Taming has become harder...

[luke]

I'm really trying hard to tame my degus and for them to get used to my hand! but now they are just to .. curious! All I have to do is put my arm length ways against the door and they will climb onto it and try nibble my nose . That's not the problem.. that's just great!. But.. that is my arm.. not my hand.. Noow if I put my hand in the cage... Nibble.. nibble... BITE.. .. I dont no why .. I wash my hands so they dont smell of food.. But I'll put my hand in and one more than the other.. will just come rite over to it .. look at it .. sniff it move around then nibble .. then give abit of a nasty bite.. Made me bleed twice.. No deep bites.. but hard enough to slip into my skin .. :/ It dosnt hurt but I think I no why, When ever they nibbled me a blew air into their face like the forums said. It didn't work at all.. As soon as I did it he would dash of at speeds un measurable. He wouldnt stop. I'd blow him in the face then he'd dash downstairs then straight back to me! without stopping!? But he then just nibbled me again.. But nibbling is fine.. I dont mind nibbling.. But now I do.. because I cant let them nibble me because if I do.. soon after nibbling comes a bite... They will nibble, nibble.. nibble.. bite.
anywaaay! I think it is because when ever they bit me I would pull my hand away. Not quickly.. just pull it away .. they wouldnt get scared.. but i heard they think I'm a predator if I pull my hand away? so maybe they think they have to like.. eat me or something LOL!?

Any way to fix this?.. I cant really put my hand in and keep it there as one of them will just nibble then bite me.. I dont think he meens to bless him .. but it does hurt..

Oh btw the other one isn't so bad.. he just nibbles and he likes to chew my jumper =) Hes my baby . He's also the shy one.

Sorrry.. so long.. I just want the best for my boys.

Lukey~

EDIT..

After reading on other forums ..

I've only had them since yesterday morning. Maybe he is just scared?? I read that they bite you just literally bite you because there scared.. It seems so weird.. He climbs all over my arm.. dosnt bite it at all... If he gets in contact with my hand .. Nibble.. nibble BITE. I've noticed it's usualy only the fingers, thumb.. and palm. Not really the top of my hand or .. above palm? He still bites my fingers when my palm is facing down but he dosnt bite my .. err I dunno what it is called? Below the fingers.. above the wrist =).

[ra]

I don't think they mean to draw blood. I had the same experience when I first brought Mocha home. I believe they are trying to groom us humans but there are two problems with this: 1. our fragile, thin, hairless skin and 2. their razor sharp teeth. I tried very hard to just put up with the bites unless she became more aggressive. Then I would squeak like they do and withdraw my hand and leave the room. I was very consistent and she learned how hard to "groom" my hand. It really did work. I still have to be cautious because they will try to trim my fingernails and then move onto the skin where it does hurt.

Everything is still very new for both you and your Degus so give it time. Good luck.

[deguconvert]

Congratulations on your new degus! You will enjoy them tons! You need to give yourself a window of time for all of you to get to know each other though. You are building a trust account with them right now, and that will take some time. Although we are new in the degu world ourselves, four months now, we seem to have experienced several different things in that time. One degu was easy to train, another never bites but is very shy, and the third would bite just because! With the third, I have spent I don't know how many hours by the open cage door with treats in my hand, waiting for him (Snug) to get to know me. At first he wouldn't come at all. Then he would grab food and run away. Then he would grab food and sit a couple inches away eating. Then he would eat beside me hand. One day he sat on my hand, but wouldn't tolerate me drawing him out of the cage. That meant instant blood drawing bite. I started to lightly pet his sides while he ate. In a while he came to enjoy that. Then one say he walked up my arm. I thought we had it made!! Then he ran down to my hand, bit my upturned finger and jumped back in the cage. More and more patience was required by me. I was determined that he couldn't be called Snugabug and be so anti-snuggle! Finally, with more eating on the hand, petting while eating, letting him run on my arms and shoulders while keeping my hands palm down so he couldn't get my fingers, the bites came less and less. I noticed that he really liked to crawl inside my sweater, so I let him do that. Somehow that helped build his trust. Now . . . at about the 10 week mark . . . he is finally beginning to enjoy some time with me. At this point he hasn't bitten to draw blood in at least 2 weeks, and is beginning to meet me at the cage door . . . almost eagerly. I'm not counting him as a complete convert, but he is well on his way. FINGERS CROSSED. Be patient with your two. Give them treats and let them initiate the hand contact etc and things should go very well for you all.

Sorry such a LONG winded description. ;-) It's been a long road with "snug socialising."

