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Post by treeofdoom on Jan 20, 2020 10:28:11 GMT
Hello all, As the title says I’m very new to Degu as I just got her yesterday, unfortunately there was only one so she is all alone. I have a couple questions, my Degu is making teeth chattering sounds rather frequently with the occasional chirping. I read that chirping is normal when they see happy but chattering can be a sign of anger or anxiety. Is this something I should worry about? How much self grooming is normal? She seems to be biting her claws or scratching a lot. She also seems to throw herself on the ground like a dog would do in fresh mud. What behavior I should look out for with a single Degu that is worrisome? She has a wheel, a medium sized cage and is free to roam a 2m x 3m room, I’m hoping this will be sufficient to keep her from getting to cramped. I know there will be some anxiety after such a drastic move and it’s early days yet. Any insight that could be shed would be highly appreciated. I very much look forward to following months and years with her. Kind regards Tree
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Post by kikgoos on Jan 20, 2020 10:40:52 GMT
Hi Tree,
Welcome. There are some incredibly knowledgable people on this forum that will offer you lots of insights into how to best care for your new arrival.
I think they will probably ask you for a few more details. But to start could I ask the age of your new one and why it has sadly ended up on its own?
Xx
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Post by savvy on Jan 20, 2020 10:45:07 GMT
Welcome to the forum!
Teeth chittering can have so many meanings and you need to look at her body language to understand what she's trying to say. It could be go away, come here, you woke me, give me that treat or else. Until you get to know your little girl better it's impossible to say.
I would suggest that you read through the stickies at the top of each section to get a better understanding of degus, but please be aware that you are on a steep learning curve. Don't worry, we've all been there.
As she is on her own, I would suggest looking for a little friend for her somewhere down the line, when she has settled.
You say it's a medium sized cage, could you be more specific as to the size? You will also need your make sure that her wheel is big enough and open, no cross bars or gaps in the wheel surface as they are extremely dangerous.
Grooming is perfectly normal and they do a fair bit of it, the throwing herself to the grounds means she's trying to tell you she wants a sand bath. A sand bath should be accessible at all times.
Please ask any questions you need to, there are no silly ones when it comes to degus!
Apologies for the rushed answer, by battery needs charging and I'm trying to post before it runs out, lol.
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Post by treeofdoom on Jan 20, 2020 10:51:58 GMT
Hi Tree, Welcome. There are some incredibly knowledgable people on this forum that will offer you lots of insights into how to best care for your new arrival. I think they will probably ask you for a few more details. But to start could I ask the age of your new one and why it has sadly ended up on its own? Xx Unfortunately the shop only had two and the previous customer was insistent on only getting one it seems that’s how she ended up by herself
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Post by treeofdoom on Jan 20, 2020 10:58:51 GMT
Welcome to the forum! Teeth chittering can have so many meanings and you need to look at her body language to understand what she's trying to say. It could be go away, come here, you woke me, give me that treat or else. Until you get to know your little girl better it's impossible to say. I would suggest that you read through the stickies at the top of each section to get a better understanding of degus, but please be aware that you are on a steep learning curve. Don't worry, we've all been there. As she is on her own, I would suggest looking for a little friend for her somewhere down the line, when she has settled. You say it's a medium sized cage, could you be more specific as to the size? You will also need your make sure that her wheel is big enough and open, no cross bars or gaps in the wheel surface as they are extremely dangerous. Grooming is perfectly normal and they do a fair bit of it, the throwing herself to the grounds means she's trying to tell you she wants a sand bath. A sand bath should be accessible at all times. Please ask any questions you need to, there are no silly ones when it comes to degus! Apologies for the rushed answer, by battery needs charging and I'm trying to post before it runs out, lol. Thanks your response Savvy, I’ve given them a read but couldn’t find info on frequency of behaviors being normal, that could just me being a terrible reader again. Her cage is about 1m tall by 80 cm long 70 cm wide. Her wheel is made for a chinchilla so I’m hoping it’s large enough, she can run close to full speed with no issues. The wheel is also entirely open so nothing she can get caught on. She has a sad bath in her cage that is accessible to her at all times. That’s what made me think it was weird, she does the same motions in the sand bath. There is about 2” of sand in there, should I add more or possible switch to something that is long rather than deep? She is currently 15 months old and I’m not sure how soon I’ll be able to find a companion. Is there a point where the addition of a new family member may cause more anxiety than help? Again I highly appreciate the help on this fun journey I’m currently on
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Post by savvy on Jan 20, 2020 11:37:58 GMT
She could be scent marking her cage when she's rolling, as you will find out, degus are just plain weird, lol. Her sand bath sounds deep enough, if it were too deep she would soon lower the level but kicking sand all over the place. She could be on heat when she's rolling.
