# new degu needed



## degumanic (May 31, 2010)

hello all

this is the first time i have posted anything on this site. i am looking for a new degu as one of my pair has had a stroke and died. i do not know why this happened but the other one is fit and well but missing her friend. does any one know where i can get a rescue degu from as i dont like to but from a pet shop. the place we got our pair from do not have any more at the moment, hence my request. i live in essex and i am hoping that there is somewhere close by.

many thnaks for any help that you can give me


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

Is this any good?
SE England Male degu free to good home - Reptile Forums


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## Paws&Claws (Aug 29, 2009)

Please becareful! If the degu is afew months old he/she may not like having a new friend and may begin to fight!! Then you will have 2 lonely degus! Please seek special advise from a breeder to see if you can bond them!

Good luck x


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## NightwishRaven999 (Apr 18, 2010)

Female degus are very easy to introduce to each other.
With proper techniques and introductions, this can be done sucessfully with degus of all ages. Introducing a degu to another degu is far from impossible.

You should have no problem trying to find a female degu in the UK
There are many degus up for adoption at animal shelters are there are usually many in the Pets at Home adoption centers.

Strokes can often be caused by high temperatures.
Remember that degus cannot tolerate heat and humidity, so anything over 
25C is considered to be dangerous for them. Degus also cannot sweat, so strokes can happen if the degu is over heating.
The best would be to have air conditioner or to place a frozen bean bag in the cage when it gets too warm.

If you use a fan to air out the room where your degus are, try not to point the fan directly at the cage. Strong winds/air currents can cause them to have eye infections.

The best would be to find another female degu (possibly a young pair) to accompany your lone one as soon as possible. When you do find one (or two) let us know...we will be able to give you advice about the introductions if you need some.

Hope this helps
Best wishes
Jordan


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## degumanic (May 31, 2010)

thank you nighwishraven99.

we are looking now for a friend for our little girl, but i am not sure if our cage will take three degus. but even if we could modify our cage and extend it are you sure the pair that we buy would not fight with our little lady?

many thanks for your comments and i will deffiantly becoming back for some advice. although myself and my husband did a lot of research before we got them there is so much more that we did not know.

mandy


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## NightwishRaven999 (Apr 18, 2010)

Hi Mandy

Just so you know, its very normal for the degus to fight at first.
Thats how they establish a group hierarchy. One has to assert dominance over the other for the gorup to become stable...and once that happens, things go smoothly.

One of the most common mistakes new degus owners do it separate their degus if they see a bit of fighting. Unless the degus are hurting each other and rolling around the cage in a ball, pulling fur out...they should not be separated. Thats the worst thing one can do.

Some owners dont understand this and keep trying to reintroduce their degus to each other and separate them when the same thing happens over and over. They then condemn their degus to solitary life and claim they dislike company. Its very sad how many people misunderstand their degus.


Introductions without fighting are rare.
The degus NEED to do this. They even do this in the wild.
Degus are social creatures and need to establish a hierarchy.
Each time an owner separates their degus, they destroy the hierarchy and dont give their degus a chance to settle down.

Introductions can take anywhere between a day to a few weeks.
Most of the time the new degus will submit to the already established one(s) and accept their low position in the group.

Occasionally, one of the new degus will want to be the boss and will try to dominate the other degus. Of course, the established degu(s) wont let a new degu boss him/her around, so a fight ensues.

Degus use their physical strength to decide who will be boss.
Sometimes a fight can last a few minutes before one of the degus settles down and submits, sometimes both degus are so stubborn they will fight for a few days before one finally gives up.

With females, intros usually go smoothly.
But I just want you to understand, fighting is entirely normal with degus.
Thats how they are. 

There are many websites that have fighting guides on this matter and explain the same thing. Two degus that fight...is not a sign that they dont like each other...its simply a sign that the group hierarchy hasnt been settled yet or that one degu thinks he/she is strong enough to assert dominance over the others.

You can tell if two degus truly dont get along when the fighting is constant and becomes very intense. Although this is rare and usually only occurs with males, two degus can fight badly and start pulling each other's fur and even result to clawing or biting. 
This is a sign that they need to be separated for a while and re-introduced to each other.

As for introducing a new female to your female, I though I would mention two would be possible, since there tends to be fewer problems in small groups than in pairs. But if the cage isnt big enough for three, then stick to just getting one. Try to find a young female (between 3-6 months of age).
Young females usually dont want to know anything about being the Alpha degu, so your female will quickly assume leadership over the new one and things should settle nicely in no time.

Its still very possible to introduce an adult female as well though.
There is know way, I or anyone else can tell you if the introduction will work.
This depends on the way you introduce them and most importantly on the degus themselves.


Let us know what you find.
We will give you some tips and methods as far as introductions go.
I have six females myself, so I have a pretty good idea of how you can proceed with this.


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