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Post by asholethewizzoh on Sept 14, 2011 0:58:47 GMT
My little sister and I just bought two 5 month old brother degus 9/11/11 and I know it's kind of early, but we have really been having some problems with them. They came from a previous owner that had already trained them, but once we got them here, they seemed very sad. I thougth that they would get better but I haven't seen any change yet. They won't eat out of my hand let alone get in it. What can I do to help them adjust and like us, and how long do you think it would take to train them?
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Post by deguconvert on Sept 14, 2011 1:37:16 GMT
Hi Ash . . . think I'll leave the rest of your user name alone. Welcome to the forum!!
Tell me when you bought the degus home? It can take a few days for them to settle in to their new home, adjusting to all the changes. There are new sounds, new smells, new sights, and new people. They are likely feeling very uneasy and scared. You need to give them these 2-3 days to adjust, and just sitting beside their cage talking to them is enough for now. I wouldn't be trying to hold them for these few days.
After that, then start placing the treat on your palm and resting it inside the cage door, allowing them to come and go as they please. DO NOT CHASE THEM DOWN. This is crucial to building trust with them. If you are chasing them with your hands, trying to grab and hold them, they will view you as a predator and will not be inclined to trust you. You will be ahead of the game if you understand that even if they were very tame with their previous owners, you are a complete stranger to them, and as such they have no reason to trust you as yet. (Put another way, just because you have money saved in one bank, doesn't mean you have the same amount in every bank. You need to build a trust account with these deugs.) This can take time, sometimes mere days, and other times months or even years, depending on the temperament and character of the degus you are dealing with. Don't despair though, it is entirely possible to build a very successful relationship with your two new degus. Just be VERY patient, and VERY persistant.
Let us know how things are going!
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Post by malteser60 on Sept 14, 2011 11:35:17 GMT
Hi Ash, welcome from me to the forum. You'll find lots of information on this forum about how to look after your degus and hints and tips on training your degus. Just go down to the Introductions and Training section and read through the sticky's.
Otherwise as deguconvert said, you will need to build up the trust between you and your degus. Once that trust is built up degus will start to consider you one of their own, so even though they were tame with the previous owner it does mean that you need to get them to trust you as well.
And the key to all this is lots and lots of patience. Good luck and let us know how it goes.
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Post by harpic01 on Nov 11, 2011 13:49:58 GMT
Hi Ash deguconvert is a bit of a god when it comes to degu's ;D (£10.00 in the post to me ) time and patience two things you will need with these adorable creatures - i have 7 - the 7th came last sunday and ive been talking to him for a few days letting him sniff my hand and now he is taking treats and came out via my dressing gown on his own - some are very forward others like chilli and Pepper my eldest were so frightened and jumpy that pepper has only just got to coming on my hand after 2 years but he is a very shy goo - but they will come to investigate and talking to the them gets them used to you. A handy tip is as you come into the room they are in - starting talking to them - that way they are not startled or jump and will get used to hearing you and associate to you This is a fantastic place for help support and justing chatting everyone is brilliant and so helpful - welcome happy gooing
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