What do i do HELP!!!

[puppy00]

Hi. I got 2 new degus recently, both boys, for my degu that lost they're buddy. We got the 2 new degus as boys, 'cause we thought our 2 original degus were boys.
Of coarse, that wasn't the case, and now we have 2 boys and one girl. I really want them to have babies, but i''m not sure what's going to happen, because we have 2 males. The 2 boys arn't fighting over my girl degu anymore, but they might start again.
HELP! I'm VERY confused and want answers!!!

[Kat]

I would advise to seperate them now while there is still a chance that the female is not pregnant. There are so many unwanted goos looking for new homes allready, why add to that? Lots of people have accidental litters, so if you wanted more young degus, they would not be hard to find. Also the 2 new degus you have bought are very likely to be brother and sister. Another reason not to breed.
I'm sorry if you feel like I have shouted at you here, I don't mean too. I feel very strongly about this issue and I'm sure that a lot of other people who love degus, feel the same.

Kat

[amie]

I'm not sure if that was meant to read "I really DON'T want them to have babies" or not? (which I'm sure it did. You just missed the 'don't' out). Either way, my suggestion to you would be to seperate them as soon as you can. If you have a spare cage you can put the female in, that would be great. If you could also get hold of another female degu/s. That would be great too. That's so the little girl has some company before you decide whether or not you'd like to rehome her or keep her. If you can't do that, try to keep the cage with her in next to the boys cage so she atleast has some company. However, this might make the boys fight.

That being said, if you bought her from a breeder you could always ask them for another female or ask if they'll take her back. The same applies to if you got her from a per shop (if you're comfortable with her going back when she might be pregnant).

If bought from a pet shop, you might be able to get a free cage out them (if Pets At Home) and other things for the trouble this has caused you.

How old is the female?

Sorry if any part of my reply doesn't make sense.... I've just woken up.

[kovu07]

I agree with Kat about seperating them before your original goo gets pregnant, not just because there are so many unwanted pups already but also because its not fair to knowingly put degus into a situation that will cause them to fight as they can obtain some horrific injuries. Also you don't mention the ages of the degus, I assume since your original cage mate dies the girl is quite a lot older than the boys, could you clariffy this please? Finally is it possible to take some pictures so we can make sure you do indeed have 2 boys a girl?

[deguconvert]

Like you, Kovu, I read the OP as saying that the two new degus are the males, and the remaining original degu is the female. If this is the case, I would assume that rehoming her would be very difficult as there is likely a strong bond with her. I personally am not concerned about their ages, unless she is much older . . . say over four years of age . . . pregnancy would be much more difficult for her in that case.

Now, can we clarify if you are open to the idea of pregnancy and a litter of pups, or if that is NOT in your future plans? Knowing this for sure will certainly have an effect on what direction you need to pursue. IF you do kind of hope for pups . . . are you aware of the many different requirements you will face . . . chief of them being having the space necessary for them, and permenant placements once they are old enough to rehome? I'm not going to tell you you shouldn't plan on pups if these are things you have already thought of and are working out. They are considerable obstacles though, and you would need to have a good plan in place.

[kovu07]

DC just to clarify she said in her first post she really wants them to have pups.

[puppy00]

Ok... thx guys. Although, I've got TONS of people saying they would take them if she did have babies. What I'm more confused about, is because since there are 2 males and 1 female, what would happeen if she "chose" one per say... what would happen to the other? Would they ignore him, get aggresive towards him... etc.
P.S. I'm NOT giving away my female. Shes SUPER special to me

[puppy00]

o and the female AND the 2 males are all about 3 1/2 years old

[deguconvert]

OK . . . I don't think there would be any way of really knowing who the father is, if pregnancy does happen. Nor am I certain of what kind of reaction will there be. There won't be the human kind of "we're together and your out" reactions at least. They will still be a group, but it is possible that the father will become defensive of his pups and start attacking the other male, after the pups are born. Another potential is that the male that isn't the father may attack the pups. Neither of these things are certainties, and are relatively unlikely as degu males make exceptional fathers that are actively involved in the rearing of pups. Where you would definitely see conflict would be when she would be at the height of her fertility again, immediately following the birth of a litter, and for several days following. During this time, both males would become extremely combative over her and it would be safest for them if they were removed from the cage, and from the immediate area completely so that they can't even smell her. Now this will make it hard on her because she will pine for them, and they for her, but it will be your safest course all around. At this point . . . it is difficult to guess if there will be a pregnancy or not. I have no idea when females lose or begin to diminish in their fertility. I kind of suspect that would be hard to find out, as not a great deal of research has been done with degus.

