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Post by goldenglory on Mar 24, 2009 19:10:55 GMT
i am looking at different types of jirds (there are so many!!) the main ones seem to be shaws jird and bushy tailed jird can they coexist with degus? a number of issues come to mind: 1)will they fight? will they be equals? jirds, like degus, need company, so would they all get along and the jird be happy being the only of his kind, or would i need 2? would they need to be separate? 2)do they have the same diet? can i put degu food in one bowl and jird food in the other and trust they stick to their own feed? hope someone has some answers here  |
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fliddie
Burrowing Degu
Sleeping Scratcat
Posts: 138
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Post by fliddie on Mar 24, 2009 20:07:54 GMT
I have two shaws jirds, I asked an expert about integrating them into a larger group -I have 2 males and was wanting to re introduce them to their brothers who they had been separated from and was strongly advised against it - that they would fight which may well prove fatal. I wouldnt even dream of mixing them with another species. I can only speak for shaws jirds here but this is my advice: If you want to get a female jird you will need to only get one as they can become highly aggressive towards others (though not normally towards humans) and generally should be kept on its own, you may be successful keeping a pair of females if they have been together since birth but be prepared that they could fight and need to be separated. If you get male jirds then if they should be kept in pairs, again together since birth and there shouldnt be a problem . Degus and jirds also have very very different requirements which means it would be impossible to keep them together anyway. Degus need cages such as John Hopewell / chinchilla type cages which they can leap and climb around. These cages are completely unsuitable for jirds who need habitats such as fish tanks with a very deep layer of woodshavings to bury and dig in. They also need different food as you mentioned but degus have such delicate systems that jird food could be fatal if they ate it (and they would!). I hope that this helps. I have kept both species and would say that for pure entertainment value the degus are more fun to watch and play with but the jirds (if you get well handled ones since birth) are easier / slower to handle. Its great that you asked the question before attempting an introduction of the two species as I think that it would result in fatal fighting, jirds can easily do this to each other, let alone trying them with degus. Degus can live in much larger groups aswell so if you are wanting a few little pets then degus are the better option than jirds. A great site for jird info is gerbilsuk.proboards15.com there are lots of jird experts and owners on there. And this here is a fab forum for the chin and degu experts!!! |
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fliddie
Burrowing Degu
Sleeping Scratcat
Posts: 138
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Post by fliddie on Mar 24, 2009 20:12:41 GMT
Oh the other thing about the food question is that jirds by nature dont eat much when you put it in the food bowl, they take their time hoarding masses of food all over the tank so if degus were in there too the degus would quickly come across it and eat it and this could be really really bad for them.
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Post by goldenglory on Mar 24, 2009 20:33:36 GMT
thanks for the quick response and detailed info! i think i may hold off on getting a jird for a little while, and focus on the degus. they are really fun to watch, but as you say they are restless and always so curious, they dont really wanna cuddle me when ive had a rough day and need affection LOL! as far as a companion for my goos go, ive been lookin at blue goos, and thought i could introduce a third to my two boys. seeing as it would be much younger i think there shouldnt be a problem in terms of dominance struggle. i do know the protocol for new degu introduction, so ill save you that expanation! thanks once again for your help! |
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fliddie
Burrowing Degu
Sleeping Scratcat
Posts: 138
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Post by fliddie on Mar 24, 2009 20:50:54 GMT
No problem, I am sure that you are more of a degu expert than I am, I havent kept any for years now but I have got quite into my jirds, just for your interest I have stuck on a pic (hope it works) of my vast new jird house, its taller and wider than my 2 seater sofa, lucky little sods!!:  |
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Post by goldenglory on Mar 24, 2009 22:36:25 GMT
wow! those things live better than i do!
dont suppose u have any closeup of the critters?
do they like being handled? can you stroke them and cuddle them?
also @ anyone: are blue goos any different to the normal ones, aside from the obvious difference in colour?
