# Degu help?



## AmyLouisee (Jan 12, 2013)

Hi there everyone I was wondering if any of you could help me? I have a male degu named Buzz. I adopted him off a guy that lived not far from me. He already had 8 degus in one cage (4female, 4male), he said once he put buzz in the cage the other degus would fight and attack him. Which is why he was getting rid of him. So sadly buzz has about 2 holes in his ears from fighting  
Anyway my problem is that he wont let me handle him  He allows me to touch his head and stroke him but as soon as i put my hand around his back or try to put my hand under him he goes to bite me and squeaks at me /:
Is there anything i can do? 
Any help or advice would be much appreciated


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## Nat88 (Oct 18, 2012)

He's very cute 

I have found the degus we used to keep enjoyed it when you used one finger to gently stroke their cheek, backwards and forwards. If you can stroke his head perhaps slowly try to move your finger down to his cheek? They would then lift their front leg up and allow you to tickle under their belly  I think degus tend to be quite skittish but with handling they eventually become very tame, even more tolerant of handling than my rats are!

Another way I got them used to me was sitting still on the floor, reading a book while they free-ranged. One degu, Manuel started sitting on my head . The other one, Blitz was extremely skittish at first and it took us hours to catch him but with a little patience he became as tame as the others. Good luck and hopefully he will get used to you. Good on you for adopting him


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## AmyLouisee (Jan 12, 2013)

Thank you
He does let me stroke his cheek and shows me his teeth, he also likes it when i rub his armpit lol he lifts his front leg up for me to do it
I think im going to take your advice and just let him run and sit on the floor and hopefully in time he will be more comfortable around me

Thanks very much for the advice


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## Guest (Jan 16, 2013)

I would look at getting him a friend, degu's are extremely social creatures so tend to become very depressed if kept on their own, some will even self barber.
By the sounds of it he wasn't bonded into the group properly, you can't just shove another straight into the cage, there is a huge lengthy bonding process especially with males. Sometimes just the smell of girls can upset a group of boys as they fight for mating rights.

With all my degu's I have let them come to me in their own time, so I just sit on the floor reading a book whilst they have free range time, it doesn't take long before curiosity gets the better of them  Be very careful when picking Degu's up because they have floating ribs so it is very easy to hurt them if they aren't comfortable with you.

I think once your boy has a playmate he will come on in leaps and bounds


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## Nat88 (Oct 18, 2012)

B3rnie said:


> Be very careful when picking Degu's up because they have floating ribs so it is very easy to hurt them if they aren't comfortable with you.
> 
> I think once your boy has a playmate he will come on in leaps and bounds


Also wanted to add never to grab them by the tail as it can tear. They are great little pets though, and live for a decent amount of time. I do miss ours


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## AmyLouisee (Jan 12, 2013)

Thanks for all the great advice, I'm going to look into getting him a friend.
Would it matter if it was male or female?
And would age matter? Is it okay to introduce him to a younger degu or should i be looking for one more around his age? (one problem though, im not sure on his age /: i can tell he is obviously fully grown...i think, he has grown a little since we got him but not much and that was about a year ago)

I havent tried to pick him up yet as like i said he goes to bite me, so when i get the chance to finally do so i will be careful i wouldnt wanna hurt the little guy


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## Guest (Jan 16, 2013)

AmyLouisee said:


> Thanks for all the great advice, I'm going to look into getting him a friend.
> Would it matter if it was male or female?
> And would age matter? Is it okay to introduce him to a younger degu or should i be looking for one more around his age? (one problem though, im not sure on his age /: i can tell he is obviously fully grown...i think, he has grown a little since we got him but not much and that was about a year ago)
> 
> I havent tried to pick him up yet as like i said he goes to bite me, so when i get the chance to finally do so i will be careful i wouldnt wanna hurt the little guy


You would need to get another male otherwise you will have pups and degu's can breed straight after birth 

It would probably be easiest to bond him to a younger male, that way by the time the hormones hit they should be firm friends and as you don't have girls they won't have anyone to fight over 
Bonding should be done on neutral territory and can take up to a month or two (although most are quicker) so you will need a separate cage for the bonding process.

To start with you want to put the cages side by side so they can see, hear and smell each other but not fight. Everyday you will want to switch all the toys and sand baths, this helps them get used to each others smell.

Once they stop showing aggressive signs to each other (tail banging, barking ect) you can move on to the next stage.

Give them a dust bath in the same sand so they smell the same and take them to a neutral area (I use the bath with a towel down) and put them in together making sure you watch them and your ready to split should anything start (using a towel to put over one degu stops you getting bitten in the process). Keep the sessions short to start with, I normally stick to 10-15 mins for the first session and the pop them back in separate cages and then gradually build up the time each day, if any scuffles happen then go back to 10-15 mins.

Once the time has been built up to around an hour without issues then neutralise a cage (scrub with white vinegar and hot water) and put the degus in without any toys or houses, making sure to keep an eye on them.
After 24 hours in the cage you can start to add in toys and a dust bath, but only add one toy at a time. If this starts any scuffles then take it out and give them another 24 hours.
Keep repeating until you have a fully furnished cage and happy goo's 

As I said bonding goos isn't as easy as plonking them in a cage :incazzato:


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## AmyLouisee (Jan 12, 2013)

Sounds like a long process lol but im sure it will be worth it at the end, well hopefully sometime in the near future Buzz will finally allow me to handle him


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## pouncing (Jan 23, 2013)

I keep hearing bout the degus getting belly rubs and its pretty much the only thing mine wont do. They let me scoop them up and one loves a snugle in the hand. Sitting with them is good advice, from day one they liked jumping on shoulders and going down your clothes,sharp claws (for climbing). They are the ultimate investment, ive had mine a year now and the shy one is still getting noticeably tamer by the week,he spends longer and longer in my hand,the other will sleep there.
Degu eating in Hand - YouTube


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## pouncing (Jan 23, 2013)

Just uploaded this, the result of spending a good hour everyday with him for a year. Degu sleeps in hands - YouTube


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## DeguFan (Apr 20, 2012)

I don't think degus like being picked up round the waist. Mine certainly don't. My 2 boys are happy to crawl out onto my hands and arms though. Try tempting him out with treats. My boys now recognise the sound of the treats bag. If I rustle it even slightly they come rushing out!


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## pouncing (Jan 23, 2013)

ha i know what you mean about treats, the slightest rustle. They hate the belly grab cuz thats what predators do and someone said something about 'floating ribs' so its painful too.


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