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Post by pinkhairedelf on Dec 11, 2011 18:28:41 GMT
Hey Guys,
As you know I have 3 brothers all around 15 weeks or so old now.
They are settling nicely and getting more used to me and the like.
The last 2 days I have noticed Hoodie (the middle one in size) trying to sniff the others and trying to mount them, they squeak at him to go away and/or run away but he is pretty constant with it. Even tried to mount Tom whilst he was running on the wheel earlier.
He managed to mount Ninja and was going hell for leather until Ninja managed to make a run for it.
Is this anything I should be worried about? Is there anything I can do to make it better for the other 2 that keep getting his amourous advances?
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Post by NightwishRaven999 on Dec 11, 2011 18:59:22 GMT
I am afraid this is normal behavior...especially for degus of this age.
Degus are not the only animals to do this, many rodents carry out this behavior.
If your three are indeed males, this has nothing to do with sex. It is actually a sign of dominance for a male to mount another male.
The one causing this trouble, is trying to assert his dominance over the other two.
Degus establish a hierarchy based on physical strength, that is often why a larger and more dominant degu will assume control/leadership over his smaller and weaker conspecifics.
Size is not always a factor though...as you point out.
This is normal behavior and I suggest you leave them be. The sooner they establish a hierarchy, the sooner things will settle down for all your degus.
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Post by amie on Dec 11, 2011 19:08:45 GMT
All rodents do this. Even girls! lol. What NightwishRaven has said to you, would have been my exact response too  It's annoying, but you just have to let them get on with it! |
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Post by malteser60 on Dec 11, 2011 22:58:23 GMT
The only thing I have to add is that size is not always everything. For a long time Nutmeg was my dominant degu and she even seemed to pile on more weight to be bigger than the others. However, I saw the other day Willow, who is only a couple months old and half her size flip Nutmeg onto her back. Looks like we have a new dominant degu! As for the humping, don't even get me started on that!!
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Post by pinkhairedelf on Dec 16, 2011 23:28:21 GMT
thanks guys - for the time being it seems to have stopped so they must have sorted something out between them.
Its so sweet, they all have such distinct personalities coming out
Tom is the smallest but also the friendliest and will come close if called. He is the first to leap out of the cage if you open the doors. He is also the running wheel master!
Ninja is the biggest but also the laziest, when you let him out he just goes far enough to find a comfy place to sleep. He is also the most timid and can normally be found hiding in his nest
Hoodie is the middle guy and the one who keeps trying to be top degu. he is getting friendlier and gets even more friendly if you happen to be holding millet! He is also the digger, and no matter how deep you hide oats he will find them!
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Post by smithomatic on Dec 17, 2011 7:55:49 GMT
I loved reading this post, I love how all degus are different just like people and all have thier own little idiosyncrasies |
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It's annoying, but you just have to let them get on with it!