[Joe Sinclair]

deguconvert said:

Congratulations on your new degus! You will enjoy them tons! You need to give yourself a window of time for all of you to get to know each other though. You are building a trust account with them right now, and that will take some time. Although we are new in the degu world ourselves, four months now, we seem to have experienced several different things in that time. One degu was easy to train, another never bites but is very shy, and the third would bite just because! With the third, I have spent I don't know how many hours by the open cage door with treats in my hand, waiting for him (Snug) to get to know me. At first he wouldn't come at all. Then he would grab food and run away. Then he would grab food and sit a couple inches away eating. Then he would eat beside me hand. One day he sat on my hand, but wouldn't tolerate me drawing him out of the cage. That meant instant blood drawing bite. I started to lightly pet his sides while he ate. In a while he came to enjoy that. Then one say he walked up my arm. I thought we had it made!! Then he ran down to my hand, bit my upturned finger and jumped back in the cage. More and more patience was required by me. I was determined that he couldn't be called Snugabug and be so anti-snuggle! Finally, with more eating on the hand, petting while eating, letting him run on my arms and shoulders while keeping my hands palm down so he couldn't get my fingers, the bites came less and less. I noticed that he really liked to crawl inside my sweater, so I let him do that. Somehow that helped build his trust. Now . . . at about the 10 week mark . . . he is finally beginning to enjoy some time with me. At this point he hasn't bitten to draw blood in at least 2 weeks, and is beginning to meet me at the cage door . . . almost eagerly. I'm not counting him as a complete convert, but he is well on his way. FINGERS CROSSED. Be patient with your two. Give them treats and let them initiate the hand contact etc and things should go very well for you all.

Sorry such a LONG winded description. ;-) It's been a long road with "snug socialising."

Right, thread stealing time again. I have posted on this general subject elsewhere but this describes very well the process I was going thru with all three of my degus recently so it makes sense to butt in (seeing as the thread has kinda gone dead I figure it's OK?)

Well, I say it describes the process well, but the bit I did differently was end up with degus that now hate me after a disaster (biting, squeaking, lots of my blood etc) whilst trying to get them out of the cage for cleaning.

So with Snug you had to work hard to get his trust but in the meantime, when you couldn't rely on him climbing onto your hand, how did you clean out the cage? Or am I wrong in thinking that I should get them out of the cage for cleaning time? The bottom tray can be removed and a clever spring loaded flap pops up in it's place, so I could remove most of the dirt without needing them to come out...

I'm sure it's only a little thing and I should stop worrying about it but I can't help it. If I can't convince the little darlings to pop into the pet carrier for a little while how can I have a good old clean out?

[deguconvert]

I read both of your posts, joesinc, and I definitely sympathize. It is disheartening when the little critters you love so much are so anti-you! Hold on though, you will make head way with them eventually. Some improvements happen in a day and stick, and others you almost need to compare week by week, not day by day.

If it is possible to clean the bottom of the cage without removing the goos at this point, I think that is what I would go for. The main thing you want is NOT to cause fear of removal. Nor do you want them to be afraid of your hand. The predator fear is huge, and that can take a while to get over when it has become linked with you in their tiny little brains. (Smart as they truly are) As far as cleaning the different tiers . . . well . . . that can be a difficult one. If they can be removed without greatly disturbing the goos, then do so. If not, maybe just wash one down a day, so that your arm isn't inside for an extended period of time. If you can come up with a way of cleaning them from the outside, a sponge on a stick maybe, that may be better. Depending on how the goos reacted to it. It could be worse! LOL!! Please realize these are just suggestions . . . it really is just a lot of trial and error in some of these areas. What works with one may not work with another.

Perhaps a question to ask is do you have a dust bath for them, or what do you use for their dust bath? If it is a container that is deep enough, perhaps they would willingly jump into that of their own accord and could then be restrained while you clean. A woman who owns goos in my area once told me that she buys cheap plastic containers with a lid, rams several holes into the lid, puts her dust in there, then puts in the goos for a good dust bath while she cleans. I don't know if that would appeal to you. I know that if they put their minds to it, they can chew through in no time flat.

In my opinion, the most important thing is to be able to build trust with them. If during the next couple weeks or so they live in a cage that is somewhat less than perfect, with spot cleanings when you can, as well as you can, without injury to you and greater fright to the goos, it will be OK. During that time, use treats and healthy enticements to show them it is good to trust you. I found that my goos all have different favorite things. One loves tomato paste (unsalted and unsweetened), another loves Brazil nuts (teeny tiny pieces so he doesn't get too much), they all love walnuts, sweet potato, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and organic corn flakes. I made use of ALL of those in my efforts to build a trust connection. With Snug, my most resistant goo, it was as much time investment as it was anything else, and I still have to be more patient with him. It will take him a full five minutes or more to be sure he wants to crawl onto my hand for a visit. If I move too quickly, he runs back in the cage, and we start over again. Five minutes can stretch into 15 really quick . . . especially if my two kids are in the room at the time.

[ra]

Wonder if they would be less likely to "test bite" you if you smelled more like them? Let them take a dust bath and even pee in the sand. Then run your hand through the sand, dust your arm before putting it in the cage with them. They might be more likely to think of you as one big weird looking Degu if you smelled like them too!

[Joe Sinclair]

hi guys. thanks for the further input :-)

Definitely spot cleaning is a good idea at the moment, and somewhat conveniently my boys have decided that their toilet is at the front of the cage so I can slide the tray forward and clean the worst bit out without opening it up at all! :-)

And spending lots of time near them is working too, I think they're getting more used to me, they don't all run off to hide behind the wheel any more...

They get their dust bath every couple of days at the moment.. I might use the smell idea.. I like the idea of being a "big weird looking degu"!