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Post by deguconvert on Oct 15, 2021 18:53:59 GMT
I have to run and do some other things but I'll try and answer some things quickly. -You can touch the pups without fear. This will not disrupt their relationship with the mother and aunt, and it will not inhibit their development. -I would count the pups once you know they are arrived or arriving. You need to be very familiar with how many there are, and I would recommend counting them every time you are near the cage. They escape easily, or they get lost in the cage and need help, or one may not be thriving and needs help. When we had pups in the house, I was frequently counting them, even when they were much older, because they DID escape so very well. LOL! That would tell me that I needed to look at the cages for where they had made a way out and fix it, and I needed to go find them so that nothing bad happened to them. -If you see a pup wandering in the cage, touch it to see if if it cool . . . if it is cool warm it in your hands and return it to the nest. They are unable to self regulate their body temperature until they are at least four weeks of age, so require outside sources to help them stay warm. Like their Mom and aunt. They are more curious than wise, and will get chilled in their explorations, but may not know to return to the nest to warm up. -Since your girl is very near to delivery, I wouldn't leave the cage open to her . . . she may well deliver when down there and then even if you are home, you may not know there are pups wandering around. -Don't worry about cleaning the nest once the pups are born. Leave it for a few days and then start taking bits out and replacing them. Don't do the whole thing at once. -Pups will wean around the 4 week mark, but will start nibbling on solid foods by the end of their first week. -Do not separate pups from Mom until 6 weeks of age. -If you don't know how to identify male and female degus, start looking at the photos now, because at 6 weeks of age you will need to separate your male pups from all the females. deguworld.proboards.com/thread/13070/degusThat's all I can think of right now, and really must run. If you have questions, please, please do ask. Different topic . . . but the cage that their previous owner had them in, going on the dimensions you posted, was dismally small, not even big enough to adequately house one degu, let alone three. I don't know if you have read this . . . but we have a cage size recommendation that we follow, and that we recommend. We know that spatial availability in each home is different, as well as finances, etc. so we do our best to work with our members and not against them. However, the cage sizes often recommended in stores and on many other sites, are often way to small for what is actually needed. Here is a link, if you are interested to look. deguworld.proboards.com/thread/9396/forums-cage-size-recommendations
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lindie
Foraging Degu
Posts: 107
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Post by lindie on Oct 18, 2021 14:36:56 GMT
deguconvert thanks for the list, I think I am ready!
I know about the cage recommendations. I used it when calculating how many degus I can keep(Recommended cage size) in my Tiny house. I will have space for 6 critter nation cages (2 double critter nations side by side, with both an add-on unit). I would love to keep some, and if possible all of the babies (yeah, I'm that crazy about my animals, they bring me so much joy). Friday I am going to pick up a second-hand single critter nation, so I'm slowly starting to collect all the cages.
Back to the pregnancy. Yesterday I weighed Remi and her weight was 309 grams!! which is 105 grams more than Ethel. And Ethel was around 15 grams heavier when I got them. Her belly has also grown a lot. So my guess is that the babies are born this week.
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Post by teemu on Oct 18, 2021 14:50:02 GMT
Ooh, it does sound like the time is approaching fast! When the pregnancy starts to show like that, she's really preparing for delivery. Very exciting!
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Post by bouncy on Oct 18, 2021 18:21:58 GMT
You may need to step up the cage acquisition - you have a ready solution for any male pups, because they can move in with dad, but space is vital. One of our members found that a cage mate started attacking the pups after six or seven weeks because the space was cramped.
I really do hope you can keep them all!
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lindie
Foraging Degu
Posts: 107
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Post by lindie on Oct 19, 2021 10:56:10 GMT
You may need to step up the cage acquisition - you have a ready solution for any male pups, because they can move in with dad, but space is vital. One of our members found that a cage mate started attacking the pups after six or seven weeks because the space was cramped. I really do hope you can keep them all! I have rehomed the dad, So any the male pups will have to start their own herd. If I can't find the cages second hand in time I will buy new ones. But I'm not sure if the cages will fit in my bed room, or if my parents will allow it. So the male pups might have to stay in case that is not big enough for a month
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lindie
Foraging Degu
Posts: 107
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Post by lindie on Oct 21, 2021 6:46:59 GMT
The babies were born tonight! And most important, mum and the babies seem to be healthy and are doing well! Remi seems like a very good mum, I haven't seen her out of her nest yet, except when see took a treat from me. She also doesn't look very skinny which I am very happy about! When I peeked inside their nest the babies looked healthy and alert, I tried counting them, but this was not really possible because Remi wouldn't move away from the babies (I'm so glad that she did this, she seems like a very good mum, ) I counted 4 babies, but since Remi covered them, I guess there are 5-6 babies. The babies have not gone out of the nest yet.
