hi I'm new, and have a portly degu

[pinkhebe]

Hi I hope you all can help - this is the best site I've found about Degus.

We got 3 lovely little boys 2 weeks ago, all seem fine and healthy, but one of them (Eenie) is a more portly size than his brothers (Meenie and Minie Mo). He doesn't look unwell, Isn't off his food (obviously), isn't lethagic, but he isn't as spritely like his 2 brothers, he doesn't jump all over the cage, although has no problem getting around, and is very fast when you try and catch him

He does seem to be 'top dog' though, and I've had to start to hand feed them some of their food in the morning, otherwise Eenie will sit in the food bowl and not let the others in. I'm also being very careful with the food that they eat (degus food with maybe a mini shredded wheat each, plently of hay and bottled water).

Have I just got a lazy degu? I'm not really sure what size they should be (I can't work out how to put photos on here, even if they'd stay still long enough ) He looks very comfy and the other degu love to sleep on top of him

Is it fair to make him do some exercise (I have a large plastic ball for them), a wheel should be comming tomorrow for their cage, so maybe he'll like that

Anyway so far this board has been very informative so I hope someone can answer my questions.

[Hanlou]

Erm, are they definitely all males?!

Just a thought, that's all, as otherwise, pregnancy could explain the weight gain. I apologise if this seems as if it's making you out to be daft - it 's not that!! But I have seen countless posts of people who have had what they thought were two males and then it turned out that one was female.

Otherwise, a wheel will definitely help your degus to get their necessary exercise.

[pinkhebe]

Hanlou - that was the first thing I thought of (we had 2 rescue guinea pigs both of which turned out to be pregnant). They all have a habit of mounting each other and I'm pretty sure we've now seen all their equipment . I'll keep a sharp eye on them all. thanks for replying

[pinkhebe]

the degus are nearly 6 months old - is this too young for one to have become pregnant?

I'm sure they're all boys, or at least I hope so

[Amethystbelle]

In my opinion 6 months is kinder young for one to be pregnant as degu's can tend to take anywhere upto 6 months to mature but anything is possible and i'd definately check there sexes once more to be sure so you can at least rule that out. But its probably a case of him maybe being less active and eating more than the other two. I have 4 degu's and one is a little thinner than the other three but thats just the way he is. He should be getting towards fully grown now aswell and degu's by nature tend to have a portly build and tend to be quite robust little creatures especially the males. Every degu is different though like humans, some are more prone to putting on weight than others etc... If you are worried then cut out his treats and increase his excercise and see how you get on!

As for the excercise idea it is a great one and a trip out his cage once a day for a good run round will do him the world of good. I let mine out in my hallway as its all enclosed and nothing they can destoy in there and they love running up and down the stairs as it gives them a good workout so letting him out is a good idea. But as for the ball idea i don't really suggest locking a degu up in a ball as they don't tend to like being confined in such a small space, you could however let them use the ball with the lid off it so they can get in and out as they please which works kinder well in a confined room. The wheel is a great idea mine love theres and never had a degu yet that hasn't loved his wheel Also by adding things like rope to his cage and making him work for his treats in future will all help

Goodluck and welcome to the world of being owned by degu's as lifes never quite the same again

[Purplebunny]

Hi and welcome to PT and degu owners club! Kirsty has given some great advice, if you need any more help just ask, I am sure we can help!

[pinkhebe]

thank you very much for your replies - I think I've now stopped panicing about one of them being pregnant

Looking at the portly one, I'm now wondering if the fact that his tail is not as long as his brothers may have something to do with him not joining in with the acrobatics 8)

Anyway we have an endless supply of larger poster tubes which they love, and last night suspended one from the roof of one of their floors - they seem to love that. In fact they seem to love anything new I now have a real problem when opening the door, as at least 2 of them try to escape, and they've started following me when they're in the cage. tbh - they're so cute