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Post by heather11 on Apr 20, 2019 16:31:13 GMT
Ideas for a safe playpen would be great because they seem to be able to climb out of anything that we put them in, I can close the room off to cats but there’s still loads of places for them to get into 🤷♀️
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Post by moletteuk on Apr 20, 2019 17:24:01 GMT
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Post by savvy on Apr 20, 2019 18:48:03 GMT
You'll have to check my pockets on the way out Sav I'll make sure I do a full head count, just to make sure I have them all, lol.
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Post by deguconvert on Apr 20, 2019 19:07:35 GMT
They are really lovely! It's amazing the two different colour groups you have in the pups, and the way the agouti colouring stands out against the softer one that has no black in it. I'm trying to figure out what colour you would call the five . . . they don't really look blue . . . they seem almost sable. They could be called champagne.
Anyway, they are all lovely!
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Post by heather11 on Apr 21, 2019 19:56:29 GMT
Sad sad day today...we lost one of the babies 😢 not really sure what happened, my daughters had three of them outside on the grass in a shaded area, they were running around like degus do, and suddenly one of them started fitting! One of my daughters came running to me with the little guy still fitting as I held him he just died 😢😢 I asked her what happened and she said they were running around then he just stopped and fell on his side and started doing that, she is devastated, she thinks she did something wrong..has anybody heard of something like this happening? I have a big beady eye on the other 7 even though they seem fine I’m a Little worried
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Post by savvy on Apr 21, 2019 20:48:44 GMT
It could have been the heat, even in the shade it may have been too much for him.
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Post by heather11 on Apr 21, 2019 21:58:34 GMT
I thought that too 😢 but he was fine then he collapsed.. he was only out there for about 10-15mins and it was about 4pm so thought it would be ok as not the hottest then and the other two were fine..they are not going outside again 😢😢
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Post by savvy on Apr 21, 2019 22:15:39 GMT
Aplogies if i came across aa a bit abrupt, i was trying to post before my battery gave up. I am so sorry for your loss.
It could just as easily be just one of those things and would have happened no matter where he was. It's hard to know. How old are they now?
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Post by deguconvert on Apr 22, 2019 2:37:06 GMT
I am so sorry for your loss . . . your poor little girls must be just devastated, as I'm sure you are as well. I'm so very sorry!
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Post by heather11 on Apr 22, 2019 5:51:08 GMT
Thanks savvycat and deguconvert 😢 and savvycat that’s not abrupt at all I did wonder if he got too hot but like you say it could have just been one of those things as the other seven had been outside and were fine and they are nearly three weeks old. My daughters are 14 so not like they are young and irresponsible, the degus actually belong to Rea and she has done an amazing job of looking after them since we got them, she pampers to their every need and always has them out, so as you can imagine the babies were a very welcome surprise, and she has handled them from about six days old, she adores them, so this happening yesterday has really devastated her (and me) but like I said to her sometimes these things happen, lesson learnt no more degus outside! I just need to make sure she isn’t afraid to care for them like she has been doing. We kept a very close eye on the others last night and they all seem fine they tucked into their veggies and apple and blackcurrent forage mix (it’s so cute to see them eating) and are drinking out of the water bottle no probs, so fingers crossed they will be ok. I will post some more pictures later when I get back from work. Thanks for the link for the play pens they look easy to make so will have a look at that. Deguconvert we love the two different colours of the babies, dad dave is the brown and black colour while mum is the softer colour thanks again guys
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Post by deguconvert on Apr 22, 2019 6:34:17 GMT
Fourteen is definitely not little, but still a vulnerable age, and the devastation can bite deeply. I hope with you that she will not fear to care for them as she has. I'm 54 and I'm deeply shaken by the suffering and sudden death of animals. I have some memories that still make me cry. Like the day I saw a raven repeatedly run over in rush hour traffic while expecting our first child . . . I have to back away from that one really quickly or I'm streaming. Taking our pets to the vet and seeing the suffering of other pets and their people. It's agony . . . and every one of them deserves to be loved, and loved well. Tell her she is doing it right and well, and that to love generously is never wrong, no matter how it can hurt.
