps we can spot some goos for you?