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Post by flyingfox on Sept 14, 2009 11:08:13 GMT
did a quick search for this on the forum but didnt show anything.
one question i have is which is a better group to have, male or female..
in terms of general squabbling / getting along with each other.
this is more out of interest as when the time comes for us to get our first degus, we wont be particularly picking. just thought i would ask the wealth of knowledge and experience that this forum shows!
Dave
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Post by deguconvert on Sept 14, 2009 18:11:16 GMT
We have males . . . simply because that is what the store had when we bought them! Our boys had some rocky months near the beginning of our life with them. The onset of sexual maturity makes for a very unstable balance of power for a while. The competition to be the "top" degu can be fierce, and in our case (as in others, it's not wholly uncommon) it resulted in bloodshed and the need for a second cage. But we (I) worked hard with the little guys and they eventually accepted the reign of Reepicheep as top degu.
Females go through the same battle for dominance, but it tends to be less intense, and I think a lot less bloody. There are times though when a female will have an imbalance of hormones and will exhibit extreme aggression. If this occurs there is generally only two options, she will end up living by herself, or she will undergo an operation to be spayed. Most often, she lives alone, as the surgery on a female is a much higher risk than on a male, but there are members on here whose female has had a successful surgery, and the difference made was tremendous. This allows the female to have the companionship and social interaction they really need to have, and to have it safely (at least for the others involved). It is a big decision though, and I would recommend that if a member had a female is such staites, they be sure they have a very competent Vet to perform the needed surgery.
That said, we love our degus, male and female alike, and I really think that most of us have no leaning to one sex over the other. But . . . I can't answer for everyone, lol. Hopefully there will be many opinions posted for you to read and glean from.
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Post by flyingfox on Sept 14, 2009 20:52:40 GMT
That's a very detailed response, thanks deguconvert! I think its confused me even more for a choice, but a good starting block, any more experiences would be great!
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