normally well behaved goo now biting

[madhoose]

our wee boy normally fine with us has started biting not me but the rest of the family..over the last few days.. he only does it when he's out the cage.. last night my daughter was sitting on the floor watching telly her hand was lying flat on the floor, he done what i can only explain as a run by biting almost sliced all the way around her index finger.. really quite deep took almost half an hour to stop it bleeding.. not sure whats going on but i would like some advice as to how we can help to stop him before it becomes a habit.. i should mention that he became a proud father 6 days ago not sure if he's in protective mode or what but then as i said he is always out of the cage having his runabout when he just seems to run up and bite..

any advice would be much appreciated.....

[deguconvert]

Hmmm!! I'll do some thinking on this. Degus are very smart little characters and sometimes it's difficult to suss out what is cooking in their little brains. It could be that he is acting in a protective, pre-emptive strike type of mode, trying to scare away what he interprets as a potential predator. This makes sense in many ways, as he would like do something like this to defend the nest if he were in the wild. He has a good bond and trust relationship with you?? Has he been held much or had much interactions with your daughter? Has she been looking in the nest at the pups, or buzzing around the cage any differently than pre-birth times? It would be totally normal for her to have a keen interest in the pups . . . heavens, we adults have a keen interest!! Maybe he is really uncertain of her and has decided he needs to try and scare her off.

Your poor little girl!! If I were you, I would have her to the doctor to be checked. Degu bites can get a nasty infection sometimes, and you may need to be treating her. Soaking her hand in a warm bath of water and Epsom Salts can help to draw out any infection if there is any, but she may need more than that. There are members here who've needed antibiotics for bad bites.

[madhoose]

**[ It could be that he is acting in a protective, pre-emptive strike type of mode, trying to scare away what he interprets as a potential predator. This makes sense in many ways, as he would like do something like this to defend the nest if he were in the wild.]**

Thinking about it that does make sense as i have noticed when the kids come home from school doesn't go into the nest he will rather sit above it and watch them and watch us. I thought he was always kicked out by pumpkin but now i see the pattern when the house is quiet he's always in nest cosing up to them when everybody is home he's out watching everything.... Poor wee man and believe me our house is quite hectic there are 7 of us....

The strange thing is him and Rebecca get on really well only 5 minutes before he was all over her.

Yes she has been looking the nest, not in the cage though only through the bars, kids aren't allowed to open the cage, mainly because i don't want any escapees. I have to be honest and say we have all been buzzing around the cage more than normal in the hope of getting a wee peek at those gorgeous wee babies but we don't disturb them in the cage. The only time i have been near them was when i was trying to help them, before we decided to put him back in, that's why i only have a few pic's of them .. Can't wait till they are active i'll be snap happy .. ;D

With the bite, I've been keeping an eye on it and it looks ok seems to be healing well. I didn't realize their bites could be quite nasty.. Though I did soak it in TCP .. Don't know at that point what hurt her more the bite or the TCP.. But i will pick up some Epsom Salts today and bath it in them just to be on the safe side, if anything changes at all i'll get her to the doc's.

Thanks for your advice it's helped me piece things together and see the bigger picture. I think i've realized there is quite a lot going on in here, maybe to much for the poor wee man when trying to protect his pup's and that it would be better to move the cage to a quieter part of the room or another room altogether until the pups are older, then he would be able to relax a wee bit and not have to be on guard constantly

Thanks again

[deguconvert]

That might be a good idea . . . at least until the pups are moving around the cage a lot more. However, don't stop your own handling of both parents. You want to keep them used to being handled so that they don't reverse on you. Once the pups are active and out and about, I think should bring them back into the thick of things so that all of them can adjust to the activity in the house. I think then that Pipsqueak will begin to relax more as he sees that there is no threat.

[madhoose]

yea that sounds like the best plan .. So I've moved them and hopefully the poor wee man can relax a wee bit now..