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Post by deguconvert on Oct 21, 2021 7:43:41 GMT
Congratulations!! I was thinking they would be born this week, and really did think they would be born before the weekend. SO thankful they are safely arrived and all are looking good!!
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Post by savvy on Oct 21, 2021 8:22:25 GMT
Congratulations and well done Remi.
Now the fun begins.
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Post by teemu on Oct 21, 2021 10:51:23 GMT
That's great! Do keep us posted, this is very exciting!
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lindie
Foraging Degu
Posts: 107
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Post by lindie on Oct 22, 2021 12:30:06 GMT
The babbies are doing well. Remi had 5 babies, 2 blue unicolor, 1 agouti unicolor & 2 blue piebald babies with only a little stripe on their heads. I weighed them today and they weigh between 15 -19 grams. I also checked to see how many boys and girls there are, I think 3 boys and 2 girls (I checked really really quickly, so I am not sure).
Today a few of the babies started exploring, they know their way back to the nest very well, and are only gone for 30 seconds at a time.
Although Ethel helps Remi with the babies, she is still quite bored during the day, which she is expressing through chewing a lot, climbing the bars, climbing on my hands (which she normally never does). Yesterday I let her free roam around my room, I have also put her in the lower cage with the wheel a few times so she can run in the wheel.
I also finally found the SAB seed mix (yeey). It arrived yesterday, but my degus don't really eat it.... Ethel ignores it completely and Remi will take a few of the larger seeds from my hand, but that is it. I ordered a kg, so I hope they change their mind or that the babies enjoy it when they are older. Otherwise, I will donate it to a rescue.
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Post by savvy on Oct 22, 2021 12:42:22 GMT
That's a nice size litter and a good mix, 3 boys will make a nice group and the two girls could stay with mum and auntie making a group of four.
If you leave a few seeds in the cage, where you normally feed them, they will start to associate them with food as opposed to a treat. I know mine tend to have foraging sessions where they set up camp on the food pile for a few minutes. Remi will not want to leave the pups for too long just yet, but this will change as they grow and start to explore.
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Post by teemu on Oct 22, 2021 13:41:38 GMT
Sounds like things are going well How do the babies react to you when they see you, or when you handle them? Are they mostly clueless about you, or afraid, or curious? It's intresting, since degu babies are so very capable from birth. They have to do a lot of thinking as soon as they're born. Giving Ethel a lot of opportunities for playtime is a good call. There's no harm in her getting to run in the wheel or roam around, after all.
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Post by deguconvert on Oct 22, 2021 18:19:05 GMT
Remi may be appreciative of a 5 minute break on the wheel on occasion as well.
You're pups sound lovely!!
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lindie
Foraging Degu
Posts: 107
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Post by lindie on Oct 26, 2021 14:57:20 GMT
A little update here, The babies are doing very well. I even think Remi accidentally created babies WITH BRAINS because the babies are most of the the time in the nest, and come out a few times per day for +- 30 seconds at a time. When they are out they explore the cage, find little souvenirs like poo, pieces of hay or bedding back to the nest. When they are done they run back to the nest, they know how to get to the nest very well. Mum and aunt have never needed to help a baby get back to the nest (I'm not even sure, they know how to get a baby back in the nest). I have never lost a baby. I don't know how the babies are so well behaved since mum and aunt are not that well behaved, they are bored. They chew the cardboard and clime the bars. Ethel is not as bored anymore since I started taking her out of the cage 2 times per day to let her run in her wheel for a 1-2 hours. In the evening they also free roam around my room for half an hour (Ethel usual longer, because she has no babies to feed). Remi still cares well for the babies, she feeds them often, reorganizes the toilet paper in the nest a few times per day to create the perfect cozy place for her babies and during the night all the goo's sleep together in the nest, but during the day the babies are regularly alone in the nest for 20 minutes while mum and aunt are foraging or being naughty, or just sitting outside. Remi is also very hungry all of the time, so I feed her some extra sun flower/pumpkin seeds and oats so she can gain some weight. The babies are not scared of me, when I open the nest to check they sniff my hand or continue sleeping. When they are out of the nest they get easily spooked by noised or movement and run back to the nest. But when mum is taking treats from my hand and they come over to mum they are not scared of my hand and one baby even put her little paws on my finger. I check every morning, noon and evening if they are all in the nest (I can lift up the top of the nest). I have taken them out of the nest once to make pictures (I put them in a bin with a warm blanket), I have weighted them and checked genders once, and 5-6 times I picked 1 baby up to show them to someone. Other than that I don't interact with them. So I was wondering when I can interact more with them to socialize them? I uploaded baby pictures to flickr: flic.kr/ps/3XxPhA
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Post by bouncy on Oct 26, 2021 17:19:16 GMT
I LOVE the dipstick tail!
