Male and Female Reproductive Behaviour

[savvy]

Bit of a strange question this, but....

Does anyone know if the presence of an unneutered male degu induces a female degu to come on heat?  

I have read somewhere that female degus form a membrane to hold semen in place following mating until they are fertile, but does the presence of an unneutered male affect their reproductive behaviour?

[deguconvert]

Hmmm . . . I wouldn't think so . . . they have a 21 day cycle, and it is my hope that their bodies would hold to it. However, if an intact female cat is not mated, her heats begin to come on faster and faster. We had not spayed our female cat, but became desperate to do so as she seemed to be in unending heat, constantly calling and yowling. It was hard on her and on us. So . . . can that happen with female degus? I don't really know, but it hasn't been reported. When I had male and female degus in the same room but in separate cages, I didn't see any increase in heat frequency or expression.

Are you seeing changes in Reggie?

[savvy]

Yeah, her cycle seems to be a lot shorter than 21 days, also I've noticed that if I give her a cuddle (her cuddle spot is the ledge next to Dixie's bed) she's showing signs of being in heat within a couple of days. I only handle her through the top bars with gentle strokes to the top of her head, behind her ears and along her back.

I do wash my hands before handling so I don't transfer scents, but it's intriguing and got me wondering if degus grooming each other was more important than we realised.

[moletteuk]

I seem to recall reading that female degus don't come into heat without males around. Now we know that is clearly nonsense, but it does make me wonder if their cycles are stronger or different when males are around.

[savvy]

It would make sense, especially if it's an unneutered male as his scent would be stronger as neutering changes the pheromones.

[savvy]

Now Dixie is feeling a bit better, I can add to this somewhat.

Earlier I was giving Reggie her usual cuddle, only for a bit longer than normal. She was loving it, rolled over for me to get to her tummy, but it was when I was near her mouth that I heard Dixie shoot up to the top of the cage and squeak loudly just as he does when she's on heat.

I'm getting more and more convinced that degus grooming is about pheromones as well as bonding.

[deguconvert]

Very interesting!! They, like many other animals, probably do have pheromone pouches near their mouths!