Doomed to be a Lone Degu?

[sheepgirl19]

I got my male degu yesterday. I was meant to be getting a replacement hamster but saw him at an animal shelter and took pity on him. He's been in and out of the shelter ever since someone brought him there because he kept on getting attacked by the other degu he lived with and must be atleast a year old. They have tried to introduce him 3 times in various homes with other degus but he always gets attacked and as a result has a few scars and is missing the end of his tail. When I did my animal care course I spent alot of time with the degus and they all lived happily socially with ocasional fighting but nothing on this level. Is this degu just doomed to live on his own?

Does anyone have any opinions on this because I know they are social animals and it will probably suffer as a result of living on its own but it doesn't seem to be able to live with others.

Spud

[buzz]

Do you know whose doing the attacking first? Him or the other degus?

Without knowing the history I can't say because just how did the other three homes go about the introductions? They could have just put him in straight away without using the proper method, or didn't give the method enough time. It can take a several months.

It depends on your finances too. You'll need to get another cage to put the other degu/s in while the introductions are happening. If I were you I would get 2 pups of 8 weeks because a) at 8 weeks in theory the intorductions should be easier and b)if it failed there won't be two lone degus.

What is his behaviour like? For example does he bounce around the cage or sit puffed up in a corner? If he is acting depressed then it suggests he is missing companionship. If not then he might be ok.

Not all degus want to be around others, some prefer their own company so if he was doing the attacking then it he might prefer to be on his own.

[sheepgirl19]

The first home he was in was with his brother but figting started after a couple of months and didn't sort out. I know nothing about the second home he was in. The third home he was introduced to a pair of degus. I managed to email the person and they said that they cleaned the cage then separated it using mesh. Everything seemed to be going fine but when the mesh was removed after a month the fighting started. In all cases I know that the other degu started it, maybe they sensed he was weak or something.
He seems happy at the moment, but I've only had him a couple of days and spend alot of my time keeping him busy. I know I can give him alot of attention but it isn't really a substitute for another degus.
I can't afford another cage although I do have a rats cage which probably isn't that degu proof. Perhaps its just a game of wait and see how it goes with him on his own then.

Spud

[buzz]

Some degus do prefer their own company so I'd agree its probably better to wait and see if there are any problems.