need help - Paw Talk

jade1030 · #1 06-12-2009, 10:57 PM

I just aquired a 3 yr old male degu, he seems to be acting fine running around eating drinking ect...my concern is the fact that he seems to be itching an awful lot and he also looks chubby until u run your hand along his back and then you can feel his ribs and backbone...i gave him more food then what the lady had said that she gives him i also gave him some fresh veggies and timothy hay. this is my first degu and i was worried that there was something wrong with him...if anyone can help me with this problem please get back to me

emmzie87 · #2 06-13-2009, 12:54 PM

if you can check him for mites, rub/brush him over a damp piece of tissue paper,mite dirt will come off in little red specks.goo's do scratch a fair bit, a good sand bath will keep his fur clean.

jade1030 · #3 06-13-2009, 01:33 PM

Thank you...i can get him to stand on my hand and actually crawl completely into my hand but as soon as i try to pick him up out of his cage he jumps off my hand and im afraid to reach in a pick him up bc of how skinny he feels...do you know how to get him to where he will let me get him out of the cage i talk to him all the time and he gets excited when he hears my voice...the lady i got him from said she had him out all the time holding him so im kinda lost...

emmzie87 · #4 06-13-2009, 03:16 PM

keep talking to him, if u can get him used to a noise(mine are used to a metal bowl of of corn for treats)i shake that and they run over, so with my voice and this noise they practically jump out the cage at me.it just takes time for them to get used to you holding them, try scratching him behind the ear,they cant resist it, it sometimes look as if their heads gonna screw off....funny stuff.by the sounds of it, the previous owner did good taming him,goo's can be quite skitish sometimes,but by the sounds of it,he seems like a cool little fella.keep working with him, any more q's ill keep replying,i always seem to be on this thing..good luck,em.

jade1030 · #5 06-13-2009, 04:29 PM

He finally let me hold him but only for a spilt second my brother managed to coax him into his ball and he went crazy when he heard my voice and jumped out into my hand as soon as i opened the ball then looked up as if this isnt my cage and back in the ball he went...he likes behinds his ears scratched he also likes between his shoulders scratched...thank you very much for your help...the only other question i have is was i right to give him more food then the lady that had him before did b/c of the fact that he feels so skinny?

jade1030 · #6 06-13-2009, 05:23 PM

moebo is three years old and the lady i got him from had just him i'm thinking of getting him a friend to play with but i'm worried that he's too old...is he too old to have a cagemate??