New to degus... - Paw Talk

ky-rae · #1 06-10-2008, 01:59 AM

so, i've had it for a couple days and i say it not because i'm mean and evil, but because i have no clue if it's a boy or girl. does anyone know how i can tell. i'm just going to call it a boy for now, because that's easier.
but, i've been reading a lot about him, and i think i have the basics down. i didn't know anything about them, but i went to the pet shop and they had babies there so i bought one. i didn't know they should be kept in groups or pairs, but i don't know if he's a boy or girl so i can't really get another one. unless i bring him with me to the pet shop and ask them to check.
and he still doesn't have a name, because i can't think of any.

any help?

mulder · #2 06-10-2008, 05:48 AM

hi and welcome! congrats on your degu. you're right they should be kept in pairs. we'll help you sex your guy so you can go get another buddy! so, for degu parts, there's not much to see. girls and boys look the same but the boys parts are farther from the bum than girl parts. maybe someone here can explain it better

MañasMom · #3 06-10-2008, 09:05 PM

Welcome to the world of Degus! It can be quite hard to sex Degus. It's easiest to do by comparing 2 Degus. Here's a link that can help, and if you keep following the links it will lead you to a good picture of male and female Degus.

http://www.btinternet.com/~p.long/de...faq.htm#SEXING

If you take your little Degu back to the pet store, you could try comparing his/her rear to the other Degus in the cage. It is best to keep them in pairs, so getting another Degu who has the same looking rear is your best bet.

You can keep a solitary Degu, but it takes a lot more time and work on your part to make sure they're happy and healthy - they're really very social animals, and don't do well locked away in a cage by themselves all day.

Keep coming back, and when you get a chance, share some photos of your new little guy or girl!

ky-rae · #4 06-10-2008, 09:37 PM

well, i'm thinking it's a girl. after looking at it and looking at pictures. it has almost no space between it's parts.
and i want to get another, buuut we had a bad experience with a rat having babies. well, it wasn't bad we just didn't want to have 12 rats instead of one. so my mom wants to be absolutely certain on what gender it is before i get him/her a friend.
and i was thinking of taking her back to the store with me where i got her when i go to get another one, and asking them to help me. because, i don't want her to get sad and lonely.

ky-rae · #5 06-10-2008, 09:43 PM

oh and i will definately try to post up some pictures later.

MañasMom · #6 06-10-2008, 09:59 PM

I totally understand the fear of ending up with a million Degus! And I am so happy that you are responsible, and want to avoid that. I wish more people were more careful about that. Good for you!

That's how I ended up with my first Degus. A family had 1 male/female pair, and soon ended up with too many Degus. Thank you for caring about them enough to try to avoid that!

ky-rae · #7 06-11-2008, 07:28 PM

yeah. i don't have room for that many degus! or the money to get another cage at the moment. i'm just trying to be careful!

ky-rae · #8 06-11-2008, 08:02 PM

heres some pictures though

she won't leave my zip tie alone!

her cage. the other night the hay ball wasn't all the way full, and i came in and she was sitting in it.

another one of her cage. and her checking out her new hammock.
she has like... 3 different places to sleep and last night she was sleeping on the ground next to the lock.

playing with the zip ties i made since she loves the one one my arm so much. i just took a bunch and linked them together and hung them from the roof of the cage. she loves it!

trying to figure out what on earth i was doing.

MañasMom · #9 06-11-2008, 11:28 PM

Awwww, she is really a pretty little girl! My little girl loves the zip ties too.

That's a great idea to give her some to play with. I have a couple that I put on some of the bars, and my little girls pulls and pushes them and spins them. They can be really content with the simplest little home made toys.

She's beautiful! Congratulations!

**Sasami** · #10 06-12-2008, 02:04 AM

Welcome to Paw-Talk and congrats on the new degu!

She's very cute!

Hibbleton · #11 06-12-2008, 05:43 PM

Omg, she's *adorable*! She must be still very young?

Did you make the hammock, ky-rae? i have an old pillowcase i want to tie up, but not sure how to do it... i guess it's all just trial and error.

ky-rae · #12 06-12-2008, 06:35 PM

thank you. =))
she is still young. i'm not sure exactly how old, but the man at the pet store said they were babies.
and yes i made the hammock.
all i did was take an old shirt and cut a big square out of it and some slits in the corners. and i used zipties to hang it up, which i know i'll have to be careful with because more likely than not she'll just chew them up.

mebri123 · #13 06-14-2008, 02:21 PM

looks like a very healthy cute goo.... have you read up on how to pair new goos together... you might want to try and get one of the siblings if they are still for sale..... it will be easier to pair them....
I have a lonely goo b-cause i have not been able to pair her successfully with any other goo..... She has been almost killed by other goos three times..... I think there might be something wrong with her genetically that the other goos can sense...... that i cant see.... b-cause she is impossible to pair up with anyone..... and i have tried many different ways... you name it i tried it...... but im sure you''ll be fine .. mine might be a special case....

ky-rae · #14 06-15-2008, 02:39 AM

yeah i'm gonna go back to the pet store where i bought her hopefully this week and get one of them if they're still there. i figured that would be much easier.