Alone Degu

[willyfrancis]

Good Morning! I need to find a friend to my male degu of 6 months! Do you think that a degu of 6 months can stay with a male degu? It's better younger? Or it's better a female and sterilized him?
Thank you

[bouncy]

Hi, it depends a lot on personalities!

He may appreciate a couple of pups to adopt and look after. If they're young enough, you may find he takes to them straight away, or quickly, but there's no guarantee. Likewise, a female may be best, but that depends on your boy too, and whether he's healthy enough to undergo the surgery to be neutered. Have a look around. Most vets won't neuter a goo until they reach 12 months!

[moletteuk]

You could also consider a male or two males over 18 months so that they are fully adult and have fewer hormones surging and making them keen to be dominant.

[willyfrancis]

Thank you very much for your advises!
About the personality: he is very lovely with me and he's really brave. I adopted him with some scars on his back for the stitching because the father bited him (I guess for that he is not so timoumerous and submissive).
And if I adopt a baby boy instead of two?
I'm scarry about adopt a little male degu( or two) for the possibility if one of them will become dominants?
About the sterilization before 12 months is it dangerous for him?

[deguconvert]

It is not good to neuter before a year of age because they need all of that hormone for their full development, skeletally and muscularly. It is actually something that is also being observed a lot in other small animals like cats and dogs that are neutered before a year of age.

The idea of adopting two male pups is that with a group of three there is usually better stability, and should one die prematurely then at least there are two left to keep each other company. As for the dominance thing, even if you have three males that are all low ranking degus and not inclined to dominance, someone in that group has to be top of the pecking order. So dominance will still have to be established.

For some groups that will happen quickly and with "reasonably" low amounts of struggle . . . I say reasonably because there will be some fighting, and even if it is actually quite tame, to us humans, it looks scary violent. Degus box, wrestle, hump, chase, kick, shout, bounce off the walls of the cage and each other, almost as a regular course of the day. Especially during the first 18 - 24 months of their lives. Most of the time, like 80 - 90%, there is no serious and/or life threatening injury. We have to kind of get used to seeing this and thinking of it as "normal" for degus.

Willyfrancis. . . have you read through our Fighting and Introductions guide? I think I will link you with one so that you can read the descriptions and know what you are facing . . . not to discourage you, but to help you be more at ease with what may/will happen. I want to add to this . . . we will be right there with you. As much as you involve us in what is going on a daily basis, even hourly, with your introductions, we will try to guide and encourage you through it.

deguworld.proboards.com/thread/17619/deguconverts-detailed-introductions-fighting-guide
deguworld.proboards.com/thread/17618/introductions-fighting-quick-guide

ALSO . . . it is really important to have a cage that is appropriate for the number of degus you will have . . . cage size makes a huge impact on the stability and peace of any group of degus. AND you need to have a separate cage for whomever you bring home to introduce to your current boy, because you can't just throw them into his cage right off the bat. That isn't safe for any of them.

I hope this helps. DON'T be shy about questions, love. Ask them. Ask all of them. We've been where you are, and we know how much it helps to have the freedom to ask what is on your mind. We're here to help!

[moletteuk]

Unless you find another degu who is already single, it is best to get another pair in my opinion. Then if the introduction doesn't work out you haven't doubled your problem.