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Post by deguconvert on Sept 4, 2018 0:51:51 GMT
Pups are much more vocal than adults are, so you will hear a lot more sounds from them. Those sounds are music to my ears! As Savvy said, they are friendly. Those are the noises a mumma degu will soothe, love, and call her pups with. VERY friendly sounds for sure! They are happy to see Fred!
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Post by hpdegus on Sept 4, 2018 17:59:17 GMT
Awesome, that's good to know! Thanks Deguconvert.
So here's how everyone is interacting at the moment:
Fred and pups seem great through the bars, and the first 15-20 min of playtime. Then Pickett (the runt who seemed better with Fred from the beginning) gets upset and screeches at Fred. The pups go back into their cage, though Newt still seems totally fine with Fred.
Should I just keep doing playtime together? I'm not sure what sets Pickett off, but I want to do my best to help them all get together.
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Post by deguconvert on Sept 4, 2018 18:06:21 GMT
Slower intros are usually the way to go in general. I would stick with what you're doing for sure. Give it a week and evaluate again at that time.
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Post by hpdegus on Sept 4, 2018 18:39:44 GMT
Slower intros are usually the way to go in general. I would stick with what you're doing for sure. Give it a week and evaluate again at that time. Great, will do. Should I be concerned that they'll be older than 8 wks at that point? Or since I've started this whole process while they're younger, they might be ok?
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Post by deguconvert on Sept 4, 2018 19:30:46 GMT
Well, they're going to age not matter what , and with the aging will come greater testosterone and the overwhelming urge to challenge for dominance. That is just something you cannot avoid. The truth is, even if you have managed a good intro with young pups, there will be the months between 6 and 18 months of age that can be, and often are, chaotic and fraught with dominance fighting. This can be low key, or it can ramp up to life threatening. They will be challenging Fred as well as each other. Taking the intros at their speed gives you lots of time to get to know them, and for them to get to know each other, and you time to be prepared for potential instability.
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Post by hpdegus on Sept 4, 2018 22:16:34 GMT
They do have to grow up, dont they? Yeah, the 6-18 month old phase I'm much more used to. Taking intros at their speed makes a lot more sense. We seem to be fine for around 20min together in the play area then they seem to need a break from each other. If they were all the same size, I wouldn't separate then, but the pups are soooo much smaller. And thanks again for all the advice!
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Post by deguconvert on Sept 4, 2018 22:52:52 GMT
We are always glad to help as much as we can! Never be afraid to ask your questions.
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Post by hpdegus on Sept 10, 2018 23:53:59 GMT
So brief update! (And it helps me remember what happened what day) Fred and pups enjoyed over an hour of playtime together! There was a squeal/yell match between Newt and Fred for a few seconds, but it calmed down quickly. Pickett and Fred had a nice mutual grooming session I'm planning on trying to increase playtime together, see how that goes. A picture of Fred in his hammock for your viewing pleasure! And I really have no idea how he got up there with his shelves removed. Sneaky goo!
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Post by deguconvert on Sept 11, 2018 3:20:45 GMT
He looks very pleased with himself, yes he does!! LOL! So cute!!
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Post by hpdegus on Sept 12, 2018 20:45:54 GMT
He looks very pleased with himself, yes he does!! LOL! So cute!! Hahaha, that he does!
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Post by hpdegus on Sept 12, 2018 21:25:47 GMT
And of course I jinxed it. We had two days of 45 min+ play time, then today they were together five minutes before the squealing started...
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Post by hpdegus on Sept 16, 2018 22:47:37 GMT
Decided to try letting them meet in a completely neutral area today (my tub). They had been squealing at each other after the first five or so minutes of meeting in the play area, so this seemed like a better option. Newt and Fred were absolute gems Newt went belly up almost immediately. They had a lovely groom and cuddle session for about 30min. Pickett and Fred are together right now. They've also been grooming and running on the wheel together! Maybe having the scents of so many degus was confusing? My other three males also get play time in the same area, so that might be setting them off?
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Post by hpdegus on Sept 16, 2018 22:54:00 GMT
Cuddle buddies
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Post by hpdegus on Sept 19, 2018 22:45:54 GMT
Day Four of bathtub intros: currently having a 20min long goo pile
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Post by bouncy on Sept 20, 2018 0:18:20 GMT
Excellent! He's sitting in the wheel with that sideways glance of "WHAT are THOSE!?"
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Post by hpdegus on Sept 20, 2018 0:35:26 GMT
Haha, I know! Even when they had their eyes closed, he was watching out for them the whole time
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Post by hpdegus on Sept 21, 2018 22:39:59 GMT
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Post by deguconvert on Sept 22, 2018 0:39:35 GMT
"Watch yourself, youngun!!" He is glad to have him in there, but is warning him not to get too big for his britches, so to speak.
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Post by hpdegus on Sept 22, 2018 0:46:00 GMT
Whew! Ok, not a bad thing then. The pups didn't seem bothered by it, and Fred would turn and groom them right after. Today was the sixth day of bathtub intros. An hour each day, and that noise was the worst of it Even the mounting has calmed down to almost nothing! I'm thinking of trying to completely clean the cages this weekend and try them all together there.
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Post by deguconvert on Sept 22, 2018 1:22:55 GMT
Completely cleaning isn't always a good thing . . . since scent is such a huge part of memory/information for degus. I'm going to suggest something that could sound REALLY weird. If you do choose to do a complete clean . . . maybe after you have cleaned it out, make a mix of some rather dirty substrate from Fred's cage and the pups cage, and mix them together really well . . . like REALLY well . . . and then sprinkle that through the cage. A bit on all surfaces if you can manage it . . . even rub it into the surfaces some . . . and then just a sprinkle of clean substrate along with. Leave it light so that they have a really good snoot full of all the smells together. Then each day add one handful of new substrate per level and gradually bring it up to an acceptable level. This way you are never obliterating or hiding the scents they need, and they will hopefully have no bumps that can come with suddenly sharing a cage where there are no scents of anyone, or else very strong scents of only Fred or only the pups.
Have I made "sense" or have I confused everyone, LOL?
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