Sending you and your daughter(s) love and hugs.
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Post by heather11 on Apr 22, 2019 12:55:45 GMT
Thank you deguconvert for such lovely words, I will tell her and I’m sure she will carry on the way she always has done with them, she got up this morning and first thing she did was go to the degus 😁 I hate any cruelty to animals I can never understand how anyone could do it. postimg.cc/gallery/1hhvwwvtm/hopefully these photos worked as well
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Post by savvy on Apr 22, 2019 13:08:37 GMT
They grow up so fast. They're adorable.
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Post by deguconvert on Apr 22, 2019 15:57:15 GMT
Oh my, aren't they all just beautiful! Busy and inquisitive and ready for adventure! Are both your females the champagne coloring, or is one the natural agouti? I see a larger degu, that looks like she is pregnant in your photos. Is your second female beginning to take on the ball like shape?
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Post by heather11 on Apr 22, 2019 20:10:43 GMT
Deguconvert the two females are the champagne colour with brown mixed in and both females sometimes look round and other times maybe not so, difficult to tell but hopefully going vets this week to get all checked out. The picture below explains what I mean better...sometimes they look like the one on the purple ledge and I think oh no 😱 but then I’ll see them again and they look like the one on the floor 🤷♀️ postimg.cc/B84WjBWY
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Post by deguconvert on Apr 23, 2019 0:19:19 GMT
ROFL!! True . . . position and amount of curl vs stretch definitely make a remarkable difference in the appearance of "I was hungry so I ate your tennis ball."
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Post by savvy on Apr 23, 2019 1:15:03 GMT
Yeah, I got that with Reggie Randy Pants when I had her on pregnancy watch.
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Post by moletteuk on Apr 24, 2019 10:51:53 GMT
The pics are lovely, the blurry ones are so funny, I bet they are hardly ever still for even a second.
Degus and particularly babies don't control their heat too well, I think it's possible the heat may have been an influence or trigger for the loss of the baby, or the baby could easily have had some invisible problem that meant this was going to happen anyway. They are so vulnerable at that age, there is always going to be a percentage of losses and there is usually nothing a vet could do because they invariably go downhill so quickly. I hope Rea is processing and coming to terms with the loss now.
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Post by heather11 on Apr 25, 2019 13:14:01 GMT
Hi moletteuk most of the pictures we take have a blur on them somewhere, they are never still, they seem to freeze until you hit that button to take the picture 😂. It may have been the heat or some underlying cause I guess we will never know, Rea is coming to terms with it slowly, we had a couple of sleepless nights where she said she would dream about what happened and no matter how she tried to change the outcome she was still to blame 😢 she didn’t get a single baby out the next day, which worried me a little as normally I’m forever telling her to put them back! So on Tuesday I said ‘I’ve not had a baby fix today’ suddenly two appeared followed by two more, then these were swopped for the other three. She’s not handling them as much as she did, but it is getting more frequent, I think she’s scared it may happen again. We went to the vets last night and he checked the babies and said they are all healthy and looking good, we have four boys and three girls, don’t know how pets at home got it wrong they are pretty easy to sex. We did chuckle when the vet got this big towel to handle the babies to sex them, we had to tell him they’ve been handled a lot, I still don’t think he fully believed they wouldn’t bite until Rea picked one up 😂 He checked both females over and he doesnt think they are pregnant but said to keep an eye on body shape changes. Deguconvert I will be looking very closely for ‘who ate my tennis ball’ 😂 Also pets at home have given the ok to order another cage like mine, they will just give me the money and they will pay for the wooden bridges I got to replace the metal ladders. They are also going to provide the wheel, house etc for the new cage. I know they made the mistake that caused all this but they have been really good paying for things needed 👍
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Post by deguconvert on Apr 25, 2019 16:41:28 GMT
All excellent!! Degus have a three month gestation, but it doesn't usually begin to show until the last month. Then the increases are almost daily by the end. Some poor momma goos look truly and painfully round. Like those animated balloon animals!!
I'm glad Rea is beginning to regain some confidence in her handling of the pups. Sending her hugs!
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