The ones in the photos almost look like they're blues, although that could be my eyes and phone screen....
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Post by deguconvert on Oct 26, 2021 19:31:32 GMT
Your photos and video are LOVELY! The pups look like they are doing really well! You're doing a great job, Lindie!
I'm going to suggest that you get a second water bottle (if the one in the video is the only one you have?) and that you place it at a lower height. The pups will be starting to nibble on hard foods a bit, and they will be starting to taste and drink a little water. The bottle you have in the cage is too high for them to be able to do that. I suggest a second one because the one that you have in there now is a good height for momma and auntie goos, and you want to keep it at a height that is comfortable for them. The pups need one that is much lower for them to begin to learn about and use. You may well see the older degus drinking from it on occasion, which isn't a problem. I expect they will prefer the higher one for the most part. HOWEVER . . . degus are inclined to throw curve balls just to keep us alert and ready to change plans, so you might see them preferring the lower water bottle. LOL!
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Post by teemu on Oct 26, 2021 19:55:45 GMT
Ooh, pretty babies! They are so incredibly small, but already abroad and curious
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lindie
Foraging Degu
Posts: 107
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Post by lindie on Oct 27, 2021 9:53:58 GMT
I LOVE the dipstick tail! The ones in the photos almost look like they're blues, although that could be my eyes and phone screen.... what is a dipstick tail?? and yep there are blue babies! The dad is a solid colored blue degu. And I am 99% sure Ethel is Remi's sister, and she is a Blue piebald. So I guess Remi also had 1 blue gene which meant she could have blue and agouti babies with the dad. She had 1 solid color agouti, 2 piebald blue's with only a tiny white spot on their heads, and 2 solid blue's. I'm lucky that I can separate the 2 blue babies because on is a girl, and the other one is a boy. The same with the blue piebald babies, one is a girl the other one is a boy. Here is a picture of the dad btw.
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Post by teemu on Oct 27, 2021 10:04:16 GMT
I think the "dipstick tail" refers to the fact that their tails don't have the poofy hair brush at the end yet
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lindie
Foraging Degu
Posts: 107
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Post by lindie on Oct 27, 2021 10:18:55 GMT
Your photos and video are LOVELY! The pups look like they are doing really well! You're doing a great job, Lindie! I'm going to suggest that you get a second water bottle (if the one in the video is the only one you have?) and that you place it at a lower height. The pups will be starting to nibble on hard foods a bit, and they will be starting to taste and drink a little water. The bottle you have in the cage is too high for them to be able to do that. I suggest a second one because the one that you have in there now is a good height for momma and auntie goos, and you want to keep it at a height that is comfortable for them. The pups need one that is much lower for them to begin to learn about and use. You may well see the older degus drinking from it on occasion, which isn't a problem. I expect they will prefer the higher one for the most part. HOWEVER . . . degus are inclined to throw curve balls just to keep us alert and ready to change plans, so you might see them preferring the lower water bottle. LOL! I will fix the water bottle situation today. I had 3 bottles in the cage, I normally always have backup bottles for all animals. But since the degus refused to drink out of the other two bottles, and only my guinea pig bottles have holders to hang the bottles on the inside of the cage which I needed because of the cardboard. I stole one of the holders from my guinea pig boys for the degu bottle, since they also only use one bottle. But my girls do use both the bottles so I can't steal another holder from them. I will try to make some new holders today, or order glass water bottles for my degus (my guinea pigs love the glass) Oh, and I ordered plexiglas this weekend, as litter guards for the cages, and also for the levels (since my degus sometimes stick their tails through the bars when they are on the levels, and my dog would grab the tails if he could ) The pieces I ordered are only 10 cm high (since they don't need to be higher for their main purpose). But I am going to put multiple on the doors to replace the cardboard so that the babies can look out of the cage and get used to seeing humans and dogs. (And I can see them better ) I also emailed tictacwheels to order a 16 inch wheel for Ethel (she is literally addicted to her wheel) and since she runs so much in it, I think she would really appreciate a wheel in which her tail also fits comfortably (she now has the 12 inch wheel). I was also wondering how many wheels I would need for the 2 cages. Would it be enough to have 1 wheel per cage (2 degus can run at the same time) Or should I order 2 16 inch wheels so that the girls can have 2 wheels, and the boys 1 wheel. But this would be expensive since I think I need the stands for the 16 inch wheel because the 12 inch wheel already shakes the cage when the goos run in it. And I also wouldn't know if Ethel would let the babies have a turn in the wheel since she is so addicted to her wheel. So what would you recommand? and how many wheel do most people have for their goos?
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