Handling degus..help!

[caprimika]

I got my babies a few weeks ago and still havent been able to really pick them up. We put them in the bathtub and let them run around while talking to them and petting them. Hubby has picked them up and they have crawled over his hands and nibbled etc I seen something on here about giving them a little blow if they try to nibble too hard and works for hubby. I am the only one who hasnt actually picked them up or let them nibble on me...Im terrified they are going to bite hard....now this all stems back to when I was a kid and my mom told me to put my finger in to my step aunts bird cage because "caitlin does it all the time" finally I did and it bit me...hard!! and I was so shocked...ever since then I am terrified of ANY animal biting me like that (well rodents and birds) I did have 3 rabbits before and wasnt scared of them and was terrified of my brothers rat until he went away for a couple months and I had to look after him and eventually was able to handle him all the time!! I want to hold my babies and I want to let them crawl on my hands and sniff and nibble!! I get my hands in there and they get close enough for their whiskers to touch me and I jolt my hand away...what can I do? I want them to get used to me not just my husband. Please help! What did you do to get them used to you? If you had a fear of them at first what did you do to overcome it? Your advice would be greatly appreciated! xx

[zerkonia]

It might be easier if you google "handling degus". Degus only nibble to get a taste of you to see if you're food or not, they rarely bite hard enough to draw blood. I'd say to open the cage door and open up your palm for the Degu to jump onto. They're nosey little things and will probably come running as soon as you approach the cage. If you give them a treat once they come out onto your hand they won't nibble you because they're nibbling the treat! If, for the moment, all you're comfortable with is them sitting on your hand wait for the Degu to finish eating (That is if it hasn't already hopped back in the cage) then encourage back into the cage. And I'd do this for a few days to help build your confidence and show the Degu good things come from you.

[caprimika]

Thanks!!

[deguconvert]

I would suggest not offering them your palm. I was bitten A LOT by one of our three, who was very reluctant to become aquainted with humans. I learned over time that it hurt a lot less if he bit the top of my hand rather than the soft, fleshier parts of my palm. So let them crawl onto your knuckles. Secondly, do you have an old long sleeved jumper that you wouldn't care if it got a little chewed or something? If you do, put the jumper on and pull the sleeves down over your hands so that they are covered, and start with that. As they grow accustomed to your scent, and as you grow more trusting of their touch, you can begin to let them touch your skin and see how things go. Take it in slow steps, and it will work for all of you. OH! And . . . maybe take a deep breath and then slowly let it out while they are coming onto you. DON"T jerk back or you will train them to always expect that of you, and they will always associate you with fear. Deep breathing exercises . . . yeah . . . do those too.

[caprimika]

Haha thanks!! Thats very good advice!! I will try that and let you know how it goes!! xx

[zerkonia]

Ah, I must have been blessed with slightly less temperament degus, as they didn't bite me, just nibbled and seemed eager to come out onto my hands and get to know me. Ozzy is very confident although Arthas is slightly more nervous towards me due to me having to make him take his anti-biotics.

[eddyyoda]

Aww, sometimes it takes a while for them to get comfortable, our first ones did as they weren't handled at all in the pet shop and just wanted to run all over the place and avoid us...it became a game for them very quickly. Incidentally, the bath is a great place to let them run round in but watch their jumping, I almost had an escapee from our tub.

Try not to feel nervous when you're attempting to handle your degus, ours always know if we're edgy or nervous or in a funny mood, they seem to get the vibe from us. The sleeves over your hands is a good idea, typically, degus will investigate and possibly want to snuggle. I have a huge dressing gown with massive sleeves and lots of folds and they try to get themselves lost amongst the material.

Only one of my degu has ever bitten me and that was because she was trying to chew one of my books and I tried to brush her away from it, she turned and gave me a proper nip. This has never happened with our others and they don't seem to have agressive tendancies, well except occasionally at each other!
Seriously though, the nibbling they might do is not a real bite although as mentioned above, try to offer a fleshy part of your hand, a tougher area.

Best of luck with them

[diggory]

Sparky is my more relaxed goo and he seems fairly happy around me. He has never bitten me and doubt he every will unless if hurt him or something. Gizmo on the other hand is a bit more nervous and has bitten me quite bad before.

However i can tell there difference. If your goo seems agitated, IE squeeking angriliy and running around like a nutter, chances are he/she will bite you badly. However if you just calmly put your hand in the cage and wait, you should find if they are comfortable they will come up and sniff and perhaps nibble gently. If they arnt comforable they will just stay out the way. Ive never known my boys to bite me while my hand was just sitting there. They arnt malicious like that.

I suggest you just start by putting your hand through the door of the cage and see what they make of it. Careful not to make sudden movements and if they nibble a little too hard just move slighty and they should get the hint.

[sheepgirl19]

I know the biting thing is going to be difficult for you to get over. When I helped look after the degus at my old college I got bit alot mainly because the degus had bad experiences of being handled by the children with learning difficulties that were sometime rough and inconsistant with their handling. Also one of my friends got bit pretty badly in our first week when he had to step in and split up two fighting males. I also got really badly bit by when taking a ferrets temperature and swore I would never handle rodents again without a thick pair of gloves.

However I've managed to get over it. These are your Degus and you're in control of the experiences they have. One of the things I found helpful was reading their body language, you have to really scare them for them to bite hard and this has only happened once since I got my degus. The nibbling thing is actually what desenitised me to handling rodents again, they nibble so gently just to get a taste, it tickles. Then I find blowing on them stops them from going any further. They will give you pleanty of warning before they bite, just be careful not to squeeze them or startle them. It will get better and you will be able to handle your degus.

Spud

[deviates]

I've never been bitten by my Degus, only nibbled to check if I'm food (also been told that its like them grooming you, accepting you). I'd advice sitting at the cage door with it open and letting them come up to. Let them get use to you and your voice for a bit first and only when you are comfortable (that's pretty important) put your hand in palm down so in the very unlikely event they bite you it won't hurt as much.
After that they'll probably be fine with you. I'd be shocked if you actually got bitten properly by them, i haven't heard of any particularly vicious degus.

[stoofus]

I remember reading somewhere that if a degu does nibble just a bit too hard on you, then you should make the kind of "squeak" noise that they make if one is grooming the other too aggresively. It's their signal for ouch, stop!

[jackdaniels]

I have found the best method of handling a degu, well it works for me. At the end of the day its trial and error. But to the this day I have only been bitten once (but that did not draw blood).


First of all [glow=red,2,300]Wash hands[/glow]
Pick the degu up in a chube place chube on a flat survice with hands laid out of either side giving them the choice to climb on your hands or stay in the chube. Its getting them to trush you which is the key to training. A small treat on the hand sometimes works but not advised as they might get the wrong message. Hand = treat. You might need to try this method a few times though.