When do I start counting??

[april]

Hi all!
looking for your advice again. Can anyone tell me do degus stop mating once they know they're pregnant? Sounds stupid I know but my two, who ,I think are still a bit on the young side to be procreating appear to be mating every so often ( well, I don't monitor them 24 hours!) and I hear that post mating call after every time.Just wondering if I should start the 90 countdown now, or just wait for some other obvious sign ,like pregnant belly arrival? ;D

[diet otaku]

the 90 days starts with that mating call. i'm not an expert on reproduction, but they could be mating even during pregnancy. so you'd actually want to chart each time you heard the mating call and mark 90 days from each one, so if the first due date comes around with no babies, you know when to expect the next due date.

[april]

Thanks,really appreciate your imput. So could be due around Christmas at the earliest, will keep you posted!

[Sunshinemeg]

ooo, a christmas litter, that would be sooo sweet!

[Aimeelou]

Hi April!
Degus wont stop mating right up until she gives birth! Like Diet said, she might not be pregnant at the moment,as the can mature sexualy a differant times, but they will sure have a good go at trying!
Your male will do the mating call/brag about what hes done for quite a while (normaly to announce to the rest of the collony in the wild) and ive even none Taco to do this for around three hours! Granted he did sort of nod of in between! He will continue to mate with her for as how long she will let him, and he will only give it a rest when he is satisfied that she is pregnant.
Females dont have seasons as such, but are more fertile at around every 30 days. So the chances are if hes "doing it now" the wont try again till next month.
I hope we do get some Christmas babys!

[Sunshinemeg]

aimeelou said:

They will sure have a good go at trying!

hahahahahha

good old degus, always determined!

[april]

Hi
Just thought I'd give you all an update. Despite the frequent "mating calls" there's still no sign of any baby degus in my house! It's almost 4 months since I emailed first about this but the last few weeks I've noticed that Chilli (female ) is now bigger than Nacho (male) to the point that I keep calling them the wrong name,not that they notice, I think!! Also, Nacho lets her at the food first, which never happened before! Was wondering if any other owners noticed that that happened with their degus? It's got to the stage that he won't accept any treats ( they don't get many) unless he's sure she's had some first. Will keep you all updated as am thinking there'll be news on the baby front in the near future. Am fully expecting it to happen now as am in the middle of moving house so as the saying goes " It never rains but it pours"!!

[rupe]

wow its so exciting!! i've never seen real live baby degus, only photos but they look amazing!! hope your two wait til you are settled in you new place first!!