rugoo
Warbling Degu
Posts: 35
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Post by rugoo on Jul 27, 2023 21:39:18 GMT
Had my degus share the whole cage for the first time today. my eldest, scout, is a rescue and he’s arthritic, partially blind in one eye, and has a couple broken fingers. he’s also been alone his entire life. on the other hand, my youngest, kirby, is a rescue who was found with two other degus who were dumped. the two of them were practically surrendered to me. they had never interacted until i got them.
today, they started off super excited to finally be able to touch each other. grooming, warbling, and playing. this went on for maybe an hour? kirby started to get a little pushy, scout had no problem standing his ground and sending him off. i was pretty happy with how things were going. then they started “slapping” like rats do. which was fine, they weren’t hurting each other and it only lasted a couple seconds. then after a couple slapping sessions it quickly turned into the “fur ball of death.” scout ran off and i separated the two instantly. nobody is injured, but Scout kept squeaking for a while. he’s very mouthy so i’m not extremely worried. he’s now trying to take a nap.
the reason i’m coming to this forum is for advice moving forward? i’ve been told that the likelihood of these two being housed together permanently is unlikely, but i want to do everything i can to try!
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rugoo
Warbling Degu
Posts: 35
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Post by rugoo on Jul 27, 2023 22:27:02 GMT
Had my degus share the whole cage for the first time today. my eldest, scout, is a rescue and he’s arthritic, partially blind in one eye, and has a couple broken fingers. he’s also been alone his entire life. on the other hand, my youngest, kirby, is a rescue who was found with two other degus who were dumped. the two of them were practically surrendered to me. they had never interacted until i got them. today, they started off super excited to finally be able to touch each other. grooming, warbling, and playing. this went on for maybe an hour? kirby started to get a little pushy, scout had no problem standing his ground and sending him off. i was pretty happy with how things were going. then they started “slapping” like rats do. which was fine, they weren’t hurting each other and it only lasted a couple seconds. then after a couple slapping sessions it quickly turned into the “fur ball of death.” scout ran off and i separated the two instantly. nobody is injured, but Scout kept squeaking for a while. he’s very mouthy so i’m not extremely worried. he’s now trying to take a nap. the reason i’m coming to this forum is for advice moving forward? i’ve been told that the likelihood of these two being housed together permanently is unlikely, but i want to do everything i can to try! update: looking closer at the two, scout had a cut under his eye. it’s a decent size, about the size of his eye actually. it’s on the side he can’t see. i feel awful. the cut isn’t very deep, and blood isn’t getting anywhere. i tried to wipe it with a paper towel but he made it clear he didn’t want anything near his eye. i offered him some oats to make sure he’s eating fine, which he happily ate. i’ll keep an eye on it and keep his cage extra clean so it doesn’t get infected. i have saline i has used on a hamster i had with an open wound and i intend to use that if it gets worse.  |
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Post by savvy on Jul 27, 2023 23:00:10 GMT
Don't feel bad, it happens and you separated them quickly.
With degu intros it can be two steps forwards and one back. Go back to where they are comfortable, which is what you were doing before they tried sharing a cage. They will need to cool their tempers and degus are Olympic standard grudge bearers, so it may take a while longer than planned to get them together. But we can advise further down the line on what to do next, at the moment they need to calm down and heal.
In regards to Scouts injury, use a cotton bud dipped in cooled boiled salt water to bathe it at a distance, there's less chance of an accidental nip if he's feeling a bit fractious. Also remove his sand bath to help prevent infection.
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Post by teemu on Jul 28, 2023 1:08:12 GMT
These things are always unpleasant and distressing, but I agree that you handled the situation very well and prevented any serious injuries from happening. These things happen, and now you know that they're not yet fine with actually cohabiting (and as Savvy says, likely not fine to meet again for some time). Something like this is pretty normal in the end, so don't feel too dejected over it; degus in a similar situation have been introduced successfully, and most introduction periods have their bumpy moments. It feels awful when a situation that seemed really good suddenly turns ugly like this, but it's just their way of reacting to what is also a very stressful situation for them.
Degus that have spent a long time alone seem to sometimes be difficult to integrate in with others. They are used to having the run of the place and not having to really consider others in their life. As you've seen, they still really appreciate opportunities to not be alone, but it can take them a long time to actually become comfortable and used to things being different again. I have such a degu, and with introduction periods (he's had to have multiple cagemates over his life) it seems that the main thing is to allow him enough time to come to terms with the situation.
Though, it is of course possible that Scout is not as socially awkward. Most degus are in any case not naturally given to just integrating with strangers, and it can take a long time for them to decide that they're fine with it. But when it happens, it can happen surprisingly suddenly.
For now, take things easy and just observe their behavior for some time. How close are the cages to each other? Depending on how they're feeling, it may be good to give them some more space (if they're very close) if they look distressed or begrudging about each other. Make sure that both of them know that they're still safe and nothing has changed for them, and maybe give both an extra treat. They may have gotten a bit of a bad impression about each other, but helping them calm down will make it easier to forgive the scuffle.
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Post by bouncy on Jul 28, 2023 18:07:53 GMT
Don't stress! You've done very well! Just give them a couple of days alone, then try putting their cages near each other again. Take your cue from them  Degus are very capable of injuring themselves without our intervention! One of mine was trodden on by another whilst asleep within 24hrs of me bringing him home. Four years on, he's still got a scar under his eye! Just keep an eye on the wound for any signs of infection. |
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