Does this help at all?

[puppy00]

YES! Thank you! I'll also look at what shes doing, too, if she does get pregnant. If she did have babies, and we knew the father, would it be posible to do some thing like, put the other male in a smaller cage beside the main cage? We have an extra cage if that could be arranged.

[sam99]

I don't see how there would be a way of knowing who the father is without watching them 24/7 to find the culprit. Even then, both males may try and have a go so you wouldn't know which was successful. Personally I would split them now before anything happens and consider rescuing a second female so she has company. There are so many goos out there already looking for homes.

[fred]

The following is based on literature so if anyone has experiences to the contrary please correct me. There are quite a few scientific studies relating to this. Infanticide does not occur in degus so I would think the pups should be very safe. I also wouldn't expect increased aggression between the males while the pups are around. However, what happens during the week or so when you have to separate the two males from the female to avoid her getting pregnant again during the post partum oestrus? If there were increased aggression between the males during this time you would have to keep them separate, i.e. would need three cages to be prepared for this situation.

I couldn't find anything about the age limit of female fertility. In the wild very few degus will reach the age of your female. I think in the absence of any information you need to assume that your female may still be fertile.

Oh, and before anyone shouts at me, I am not expressing an opinion about the merits or otherwise of breeding.

[Kat]

Jun 2, 2011 16:31:36 GMT deguconvert said:

Like you, Kovu, I read the OP as saying that the two new degus are the males, and the remaining original degu is the female.

Ah, I missed that bit.

I would still recomend that they be seperated.

Kat
x

[kovu07]

I would recommend seperating them as well, and keeping the two boys together and getting another female to go with yours but I understand that this may not be possible.

[philbailey1806]

Hmmmm this is a difficult one as we don't know whether or not the female is already pregnant. Introducing her to a new female when already pregnant is going to be difficult! From what I've read, degus can have healthy babies up to the age of around 4 years, but after this, their fertility starts to decline and the risk of complications (which could be fatal to mum) and birth defects increases.

If you wanted babies, my advice would be to leave everyone together, untill just before the mother is due to give birth, when the males should be removed so that she doesn't get pregnant again in the post partum oestrus (very important considering her age) and leave the males out for 5 days untill the post partum oestrus is over and they can be safely put back untill the weaning process is over. When you do separate the males for the first 5 days after the birth of the pups however, the smell of the highly fertile female may make them fight, in which case they will have to be in a separate room from her.

After this though, with the female being older, I really wouldn't advise any more pups and once they are weaned it's important that the males and females are separated. This also solves the problem of the lone female as she will more than likely have at least one daughter that she can live with without having to be introduced.

I hope this is useful and helps.

[kovu07]

Good advice Phil I too think one litter of pups is enough if you decide to let her have pups that is, and if you do please make sure the people who take the babies off your hands understand the needs of degus, and if possible let them go in groups of 3 or more. (Obviously this depends on how many pups she has.) Also if you need anymore help, please feel free to ask.

[philbailey1806]

Thanks kovu. Full of good advice, me lol. Researched the subject till my eyes bled when Edna got fat.

[kovu07]

I'm not surprised lol

[fred]

I soo didn't want to express an opinion on breeding but I soo agree with Phil ;D. If she doesn't get pregnant the three may live together happily ever after. If she gets pregnant she will do so earlier rather than later without the risks Phil mentioned. Then you can have two groups, Remple and one or more of her daughters, and Smudge and Patso. Since Remple is SUPER special to you that may be the way go .

However, before you go down the route, I would suggest:
Be absolutely sure that you will be able to place all the pups you cannot keep into good homes.
Get information on breeding so that you really know what you are in for.
Be aware that you may need three cages at short notice.

[kovu07]

I don't usually advocate the breeding of degus, but if it does happen it seems to be a good solution here, especially since you don't want to get rid of Remple, and it would be unfair to get rid of your two new males, just because, well they are male lol. But I agree with Fred make sure you take notice of the 3 bullet points he's listed as they are very important.