In my opinion, it's never too late to introduce a degu friend, but there's no guarantee that it's the right degu, if that makes sense. They are highly intelligent and just like people, don't always get along. At 15 months, she is still in adolescence so her hormones will still be all over the place. I would wait a couple of months before looking for a companion. We can help with what to look for and what to do when the times right.
The most important things to get right at the start is her cage and her diet. What are you currently feeding? Does she have access to forage and hay at all times?
Also, is there anything plastic in her cage? Degus are expert chewers so can get through plastic incredibly quickly. To help prevent this, make sure as much as possible is metal (trays etc) and offer safe woods to chew. She needs to chew as her teeth will be continually grow at the rate of 1mm per day.
If you got her from a pet shop, I would check to make sure she is definitely female as mistakes have been made in the past. My girl Reggie was sold to me as a boy, good job I didn't introduce her to my boy Dixie before I checked.
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Post by treeofdoom on Jan 20, 2020 12:16:09 GMT
She could be scent marking her cage when she's rolling, as you will find out, degus are just plain weird, lol. Her sand bath sounds deep enough, if it were too deep she would soon lower the level but kicking sand all over the place. She could be on heat when she's rolling. In my opinion, it's never too late to introduce a degu friend, but there's no guarantee that it's the right degu, if that makes sense. They are highly intelligent and just like people, don't always get along. At 15 months, she is still in adolescence so her hormones will still be all over the place. I would wait a couple of months before looking for a companion. We can help with what to look for and what to do when the times right. The most important things to get right at the start is her cage and her diet. What are you currently feeding? Does she have access to forage and hay at all times? Also, is there anything plastic in her cage? Degus are expert chewers so can get through plastic incredibly quickly. To help prevent this, make sure as much as possible is metal (trays etc) and offer safe woods to chew. She needs to chew as her teeth will be continually grow at the rate of 1mm per day. If you got her from a pet shop, I would check to make sure she is definitely female as mistakes have been made in the past. My girl Reggie was sold to me as a boy, good job I didn't introduce her to my boy Dixie before I checked. Ahh ok that’s fantastic to hear that it’s never too late. Hopefully I will be able to find a partner for he when the time come. She has a lot of hay to play in but I haven’t had a chance to set up a place to forage. I didn’t want to get all up in her cage until she had gotten more acclimated to her surrounding, only read about foraging after I had set up her cage. The only plastic in her cage is her wheel and tub for the hay, everything else is ceramic or metal, or a couple wooden things for her to chew. As for what she is eating I’ll have to look, the store had a brand of specially made food for degu but unfortunately I’m not good at flower names in Japanese so I’m not certain what’s in it. I had a look at the dietary portions of the forum and have started to look into find some of the suggest items. Yeah I’m not certain it’s a female with only the few small flashes of her belly that I’ve seen. I figured once we are able to bond more I’ll be able to check. So far she has spent 6 hours out of her cage with me sitting around with her. She has gotten a lot less skittish already so hopefully we can keep that trend going and I can find out for sure soon
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Post by savvy on Jan 20, 2020 13:04:53 GMT
Sorry, I think I confused you a little, forage refers to food rather than the activity. It sounds like you may have it covered already.
In order to check if she's a she, the best way is to put a few sugar free porridge oats in a glass dish, let her sit in it while she eats the oats and take a photograph from beneath. This way you can get a good look at her genitals. You need to look at the gap between the anus and the cone. Small or no gap, she's a girl, large gap, you have a male. With degus there really isn't any other way to check.
It sounds like you're doing great so far.
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Post by treeofdoom on Jan 20, 2020 14:38:42 GMT
Ahh ok sorry, I remember reading that they like to forage. That’s the next step I guess haha Thanks for the help, put me at ease
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Post by treeofdoom on Jan 20, 2020 15:57:42 GMT
How much water should they be drinking? My lovely new family member has been drinking for 4 min straight now after not drinking all day, was a little worried she didn’t understand she had water.
