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Post by degugranni on Jul 6, 2006 14:47:40 GMT
hi. My 13 yo daughter bought two female degus the end of May from a local petstore (I am in Indianapolis, IN). she woke up sunday morning to find 8 babies in the cage. So I promptly got online and did some searching and found out it was preggars when she bought it. I joined this forum as degugranni so I can ask questions for her. today I went to check on the babies and found at least 7 more! Mommas aren't very happy with us poking around so for now we are leaving them alone. A few questions I have not seen answered yet, my daughter is wondering how soon do the babies need to get into the dust? And this morning one of the "older" babes got on the wheel with Momma and just went around and around (thankfully it held on with it's little claws) while Momma exercised, is that OK? Should my daughter remove the wheel? Any other advice would be appreciated. and if anybody lives close to Indianapolis and would like a baby let us know!
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Post by ra on Jul 6, 2006 18:12:40 GMT
What kind of wheel do you have? If it's closed I would think it would be ok but if it's an open wire type wheel I would remove it. The open wheels aren't safe even for adults because they can get their little toes and tails caught inbetween wires.
As far as the dust goes: don't worry, Just put your Degu dust in for the adults - the babies will explore as they grow. I kept a casserole dish in my Degu's cage all the time - like a little sand pit for her to play in. The babies wandered over when the started getting out and about on their own. Mocha's babies were very precocious and were out and about within five days. According to most that is written the babies become most active after 10 days once they can thermoregulate their own bodies. (Until about 10days they need the warmth of their mom and siblings). I worried endlessly about Mocha's brood. Kept putting them back into the nest box. Mocha was so beside herself not having another Degu mom to help. It all turned out good in the end.
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Post by diet otaku on Jul 6, 2006 19:14:51 GMT
degu babies are more hardy than many other mammals, as they are born with all their fur and claws and their eyes open. they're really like miniature adults when they're born! i'm sure you have your hands full with 2 large litters, but the moms will help each other manage the herd so that everyone is okay. it's best to have a dust bath available at all times so the degus can simply decide when they would like to bathe. the babies will explore the bath when they're ready. try not to worry too much and let nature do the work!
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Post by deguqueen on Jul 16, 2006 10:27:45 GMT
I would suggest that if you have two levels on the cage, if it's possible to keep the wheel on the second level so the babies can't get at it right now. I was concerned about the babies getting squashed in the wheel as well when they managed to get old enough to go exploring upstairs but hankfully nothing happened. You can remove the wheel if you want but maybe you could put it in and supervise for a half hour a day or so. That way the moms can go for a run when they take a break from the kids. The babies also seem to be interested in water as soon as they are ready to explore the cage so it would be a good idea to either get a second water bottle and leave it very low so they can reach or lower it when you see them out so they can get at it.
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