Post by scottishmartin on Aug 31, 2011 11:09:53 GMT
hi all-this is my first post,but id like to say this seems a great site and a helpful one too,im glad i found it 
but to the point....i have 2 male brothers,they were a year in aug the 1st.I live in the UK and my cage is just over 1meter tall and around half that wide with a bottom sleeping area with bedding hay and a further 2 levels above,with connecting ladder to each level.Also in the cage are a large glass jar in the bottom for eating hay to eat,the next level up is where the food goes at feeding time (a bowl each) and an empty ceramic jar for them to go in and out of if they wish,then at the top is a large cardboard tube for them to crawl through (and chew lol) and 1 wheel.Also there are a couple branches for chewing. I just wanted to set the scene as best as i can as im really bothered about this. Anyway just this past couple days the less dominant degu has been lunging aggressivly at the dominant one,who obviously isnt happy at this so then vocalises loudly and chatters his teeth in the aggressive manner but the less dominant one still carries on lunging and giving off a high screeching noise. The thing is this seems to be happening around the wheel which is making me wonder if this is the cause (the less dominant one seems to be crouching low under it the coming out from under to "attack"). The thing is this is totally new,in the past they have allways had turns back and forth-one runs then the other wiss go to the wheel and stand on his hind legs,going round it till he can get a chance to jump on,then the other jumps off,sometimes they even share the wheel lol so since there hasnt been any fighting i havnt seen the need for another wheel. The thing that has thrown me is the fact that it is the less dominant one doing all the "offensive" attacks-so could it be he is now trying to assert himself and then i should leave them alone to fix it themselves? Im really not sure as id hate to get in the way of any normal behavour where 1 degu is losing his dominance over the other but on the other hand i allways thought this was fixed by wrestling,so if this sounds like a problem caused by just the wheel then id obviously get another ASAP. Ive tried in the past to give them other things to play with while one is not on the wheel but they never seem interested in my homemade toys ive attempted making from reading other sites suggestions. I apologise if this post is needlessly long,i just wanted to give all the info i can so i can hopefully get this fixed because im obvously wanting to avoid serious injury to my "wee guys" Oh and one other thing to mention-next to this large cage is a smaller one housing an older degu who lost his cage mate last year,this is why id got another 2 degus,to keep him company,but after doing the proper introductions (keeping cages side by side for a while,sharing sand baths and neutral meeting place etc...) the dominant younger degu wouldnt take to the old one and ended by serious fighting and getting "balled up" with the old degu,while the less dominant young degu got on fine with him,so ive just kept the old one in his own cage,beside the young degus and stopped introductions (i give the old degu plenty attention though,rubbing his belly etc...though lol) I also handle the young ones at least 30min a day and they play happily around me and on me on top of my bed. I hope someone can give me advice!!!! And maybe suggestions on making their general life better for them too if anyone has any? Again im sorry for the length of this post thanks for reading all!!!!!
but to the point....i have 2 male brothers,they were a year in aug the 1st.I live in the UK and my cage is just over 1meter tall and around half that wide with a bottom sleeping area with bedding hay and a further 2 levels above,with connecting ladder to each level.Also in the cage are a large glass jar in the bottom for eating hay to eat,the next level up is where the food goes at feeding time (a bowl each) and an empty ceramic jar for them to go in and out of if they wish,then at the top is a large cardboard tube for them to crawl through (and chew lol) and 1 wheel.Also there are a couple branches for chewing. I just wanted to set the scene as best as i can as im really bothered about this. Anyway just this past couple days the less dominant degu has been lunging aggressivly at the dominant one,who obviously isnt happy at this so then vocalises loudly and chatters his teeth in the aggressive manner but the less dominant one still carries on lunging and giving off a high screeching noise. The thing is this seems to be happening around the wheel which is making me wonder if this is the cause (the less dominant one seems to be crouching low under it the coming out from under to "attack"). The thing is this is totally new,in the past they have allways had turns back and forth-one runs then the other wiss go to the wheel and stand on his hind legs,going round it till he can get a chance to jump on,then the other jumps off,sometimes they even share the wheel lol so since there hasnt been any fighting i havnt seen the need for another wheel. The thing that has thrown me is the fact that it is the less dominant one doing all the "offensive" attacks-so could it be he is now trying to assert himself and then i should leave them alone to fix it themselves? Im really not sure as id hate to get in the way of any normal behavour where 1 degu is losing his dominance over the other but on the other hand i allways thought this was fixed by wrestling,so if this sounds like a problem caused by just the wheel then id obviously get another ASAP. Ive tried in the past to give them other things to play with while one is not on the wheel but they never seem interested in my homemade toys ive attempted making from reading other sites suggestions. I apologise if this post is needlessly long,i just wanted to give all the info i can so i can hopefully get this fixed because im obvously wanting to avoid serious injury to my "wee guys" Oh and one other thing to mention-next to this large cage is a smaller one housing an older degu who lost his cage mate last year,this is why id got another 2 degus,to keep him company,but after doing the proper introductions (keeping cages side by side for a while,sharing sand baths and neutral meeting place etc...) the dominant younger degu wouldnt take to the old one and ended by serious fighting and getting "balled up" with the old degu,while the less dominant young degu got on fine with him,so ive just kept the old one in his own cage,beside the young degus and stopped introductions (i give the old degu plenty attention though,rubbing his belly etc...though lol) I also handle the young ones at least 30min a day and they play happily around me and on me on top of my bed. I hope someone can give me advice!!!! And maybe suggestions on making their general life better for them too if anyone has any? Again im sorry for the length of this post thanks for reading all!!!!!
