when can babies leave mum?

[dumbblondie]

ok my baby degus are about 4 weeks olds & i have a friend interested in 2 boys & would like them as soon as poss to get them used to her self & her husband so what age is the best time for them to leave mum?

[emz]

Most people begin weaning them at around 6 weeks old.

[philbailey1806]

Hello! The babies should be fully weaned by 3 weeks old, and ready to leave mum at four weeks, I checked on degutopia when my Edna had pups. Pet shops don't usually sell them until they are 6-8 weeks old, but if they're going straight to a loving home then they're good to go! Good luck!

[philbailey1806]

I'm confused now, because I got my information from degutopia, so I just took it as fact because I think they're very knowledgeable. I've only had one litter, but I found by four weeks (although very small) they were showing a full range of degu behaviour and I had no qualms with them leaving for their new home at five weeks.

[philbailey1806]

"Pups require suckling for at least 3 weeks in order to gain strength and immunity" Is what I found, although the weaning you speak of I take to mean when the pups can be separated from the parent/s without adverse effects (which was dumbblondes question) anywhere between four and six weeks, which the pups are.

[philbailey1806]

"The first solid food is usually ingested when the pups are around 6 days old, but cannot be properly digested until the pups are around 15 days old." Is another quote from degutopia, so if the pups are capable of digesting solids from 15 days old and no longer need the nutrients from milk by 3 weeks old then by 4 weeks old they would be absolutely fine to leave their mother. Eating, drinking and dust bathing are to an extent instinctual, but of course the parents have to show them what to eat, how to drink and what to bathe in, but 4 weeks is more than enough time for them to get the gist of where to find everything they need and what to do even if they are just being lazy, or just suckling out of habit. Also in my opinion, the sooner the degus go to their forever home the better, we all know that the younger the degu, the more trusting they are, and the closer the bond will be between degu and owner.

[fred]

As smux mentioned, it's not just about feeding but social interaction and learning (very importnant in degus). If they are not to join an adult degu, I would not remove the pups from mum before they are six weeks old.

[emz]

Separating degus at a young age can actually cause issues with mental development and I believe that has been noted in studies, which Fred already covered. That also includes having a worse temperament. This is not always the case but there has supposedly been a correlation noted.

I agree with smux though. I tried to keep it simple by just suggesting 6 weeks (a lot of people don't like to be bombarded with information and just want a precise answer - I tend to be one of those people - but nothing wrong with someone else who has more time then me to present the facts in fact that is welcome). Technically they can usually feed themselves at 4 weeks or so however the benefits of social development is why most people keep them with their mother until 6 weeks. You can't just (in my opinion) base weaning age off of when they can feed themselves and handle solid food it's so much more then that.

A 6 week old degu will not have an issue with bonding with a human either, not if the owner dedicates enough time to taming them. This can be said with degus at any age and rushing when to wean the pups for human benefit to me seems slightly selfish. That's all I can really say about that.

I am happy for this thread to continue if it remains civil although dumbblondie now has the facts that she needs.

[dumbblondie]

they are eating the solid food,i've had a word with my friend whos is happy to wait till next week for the degus who will be 6 weeks old by then i will then remove the remaining male in with the other males at the same time which will leave just the little girl with the older girls but thanks for all the info although you all give the ages i'm guessing taking the degu in to consideration also helps with making the choice on when it can leave mum

[amie]

I had Phil's babies (well, Edna and Ernie's babies) and five weeks of age. They were going to live with older degus straight away and Phil made sure they were doing everything they should be doing before seperating them from their Mum and Dad. I agree that six weeks is the ideal age, but if the degus are showing all the correct behavior at five weeks and are going to live with older degus that they can learn from futher, I don't see a problem.

[emz]

Well it's a bit different learning from your parents then it is strangers, it'd be the same with humans. We don't let kids leave home once they're able to digest food correctly and not milk. ;D

But I'm glad you're being extra cautious dumbblondie, if you're a relatively new degu owner it's best to leave them the extra time to be safe.

[amie]

I don't mean to cause anything at all here, it's not in my nature to debate, but is that sentence implying that I did the wrong thing by bringing these babies home at five weeks old? Again, not trying to cause anything

[emz]

No no! I am sorry if it sounded like that! I am not very good with words in the mornings lol.

I personally think 4-6 weeks is fine but tend to prefer 6 if the owner of the pups isn't experienced with degus. If someone weans them at say 5 weeks and knows what they are doing that's fine with me - but if someone say went "I am weaning them at 4 only because I want them more people tame" (so they have no knowledge of degus and are probably pet shop breeding) then that is when I disagree with earlier weaning.

Hope I made sense now!

[amie]

Yes! Sorry. lol! I am also bad with words in the morning (well, night time for me) and am highly sensitive! lol.

I do agree with what you're saying. Six weeks is more ideal, but not always necessary if you KNOW the little ones are ready. I don't think they'll become more tame the younger they are either. However, they are easier to introduce to other degus and their biggest talent is escaping from the new cage! Little rats

[emz]

I remember picking up my degus all those years ago, they were 6 weeks, and one had actually escaped from the owner's cage and was hidden around the food bags. ;D

[amie]

Oh my, it was horible! I introduced them to Elijah (my lone boy) and he loved them! So I left all four of them in the cage with Elijah because I was so happy that he had friends and was fathering the babies. I watched them the WHOLE night to make sure they were all ok and no fighting was happening. I didn't even think about the bar spacing. When I came down the next day, I could only see Elijah and three babies. We searced the whole cage and couldn't find one of them, so then we started frantically tearing the front room apart looking for him! We found the little mite under the sofa and he was really easy to catch, but it put me in a state of shock all day. There were so many eletrical wires in the front room, I'm surprised he didn't chew through any of them. I hate to think what would have happened if he did.

[emz]

Gauging how ready they are is determined on the experience of the owner, which is why I said that.

[malteser60]

It seems like the interpretation of the breeding guide at degutopia is quite varied. So, I'll try and clear it up. I am going to have a caveat though that I haven't had the lovely pleasure of my two girlies having pups (nor will they ever, sob ), or had them when they were pups. However I can read 'scientific' as smux puts it.

So, degutopia says that the pups require lactation for at least three weeks. It's the at least bit that you need to take into account as what it means is that studies and observations have shown that the majority of degus' digestive system is not ready for weaning. Beyond this it is up to the individual pup. To back this up the mum will continuously lactate for 35 to 40 days (6 weeks ).

So when to seperate? If it was based purely on weaning, technically it's anytime after three weeks... but that is very much dependent on the pup. It might take one pup 4 weeks and another 5 weeks. So, exactly as emz said, you need to be, not only an experienced degu owner, but an experienced degu breeder, to recognise when this is. Don't forget that degus are not machines and will not follow a specific timetable just because degutopia or any other breeder site says so.

Then there is the issue of social behaviour, and it is well known that degus require interaction from mum (and dad if possible) on this front. Several studies have shown this.

My personal opinion, play it safe! The pups will need seperating at around 6 weeks due the females reaching puberty. And at 6 weeks they're still very young and very impressionable and still able to get used to being handled, and so on. In fact you should start handling them before this (but not in the first 3 weeks! apart from weighing them with mum present that is).

So, we have all thoroughly covered weaning, dumbblondie has her answer, and by the sounds of it has a plan of action!
So no more debating about when to seperate pups.