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Post by lilcritterfever on Sept 20, 2011 22:40:17 GMT
Just now I heard some loud squeeks coming from one of the 2 week old babies. I saw Paco (my oldest goo, not the father) who had one of the babies underneath him. The poor thing was struggling and squealing like mad. He wasn't making a thrusting motion, so I don't think he was trying to "mount" the baby. He just sat there perfectly still while the little one fussed. I made a noise which startled Paco so the baby could escape. Paco just sat there, frozen, staring at me. I walked away, and just a few seconds later, a baby squealed and I caught Paco doing the same thing. Overall, Paco's behavior has been different since the babies were born. Does this mean he shouldn't be living with them? Is he a danger to them?
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Post by amie on Sept 21, 2011 0:21:59 GMT
I've seen this behaviour with Elijah and the pups and was worried to start with. Elijah is grooming them, but the pup doesn't want to be groomed so he rolls onto his back and squeeks. It apprears to be either a different form of domicance (loser gets groomed) or fatherhood kicking it and putting the pups on their backs when they either play up, or he feels it's grooming time.
I don't know if this is the same thing with your guys, so I'd wait for some other responses.
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shaz
Warbling Degu
Posts: 37
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Post by shaz on Sept 21, 2011 7:58:14 GMT
Sorry I cant be of any help but im sure someone here will be able to answer you question. I hope its nothing to be worried about
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Post by lilcritterfever on Sept 21, 2011 9:35:20 GMT
Thanks for your responses. Amie, I hope you're right and my Paco was just trying to groom and show his dominance over the little one. Although when it happened, it looked to me like he was trying to suffocate the baby. Paco's body was completely covering baby's... I'm hoping someone else will know what this kind of behavior might mean...
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Post by deguconvert on Sept 21, 2011 14:29:09 GMT
I realize this could be way off base . . . but the first thought I had was, "It almost sounds like trying to nurse the babies." Are you sure that Paco is male? Does Momma degu show any alarm when Paco does this? Maybe you will have to remove him if this becomes more dangerous . . . although I'm not sure what you would be watching for to know that.
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Post by amie on Sept 21, 2011 15:05:35 GMT
Another thought in relation to what DC has said. The pups used to (and still do) try to suckle from Elijah, they did this a lot when they were younger. They'd get right underneath him on their backs and look for nipples. His whole body would be covering them when they did this. The babies made squeeking noise while they were doing this.
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Post by lilcritterfever on Sept 21, 2011 15:22:23 GMT
Well, I just witnessed the same situation again, only this time Paco didn't notice that I was watching. This time it looked more like grooming, again with the baby underneath. Not quite sure how to politely say this so I'll just blurt it out... Paco was paying lots of attention to the baby's "cone". I'm not a degu, but it looked painful to me!  To answer your questions deguconvert; I'm quite sure he is male, when compared to his male and female cagemates, he looks the same as Pebbles, who is the father of the new litter. Biscuit was on one of the upper levels when it took place. She was listening to baby's calls, but didn't seem to react. Today Paco seems tense. He's been arguing with the other two adults more than usual. Degu behavior is so mystifying sometimes! I hope I'm just over-reacting.. |
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Post by amie on Sept 21, 2011 15:42:37 GMT
Haha! Sorry! Yes, 'paying lots of attention to' and grooming of the cone if fairly normal, lol.
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