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Mojo
Burrowing Degu
Posts: 270
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Post by Mojo on Mar 24, 2009 23:27:41 GMT
Blue Goos, as I understand it, are the same apart from being coloured blue/grey. They are fairly common but slightly rarer than the brown variety. This is because the blue gene is recessive meaning you have to mate 2 blue goos to have a better chance of getting blue babies. However if their ancestory has recent brown goos in it then they could still actually have brown babies. If a blue and a brown mate then the brown gene is dominant and they'll generally have brown babies...... confused? me too ;-p
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Post by goldenglory on Mar 24, 2009 23:43:13 GMT
Blue Goos, as I understand it, are the same apart from being coloured blue/grey. They are fairly common but slightly rarer than the brown variety. This is because the blue gene is recessive meaning you have to mate 2 blue goos to have a better chance of getting blue babies. However if their ancestory has recent brown goos in it then they could still actually have brown babies. If a blue and a brown mate then the brown gene is dominant and they'll generally have brown babies...... confused? me too ;-p not confused, i did genetics as part of my IB biology. its the same principle as blue and brown eyes with people. my mums eyes are brown, and my dads are blue, so that should mean that only brown eyed kids will result, however my mum carries a dormant blue-eye gene because her dad is blue eyes, so one of the three kids (my youngest brother) has blue eyes like my dad but me and my other brother have brown eyes.  |
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fliddie
Burrowing Degu
Sleeping Scratcat
Posts: 138
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Post by fliddie on Mar 25, 2009 3:43:40 GMT
Oooh thats all too confusing for me, my mum and dad both have brown eyes, my brother has brown eyes and I have bright blue eyes, does that mean I have some serious questions for my parents then?!! Here are some piccies of my jirds: Bilbo:  Ludo:  My jirds are quite skittish, I got them from a pet shop as I couldnt bear to see them in a teeny tank, I got them last november and their brothers are STILL in the pet shop in another tinsy tank - they cant sell them. I dont think that they had any handling in the pet shop, one of the workers said that she didnt know anyone who picked them up. Therefore mine arent very cuddly. Ludo is the better of the two, once you get hold of him he enjoys being picked up and if you try and put him back in his home he runs straight out and back up my arm. Bilbo has clearly never been handled well, he cant get the hang of running through hands and he panicks. Bilbo also has a tendency to nip now and again for no apparent reason, Ludo is lovely though. Thankfully they are not particularly bright little critters and they think that if they get in the wheel and run really fast then they will run away from me, they dont seem to realise the wheel is the only place I can actually corner them to pick them up!! Having said all that, when they come out for a run around in my bathroom, if I sit on the floor they run and climb all over me of their own accord, up around my shoulders, through my hair etc and they dont mind being handled then at all. I reckon that if you get jirds who are well handled from birth then they would make amazing pets and would be really quite cuddly. They are chunky little things and mine are rat sized so are easy to keep hold of once you catch them |
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samantha
Foraging Degu
Blue Goo! [url=https://postimg.org/image/dwub0fayl/][img]https://s6.postimg.cc/3zja7d3cx/heart.gif[/img][/url]
Posts: 51
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Post by samantha on Mar 25, 2009 6:34:18 GMT
Hiya, My friend was strongly advised against this as we bought our degus together and she asked at the pet shop about it as she has 3 jirds. If you don't mind me asking, what are jirds like as pets? Are they friendly cos I think I would like some but not sure about their temperment yet? Thanks x
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amber
Foraging Degu
Posts: 98
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Post by amber on Mar 25, 2009 8:55:39 GMT
A pet shop near me has 2 male jirds...they have been there mths and mths and when i pop in to say hello to them they always seem to be in the same place asleep and show no interest in ppl at all....poor things...i bought a hamster from them once and asked if it was tame and she admitted that because they are so busy they dont have time to spend with the rodents and so apart from cleaning their tanks out they dont get handled or interacted with...now while Pets @ Home gets a bad press on here...and often justified it seems....any rodent I have had from there has been handlable and the staff have always got things out for me to have a quick interact with and have been knowledgable on how to handle them etc...
Are jirds generally sleepy (like chinchillas) or are they more lively ?
amber
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fliddie
Burrowing Degu
Sleeping Scratcat
Posts: 138
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Post by fliddie on Mar 25, 2009 12:53:34 GMT
Hey Amber, I am guessing you are talking about Paradise Pets? thats where my boys came from and the ones you are talking about are their brothers! I emailed them and pleaded with them to put a silent spinner into the cage with them to give the poor little buggers something to do, as soon as I first got mine home they spent the next 8 hours solid in the wheel, they hadnt had one before and they absolutely love it. I hate going into Paradise Pets and still seeing the poor little things in that tiny tank with nothing to do, it breaks my heart, you can see why I had to break my rule of not buying from pet shops and just took them home with me. The woman was amazed at how interactive Ludo became when we picked him up out of their cage. I even thought recently of donating my (now very chewed) spare silent spinner back to them to put it in the cage, I just dont trust that they would do it. I have only seen them once picking up any of the animals in there, the other week they were wandering around giving a guinea pig a cuddle its such a shame. I defo agree that Swindon P@H are better at handling the animals if nothing else!! The jirds are generally quite nocturnal, they bang about ALL night in the not-so-silent-spinner, wouldnt be a problem if their cage wasnt outside my bedroom door!!!! Samantha - I would definitely recommend jirds as pets if you get well handled from birth ones. Even mine who havent been well handled in their early months are still nice little critters, jirds are known for being well temepered with humans. There is a good breeder in London who is a really nice knowledgeable lady on gerbilsuk.proboards15.com if you want any more details let me know |
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Post by goldenglory on Mar 25, 2009 13:13:14 GMT
Ah i shoulda guessed they were nocturnal what with the big black eyes.
