Degu just died, does my other one need a new friend?

[Blubird607]

One of my 2.5 year old male degus just died (I'm unbelievably devastated that he was so young)...and now I'm worried about the remaining degu, Degas. I know degus are social animals and often get depressed when left alone. Should I get him a new friend? If so, should I be looking for a younger one, one around the same age, where should I look, etc.? I just don't want them to terrorize each other since Degas has already had his territory set for 2.5 years...

Thanks everyone!

[Sasami]

I'm very sorry for your loss, it's difficult when they're so young .

He would probably appreciate a friend and I would look for a younger one. Younger males are easier to introduce to an already established male. A baby would be perfect. I've posted steps and tips for introducing degus in a bunch of threads here so check them out if you need help. Also feel free to ask me questions, I just have to run for now.

[Blubird607]

Thank you so much for your response! I'm starting to look around at breeders and pet stores - I'm in upstate NY and will be moving to Boston in September. Any recommendations? I've also been reading up on instructions of how to introduce pets.

Just out of curiosity, why would a baby be best? Will Degas not try to overpower him a lot?

Thanks again, I really really appreciate your advice!

[Sasami]

How upstate are you? Don't forget to check Petfinder and local shelters, there have been a handful of degus in shelters lately in NY.

A baby is best because they aren't seen as a threat to an adult and the adult will usually tolerate them more .

[Blubird607]

I'm an hour and a half almost due north of the city. I've checked petfinder and oodle(?).com and found a few possible adoptions. Just wondering if there are more options!

[Sasami]

Hmm, you may be near me.

How far are you from Poughkeepsie? There's a small animal rescue in Poughkeepsie that often has degus, some listed on Petfinder.

[Blubird607]

About 40 minutes north of Poughkeepsie - do you know the name of the animal rescue? Would they have babies?

Thanks you thank you thank you!

[Sasami]

http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/NY950.html

I'm not sure if they have babies or not although they may have some younger degus. I don't think she lists all of her animals so it would be worth a shot to e-mail/call her .

Good luck .

[Blubird607]

Thanks so much, I just emailed her!

[Blubird607]

Sorry to ask another question - I've found someone who has younguns for adoption (found her on oodle). She has 13 week olds or 10 month olds...which do you think would be better??

[Sasami]

The 13 week degus would probably be a bit easier to introduce but it's really up to you since neither age is exactly a baby OR totally mature .

[Blubird607]

Thank you thank you! She unfortunately seems to have trouble sexing them so I need to do some intense research on how to do that. She also says the 10 months old may be a bit more flexible with living situations but I think you may be right that the younger they are, the more comfortable they may be with learning new places, smells, and degus.

[Blubird607]

One more question - I have the option between 2 two or so month old males from a pet store and 2 15 week old degus from a woman in Long Island. Does that 1 - 2 month age difference affect anything? Which would you suggest?

[Sasami]

The younger ones might be easier to introduce but I wouldn't recommend getting degus from a pet store, honestly. They're usually not socialized very well. Provided the woman with the 15 week old is handling her degus, those sound like the better choice especially since they're still young .

[Blubird607]

Ok. cant tell you how helpful you've been!