My male is skiny can you give advice???

[melissa22]

My only male degu Rocket is really skinny and really small im just wondering if there's something wrong or could he be the runt of his litter???

My 4 girls Jellybean, Peanut, Apple and Cherry are bigger than him i dont mean fatter well i do but size aswell. I dont know what 2 do 1 of my girls is pregnant (peanut) hes the dad of course so i dont want to seperate them. Another of my girls Jellybean is huge im feeding them degu selective and hay. give them the odd treat now and again sunflower seed, peanut, raisin. not all at same time lol! but i limit them.

I cant get him to put on weight and i cant get the other girls to loose it. they have 4 wheels in their cage loads of room 2 run and jump i let them out and play as much as i can. they are all very active even the male. He eats fine always looking for more so i dont get it!!!

Help!!!!

[Sasami]

He shouldn't be living with the girls as he could get them all pregnant. In fact, male degus will sometimes mate with females right after they give birth which is very unhealthy. I would either neuter him or separate him and pair him with one of his sons if a boy is born.

Anyways, did you weigh the degus? And has he gone to a vet? It's definitely possible that he's simply smaller than the others but I would ask for a vet's opinion . Without knowing his weight or even seeing pictures, it's going to be hard for anyone to tell you if he's underweight over the internet.

I would avoid feeding raisins, by the way, as they're quite high in sugar. Stick to the nuts and seeds .

Oh, and what brand of food are you feeding? Maybe the food is causing the weight problems.

Good luck and welcome to Paw-Talk!