Introducing Degus has shocked and upset us.

[qualit]

Hi all!

I want to say that this place is amazing! I've read so much helpful stuff since being here and I appreciate the community and support you have with each other!

That being said, My Gf and I wanted to adopt 2 new degus (both not neutered and both 16 weeks old). We currently have had 3 degus for 6 months who are ~3 years old all neutered.



She read some advice where you need to keep all the degus in a small cage (ours was 30cm long by 25cm wide and 20cm deep (12inches by 10 by 8 for inch people) and they bond for 2 days.

They were doing ok for the first 10 minutes but then the fighting started. They started getting too physical and one of the 16 week old ones has a bloody paw and my girlfriend and I are upset that we might've made him quite scared. They're rescue ones and we thought we would try and find homes for them.


The one with the paw is sitting in a cage with his brother and the the other 3 are in the lower half (sealed off)



Will his paw be ok? He's not haemorrhaging blood, but he's sat in a corner looking quite defeated. Does this mean they're not compatible?



Many apologies for the format, we're quite shell-shocked about the incidents and are new to this. We care about all of them and just want one happy degu family.

[savvy]

Welcome to the forum, I'm sorry to hear about the problems you've been experiencing.

First of all, introductions need to be done very slowly, and with both groups of degus in separate large cages, that are side by side. Forcing them into a small cage will cause fighting and death. I'm sorry to be so blunt, but you have been given the wrong information entirely. Please read our guide as to the best way to introduce degus. deguworld.proboards.com/thread/17618/introductions-fighting-quick-guide deguworld.proboards.com/thread/17619/deguconverts-detailed-introductions-fighting-guide

Intros can take many weeks, but it doesn't mean they are not compatible.

Keep an eye on his injured paw, look out for signs of swelling, redness, hot to the touch, etc. You could bathe it with a cotton bud dipped in some cooled boiled salt water to make sure its clean. Also remove the sand bath as you don't want sand getting in the wound.

He is probably feeling a little sorry for himself right now, so extra treats wouldn't go amiss.

Can you please tell us what cages you currently have? You will need a very big one for a large group of degus.

Degus are a very steep learning curve, so please ask as many questions as you need to, there are no silly ones when it comes to degus.

You will need to keep each group separate until they have been properly introduced.

[qualit]

Thank you very much!

We did think something was amiss when they started fighting but being the novices we are, we expected some fighting but not a lot. Your bluntness was warranted as we injured our precious degu, we will learn from this and we want to be the best we can for them.

The cage we currently have is a Savic Suite royal 95 (Navy blue, has multiple floors) and that has housed our 3, 3 year olds for ~6months without issue. They never fight. 2 are quite adventurous and cheeky, whilst the 3rd is more timid and shy. I have trained 2 to sit on my hand through operant conditioning but the 3rd will only eat off my hand. Surprisingly, it was the 3rd timid one who was the most aggressive, which we were shocked about.

We will monitor it for sure, I saw a few posts on here advising the same thing. He is beginning to walk on it a bit more but keeps it curled up when he doesn't need to. It's not actively bleeding either poor kit.

I would like to thank you for the advice and I promise that we will do better with them.

[savvy]

We were all beginners once and it takes time to learn all about degus so don't feel too bad, we all make mistakes at the beginning.

Do you have a snugglesafe you could put in with the injured one? This will help him get cosy and encourage him to rest and recover. It quite common for degus to keep a front paw lifted when they are resting and as long as he is using it, that's a good sign.

We would love to hear more about your adorable little fluffs, so please let us know how you are getting on.

[moletteuk]

Hi Qualit, welcome to the forum.

If you have any concerns about the sore paw I would get it checked out by a vet. If he is using it some of the time that would be a good sign. I don't know what country you are in but we have vet recommendations for much of the UK deguworld.proboards.com/thread/15521/vet-guide?page=1

It's best to have degus live side by side for a while before introductions. You may be able to make an extra level in your cage and then split that level so that they can meet face to face but with mesh (or double layer mesh) in between them, but it does require a fair bit of modification to the cage. I think it may be worth considering getting another cage so that everyone has plenty of space while they get used to each other, I wouldn't recommend 5 degus long term in a Savic Royal 95 anyway, so food for thought there.

I'm going to link you to our beginners guide and we also have guides for every topic in the sticky threads of each board deguworld.proboards.com/thread/19754/beginners-guide-degu-keeping

[deguconvert]

Hello Qualit, and welcome to the forum!!

It is always distressing when our degus have a falling out, or all out war. Introductions are not easy, and often are far from a straight line path from starting point to end point. In fact, sometimes it's more like navigating a maze with hidden hazards. However, the better you know your degus, the more you get a feel for what their individual and group rhythms are, the better you get at directing the flow of things, or helping them past difficulties and healing relationships. In many ways, we are degu therapists. ROFL!

Just from what you have said above, I'm guessing that the timid boy of your original group is either A. the dominant degu of the three and was repelling the intruders, or B. he is the bottom of the hierarchy and was defending his position. Either way, he is now going to be on hyper alert for the younger boys and will not be welcoming. Degus are grudge holders.

Like Moletteuk, I advise having a second Savic Royal 95 for your two groups.

Take time getting to know, building bonds, trust, and love, with all your degus. The better they know and trust you, the better you will be able to work with them. If it is your desire to incorporate the two young ones with the three established ones, throw time lines for having it accomplished out the window. Degus have a very different way of going about things and their social ways are decidedly more . . . blunt . . . than are human ways. And they are fickle and unpredictable . . . just when we think we have things clinched and signed, they find another clause they want to bicker about. That means . . . you need to give yourselves a whole lot of grace to take time and go slowly and realize that there is NO WAY you can have all the answers. You really just have to go with the flow.

Now that I've said all that . . . we don't have all the answers either, but we do have a lot of experience and are very happy to offer as much help, encouragement, and ideas as you are willing to hear. Don't be afraid to come on and have a rant, or a cry, or a celebration . . . we'll be here with you! We will be glad to get to know you, and through you, also get to know your degus.

Again . . . welcome here!!