That is definitely not for me then, until next year when i have a place of my own, as right now as im sure someone has read, my goos live in my bedroom with me and sometimes keep me up all night!
they do look adorable though i would love to have a ocuple
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fliddie
Burrowing Degu
Sleeping Scratcat
Posts: 138
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Post by fliddie on Mar 25, 2009 13:42:12 GMT
They are exceptionally quiet (other than the wheel), they very very rarely make any vocal noises at all although they do love a good noisy dig and scrabble around and a chew on cardboard tubes and stuff. Not bedroom buddies though!! I have 4 gerbils, 2 jirds and 2 chinchillas pounding around their cages and wheels all night which are next door to my bedroom, having said that I would prefer all of them next door to some goos inside my bedroom!! The degus are the noisiest most vocal rodents I have ever kept in my time but they are adorable in their chattering!
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Post by goldenglory on Mar 25, 2009 14:40:49 GMT
They are exceptionally quiet (other than the wheel), they very very rarely make any vocal noises at all although they do love a good noisy dig and scrabble around and a chew on cardboard tubes and stuff. Not bedroom buddies though!! I have 4 gerbils, 2 jirds and 2 chinchillas pounding around their cages and wheels all night which are next door to my bedroom, having said that I would prefer all of them next door to some goos inside my bedroom!! The degus are the noisiest most vocal rodents I have ever kept in my time but they are adorable in their chattering! absolutely! all their chattering warbling and squeaking is adorable. what keeps me up at night though is when they get bored and chew the cage. it really is incredibly loud! the cute little noises they make is of no concern, it fact they always make me smile, which would make me happy in my sleep one of my goos i think has very vivid dreams, he often goes into a series of short squeaks for 10 minutes, which even out to a lazy, long dragged out squeak that sort of teeters off.. all the while his eyes are shut and hes piled on top of the other. |
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amber
Foraging Degu
Posts: 98
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Post by amber on Mar 25, 2009 15:38:39 GMT
yep....that will be the place...I wont get animals from there anymore but do go there for their crickets...they are very good quality!...now thats a wierd statement!
I love the noises my goos make...they make me chuckle...
has your silent spinner come lose in the middle part?...one of mine did and kept coming undone so i dabbed a very small bit of superglu on that part which was covered and still works and is very much quieter now.
I am getting a baby hamster next week from a breeders in Swindon...too excited for words!....what is it about crazy rodents and our obsessions with them?.
amber
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Post by krazypara3165 on Mar 25, 2009 16:02:07 GMT
yeah i also have goos in my room and ALWAYS have a pair of earplugs nearby there lifesavers!
as far as someone mentioned before about the blue goos; just be aware that blue goos can suffer a variety of health problems, as they are usually inbred and porly bred to keep the blue gene. dont get me wrong though they are still fantastic pets jus be aware that vet trips may be more nessicary than original goos. im also sure that someone will confirm this too.
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Post by Rachel on Mar 25, 2009 16:04:02 GMT
I keep my goos in my bedroom. I don't find it too bad, especially if I give them something to munch on as I go to sleep. It's annoying if the flying saucer's moved though, then it starts rubbing.
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Post by kimberley on Mar 25, 2009 16:45:10 GMT
Im sure there was a post somewhere on here that said blue degus were prone to problems and that they shouldnt be bred. Re- those jirds in the pet shop - i feel so sorry for the little guys! They have been there so long and I cant imagine they have ne time out of that small cage they are in? I actually bought one of the chins from that shop n wasnt at all impressed with the advice they gave me e.g. type of cage suitable. The lady even told me that chins in the wild live on their own n only meet up for breeding which iv since learned isnt at all true!
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fliddie
Burrowing Degu
Sleeping Scratcat
Posts: 138
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Post by fliddie on Mar 25, 2009 17:14:14 GMT
I got myself worked up about the pet shop jirds today and went back there just now and the poor lady in there got an earful about how they NEED a silent spinner wheel, that they looked manky and need a sand bath and that their tank is inadequate and they are too skittish. Poor woman. The owner then came along and told me she had competed them in an exotic rodent competition and they had won, seriously the other rodents must have been in a hideous state. I just looked at her like she was deranged and she offered to show me the certificate and rosette (which I declined)! And then told the lady I feel sorry for them and nobody will buy them at the price they want, they then knocked a tenner off for me and I said I will come back in 3 months and the poor critters will still be stuck there and they can knock a load more off and I will rescue them!!!
Dont think I will be overly welcome again! P@H it is for me from now on then!!
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