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Taming
Feb 16, 2009 23:08:59 GMT
Post by jakoba on Feb 16, 2009 23:08:59 GMT
Hi, I have 2 female degus I rescued from a little girl who was planning to flush them down the toilet. she also had a girble but sadly we were to late to save him anyways when her and her father brought them over she had told me that for the entire 5 years she had them she had never once held them. she kept them in a tiny critter keeper cage with just enough room for the 2 to turn around in. it's been a year since I introduced them to my Male and Huge 2 level cage but due to how busy I have been over the last year (moving, high school) I havn't had the time to socialize them properly. now that I have the time I was wondering if anyone could give me some tips on socializing them... they are very timmed and I don't blame them but do you think it's too late? Thanks, Jakoba (sorry for the long meaningless intoduction lol)
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Taming
Feb 17, 2009 2:32:54 GMT
Post by deguconvert on Feb 17, 2009 2:32:54 GMT
Not at all meaningless!! Good for you for rescuing them!! She was going to flush them?!? SHRIEK!!! That just horrifies me!
I don't think it is too late to socialize them, although considering their age, you may not get as far as you would with young degus. Still, do they have treats that you know they love? What treats do you allow them? If you were to give them small pieces of raw, unsalted sunnyseeds, just holding the seed on the palm of your hand, keeping your hand VERY still, that would be a good start. Be very patient, and slow in your movements. Talk softly to them. Let them begin to know that you are safe, and to associate your presence and hand with TASTEY treats. See how that goes, and let us know.
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Taming
Feb 17, 2009 20:58:49 GMT
Post by jakoba on Feb 17, 2009 20:58:49 GMT
Okay, thanks! yes she was planning to flush them... she released one male she had in a park during the winter, so you can picture how that turned out.
My degus really seem to like cerials like Special K and Mini weats as treats lol they gobble them down within seconds of recieving them. they don't mind coming to take the treats from my hand but once they got the treat they stay as far away from me as they can.
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Taming
Feb 17, 2009 21:26:43 GMT
Post by jackdaniels on Feb 17, 2009 21:26:43 GMT
Hey you are in the same situation as I was. It wasn't easy taming my first pair of adults due to them never being handled, but mine was only 2 years old. Clyde was friendly and would jump straight in a chube while Bonnie wouldn't. At this point I had only had them a couple of months so picking her up was a no go situation. After a few months of giving Clyde treats and giving him the choice to come on to my hands or not he did. Bonnie till this day is extremely aggressive she will chase me round the cage,shout and try to bite me. But then again she did have 3 litters. Give it some time and see how it goes they key is not to be scared I think they cansense fear resulting in a bite. The only time a degus has bitten me was when I transported 2 8 week olds to be rehomed. I placed one in its new cage picked up the other and bite. Me silently saying ouch. So every litter after them that I rehomed I told the new owners they might bite
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Taming
Feb 17, 2009 22:23:06 GMT
Post by jakoba on Feb 17, 2009 22:23:06 GMT
Ya I have only been biten once but it was a nasty bite. I was feeding the females Banana Chips and she accidently got my finger badly wich resulted in me fainting out of pain. I'm still experimenting with diffrent treats.
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Taming
Feb 17, 2009 22:46:36 GMT
Post by jackdaniels on Feb 17, 2009 22:46:36 GMT
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Taming
Feb 17, 2009 23:10:48 GMT
Post by jakoba on Feb 17, 2009 23:10:48 GMT
thanks, if anyone has any suggestions don't be afraid to post them!
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Taming
Feb 17, 2009 23:13:58 GMT
Post by taipan on Feb 17, 2009 23:13:58 GMT
im not sure if your in the UK or USA but if your in the UK this is a good site for degu treats www.chinchillas2shop.co.uk/naturaltreats.htm also dried carrots they love them. cut a carrot in to thin rings and leave to dry for a couple of days, until they go hard and a bit shrivled looking.
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Taming
Feb 17, 2009 23:50:31 GMT
Post by jakoba on Feb 17, 2009 23:50:31 GMT
I live in Canada and ya my mom suggested the dried carrot thing to me many times before but they seem to be getting bored of them
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