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Post by savvy on Jan 20, 2020 16:11:08 GMT
Perfectly normal.
They tend to have a big drink a couple of times a day, sometimes once, and only sips if they need it. Drinking usually coincides with having a big feed.
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Post by moletteuk on Jan 20, 2020 16:15:22 GMT
They drink somewhere around 10 to 20ml each day, but it's common for them to do most of the drinking in the evening plus a good drink when they get up. On the other hand excessive drinking and peeing is one of the first signs of diabetes but this is fairly uncommon. Do check there is no type of sugar in her food. What county are you in? (The pet shop should have refused to split the degus into singles, not that that is your fault) Here is our beginner's guide deguworld.proboards.com/thread/19754/beginners-guide-degu-keepingThe scratching and throwing herself on the ground may or may not be a problem. Self grooming is a common activity but they usually do it in a fairly calm manor although they can get quite focussed on it. They do 'bathe' by writhing on their back in sand or they may do it in substrate if they aren't used to sand. So the difference in it being normal or a sign of a problem like a fungal infection or mites is mainly the urgency with which they are doing the behaviour. If it doesn't calm down as she settles in then you might need to think about it being a problem. Look out for any skin redness in the meantime.
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Post by deguconvert on Jan 20, 2020 18:29:13 GMT
Hello, Treeofdoom, and welcome to the forum!
Teeth chattering is a frequent activity. They do it in almost every instance. They go through phases where it is all the time, and then when it is less. The only way to know if the chattering is the result of anger is to see and understand the rest of their body language. Anger will also be expressed through foot stomping (hind foot), tail waggling, and even growling. Contentment, sleepy looking eyes and relaxed body. Anxiety . . . jumpy movements and hiding. Not feeling well, body curled up and fur fluffed out. Those are a few of the common ones that are right at the top of my head.
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Post by bouncy on Jan 21, 2020 10:48:29 GMT
Hello! Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of degus! The others have said it all, so just a few important rules: 1. You are not in charge 2. It doesn't matter where you put anything in the cage, it's wrong, and you must accept it 3. You will be disturbed by random barking at any time of the day or night 4. Degus have a plan for world Domination (PWD). Be prepared! 5. You are NOT in charge
Being a lone degu, you may find she likes extra scratches, handling, and strokes, because she can't get them from another degu yet.
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Post by savvy on Jan 21, 2020 12:26:32 GMT
Hello! Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of degus! The others have said it all, so just a few important rules: 1. You are not in charge 2. It doesn't matter where you put anything in the cage, it's wrong, and you must accept it 3. You will be disturbed by random barking at any time of the day or night 4. Degus have a plan for world Domination (PWD). Be prepared! 5. You are NOT in charge Being a lone degu, you may find she likes extra scratches, handling, and strokes, because she can't get them from another degu yet. You forgot to mention that you are REALLY NOT in charge, lol.
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Post by kikgoos on Jan 21, 2020 13:52:56 GMT
Hello! Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of degus! The others have said it all, so just a few important rules: 1. You are not in charge 2. It doesn't matter where you put anything in the cage, it's wrong, and you must accept it 3. You will be disturbed by random barking at any time of the day or night 4. Degus have a plan for world Domination (PWD). Be prepared! 5. You are NOT in charge Being a lone degu, you may find she likes extra scratches, handling, and strokes, because she can't get them from another degu yet. You forgot to mention that you are REALLY NOT in charge, lol. Loving this whole thing haha xx
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Post by bouncy on Jan 21, 2020 14:40:15 GMT
kikgoos you really have to meet Spidey to know who's in charge lol
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Post by kikgoos on Jan 21, 2020 14:45:55 GMT
kikgoos you really have to meet Spidey to know who's in charge lol I do love a bossy little goo lol! Xx
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Post by bouncy on Jan 21, 2020 14:52:55 GMT
Have a look at the videos in the mischief and mayhem thread.......
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Post by kikgoos on Jan 21, 2020 16:48:12 GMT
Have a look at the videos in the mischief and mayhem thread....... Oh my hahaha. A determined little furball eh? Love the videos, great space for them to play too. I'm trying to goo proof my living room at the moment. Only Larry comes out to play in that room at the moment because me and the girls aren't firm handling friends yet. Loves a bit of hide and seek haha. Xx imgur.com/gallery/chTvqra
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