not sure if i have a overweight or a pregnant degu

[madhoose]

Hi all, had my degus around 7 weeks now they are around 5 months old.. i was told they were 2 boys turns out 1 is a girl, she has been eating non stop for weeks now and is piling on the weight in fact she's put on 47g in 3 weeks .. i am getting more convinced she is pregnant but i'm worried as she is still so young herself.. i would like to get the boy nutered but i'm not sure if he's to young... i'm just looking for some advice as i've not got a clue what to do.. thanks Karen

[nuttz]

i really couldnt say if your girl is pregnant or not but it sounds pretty likely due to the fact that you have both a female and male..
my degu (willow) has just given birth this morning to 5 possibly 6 babies, she is also 5 months old and so far she is doing a fantastic job, ive just checked her and she is eating some breakfast whilst sitting in her nest...lol
i only really noticed any weight gain shortly after moving into my new house 4 weeks ago, unlike other members had noticed with their pregnant goos, willow never really went through the resting period, infact she was up running around last night when i went to bed.. if i sat long enough i could see her babies moving inside her belly from about a week before birth and she really did look pearshaped, otherwise she seemed quite normal.
i do believe (although can NOT be certain) that male goos can be neutered from 6 months of age... way back it was believed that you should wait until degus reached 1 year however, im sure ive heard since that it is safe to be done sooner, im sure somebody will be able to confirm this for you!
fingers are crossed that youve just got a porky goo but if your girl does turn out to be pregnant then i see no reason to worry too much, the only real advice i can offer is to try to prevent her from falling pregnant again, especially soon after the birth.. im not sure if you are aware, but females are fertile again straight after birth so it would be necessary to separate the father before birth up until 4 to 5 days after birth, after this time he can then be reunited back with mum and pups!
if you have any more questions just fire away... i personally am not the best person to ask advice from but there are a whole bunch of people here that are simply amazing ;D

[Ady]

I would too assume she's pregnant. U can spoil her a bit with treats as she will need more energy. She is young but I think lots of miss-sexed degus actually have babies around 6 months of age, she should be fine. U can regulary feel her tummy to find nipples which will appear about 7-10 days before birth. It can give u idea when separate dad. I would give her lots of nesting material (tissue, cotton tea towels...) If she won't make nest, make sure there's safe place for her to give birth. I believe degu can be neutered 12 weeks old although my vet says 5 months onward. Best to ask your vet, make sure they experienced with neurteting degus. Degus are great parents so no need to worry.

[madhoose]

thanks both of you for your advice. I am almost sure she is myself as she has gained the weight so quickly. i've been trying to read up as much as possible about pregnancy in goos and am absolutely terrified about it as well as quite excited..
So should i separate the dad when i see or feel her nipples or maybe give it a couple of days after that so they are not to lonely..? I'm just glad i've still got my old rat cage better start getting it sorted just in case...

[fred]

Hi Karen and welcome to the forum! As the others have already said, it is seems likely that she is pregnant. I would get the boy neutered as soon as possible. It seem that in the UK many vets say 5-6 months is the minimum cage whereas in Germany the suggestion is 3 months. You shouldn't have a problem to find a vet who will do the operation now. You also need to make sure that you separate the boy early enough. Since you do not know when to expect the birth, you better err on the site of caution. Otherwise there is a high risk that she will get pregnant again straight away.

In the wild, degus normally have only one litter per year, which means that females are one year old when they have their first litter. Ideally, this should also be the minimum age in captivity. However, because degus are miss-sexed so often, we have seen many cases of litters at a younger age. Just follow Ady's advice and make sure that she has more energy-rich food than usual and plenty of nesting material available.

[nuttz]

i felt exactly the same, a mixture of total terror and shear excitement...lol
when i found the babies this morning i froze for a second and then began shaking, it was a weird feeling of being worried and excited
i knew that i would have to separate chocs (the male) before birth but worried that i would do it too soon and i didnt want him to to be on his own any longer than necessary, this i think was the hardest time to judge..
i hope im safe as i didnt separate him until this morning, i think at that time she only had 1 or 2 babies so fingers crossed it wasnt too late for me and she continued to birth more pups shortly after?!
they say that once the nipples are felt/ visible its normally roughly a week before birth so to play it safe, i guess that would be the best time to take action! i couldnt feel for nipples as my willow is too timid of me but as i mentioned before i could see the babies moving inside her for about a week before the birth.. normally before birth the mother rests alot more than normal so this could be a warning sign for you as to when you should be expecting???
youve been given some fab advice so far.. lots of bedding/ nesting material is needed (have they started building nests yet? my chocs (father) built some really nice nests on three levels of the cage, if yours have started or start to do this this also could be a sign that the due date is near?) lots of food, and fresh water, other than that im sure you have nothing to worry about, im sure your mummy degu will do a fantastic job as has my willow so far...lol
good luck and keep us updated x

[madhoose]

thanks for the advice Fred, popped into my local vet who said she would be happy to neuter him from 6 months though she hasn't had previous experience with degus.. Not sure I'm happy about letting her though as she believes i can't put dad back in with mum and babies as he will be jealous and kill them.. i know this is totally untrue and i told her how i had been reading up on degu web sites and how there is loads of information from many experienced degu owners on what to do before and after the birth, she replied don't believe everything you read on the net...

[madhoose]

thanks nuttz.. no sign of nipples yet well that i can see anyway.. but she's weighing in at 350g not sure how much heavier she can get and still move about.. they have two lovely nests so far though i had to lower their hammock one to the ground as she has miss judged her jumps a few times.. not as nimble as she thinks she is.. !!!
another question.. they have put so much hard work into their nests and I'm not sure what to do when cleaning the cage.. should i leave the nests as is until after she has pups.. or do i clean them out and let them start over again..?? so far i have just left them though don't think they can get much more in them..

[fred]

Of course you shouldn't believe everything that your read on the net and there are some real bad degus sites around, but what your vet said is utter nonsense. Quite frankly, with that level of knowledge, I wouldn't let her near near my degus. Would Glasgow vet school be an alternative for you?

[malteser60]

Oct 10, 2011 9:12:16 GMT madhoose said:

thanks for the advice Fred, popped into my local vet who said she would be happy to neuter him from 6 months though she hasn't had previous experience with degus.. Not sure I'm happy about letting her though as she believes i can't put dad back in with mum and babies as he will be jealous and kill them.. i know this is totally untrue and i told her how i had been reading up on degu web sites and how there is loads of information from many experienced degu owners on what to do before and after the birth, she replied don't believe everything you read on the net...

Well, If you do happen to have to go back to her again ask her, will scientific references from journals do as proof! If she said that she doesn't have experience with degus but is willing to research and read up about them to do the op then I would say yes, go for her. But with that attitude, not a chance.

[Ady]

Oct 10, 2011 9:31:30 GMT madhoose said:

no sign of nipples yet well that i can see anyway.. but she's weighing in at 350g not sure how much heavier she can get and still move about..

The nipples are quite tiny to see easily. With my girl, when I wanted to check for nipples, I'd offer her a treat but hold on to it tight and while she was trying to pull it out of my fingers I would put my other finger quickly behind her front leg and gently stroke her chest and tummy.... Here's picture of squirrel with visible nipples. Degu's nipples doesn't look exactly like that but they're in the same place on degu, just to give u idea where on her tummy to check. Hm, you probably know that... but here's pic anyway

[fred]

350g is a lot I would separate dad straight away. Better to do this a week or two before it's actually necessary than running the risk of another pregnancy straight away.

[fuzzymum1]

Oct 11, 2011 7:56:50 GMT @fred said:

350g is a lot I would separate dad straight away. Better to do this a week or two before it's actually necessary than running the risk of another pregnancy straight away.

Dorothy weighed in at close to 350g the day before she gave birth. She only had three pups though so I have no idea why she weighed so much.

[madhoose]

Fred, Glasgow vet school is definitely an option i will be looking into not going to risk my local vet..

Ady, thanks for the pic... and Duh. i was looking nearer the tummy .. after a gentle touch i felt them, they really are tiny.. I can also see the babies moving just as Nuttz said.. So i assume the day is near.. I now have another dilema... We are off on holiday this Saturday and i was planning on taking them with me, as we always do, only going a couple of hours down the road. We are like a traveling zoo, only it should be the kids behind bars as the animals are far better behaved... Anyhoo now we know she's definitely having baby goos, anytime soon so i will have to rethink my plans and find someone to look after them as i think it will all be to much for her.. Now i'm quite sad as i'm going to miss the big day..

[madhoose]

Just in case anybody reading this wants to know the outcome..

yes she was expecting ..

Yes she did give birth when we were away..

No we didn't take her with us but i did get back before she had finished birthing.. ;D

There are a couple of pic's in the Degu pic's bit for anybody who wants to have a wee peek, with more to follow when they finally come out of the nest.. Day 7 and still waiting... !!!