Thinking about Breeding Degus

[Kristen25]

I just recently purchased a larger cage to house more Degus and am thinking about breeding. My local pet store said they would buy the babies from me. However I can't find any female Degus in the area of Northern Indiana. Any one have any tips on where I could find Females as well as any 1st time breeder tips?

[Kendalle]

Well consider if you are willing for some of them to end up as snake food, or go into homes that put them in a 10 gal fish tank, or someone that buys one for their 4 year old kid to take care of.

You will have no say in who buys them or how they take care of them.

Also do you know the blood lines of your degus?

Do you have money for vet care if needed? Do you have time to spend on more degus? Do you have space for 2 cages (one males, one females?) Plus money for extra food, extra toys, and so forth?

[MañasMom]

Ditto what Kendalle said. It sounds like a really simple thing to do, but there's a lot more involved than one might imagine. I think the hardest thing would be getting attached to the babies and then not knowing where they'll end up, or if they'll be taken care of.

[Kristen25]

That's true, I didn't think about where the babies might end up. I do have 2 cages now one large one that can house 4 degus comfortably and one cage that can house 2 degus comfortably. I just was thinking about how cute the little babies would be and then maybe keeping a couple of the babies to add to our degu family. I didn't think about a vet bill either. I mean I know if they get hurt or something happens I have to take them to the vet but it's true that they more you have the more likely you are to have to do this.

Thanks for the advise!!

[Kendalle]

you could think about adopting another degu or 2 to add to your family but breeding can be VERY stressful

[Kristen25]

Is it ok to get more male Degu's that are not related? From everything I've read you could have fights if you get unrelated males in the same cage. We adopted our two males from the pet store together so we think they are brothers, but the pet store does still have Degus and she no longer has anywhere to get them from so I think they are the same guys that were in there when we got our little guys. I just don't want any fighting. Lodi and Loki play fight already and it always freaks me out but they keep it nice. Let me know what you think about adding more boys.

[RodentzRule]

As long as one is younger, prefrably under a year old, then the older one wont see him as a threat and act somewhat fatherly to him. Degu bonding take alot of time and patience though.

[Kendalle]

I can't help on how, but it is possible. Maybe make a new thread that all the degu owners will chirp in.

[Amethystbelle]

I agree with what the others have said about breeding, its something you need to think seriously about. I've been keeping degus for 12 years and never once bred them as theres already enough unwanted degus out there to keep my busy

Regards males they can be introduced successfully i have done it many times. It is harder when there are more then one degu though and takes a lot of time and patience to work and you have to be prepared for the chance it might not work. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask me

[diamondskyy]

Quote: Originally Posted by Kristen25 I just recently purchased a larger cage to house more Degus and am thinking about breeding. My local pet store said they would buy the babies from me. However I can't find any female Degus in the area of Northern Indiana. Any one have any tips on where I could find Females as well as any 1st time breeder tips?

I don't breed degus, but I do breed chinchillas which are very very similar. And with any pet, I recommend finding your breeding pairs from other dependable breeders. You'll want to research all you can on breeding, as there are probably a lot of things you wouldn't think of. Also, I don't recommend selling your babies to a pet store, I've rescued a lot of pets from the pet store and they really don't take very good care of them (i.e.. I adopted a chinchilla who had malocclusion and they were feeding him nothing but bananna chips and the poor thing couldn't even bite into the banana chips) Selling your chinchillas to pet stores is considered "irrisponsible breeding" I do recommend going through your local classified ads to find a good dependable forever home for them. I've sold many many chinchillas through the classifieds.. also, the pet store pays bellow value so you could make a little more money by doing it that way. Another thing that you'll want to think about is cage space. Degus are known for interbreeding and that causes a lot of health problems. Also they can get territorial. I don't recommend community breeding (although there are people who successfully do community breed) but a small bicker could turn into a huge fight and could be fatal. How I cage my animals is I have 1 cage per adult and 1 cage per liter (the males do okay with dad, but the females need to be seperated) You'll also want to look into breedbacks and pregnancy/delivery complications, what to do if a baby is breech, the proper nutrition for pregnant degus and weaning puppies.. etc.. I know it sounds easy just to put 2 animals opposite sex in the same cage and let them do their thing, but there really is a lot more to breeding. I would find a couple breeders and ask them questions. I started out with a more experienced breeder guiding me through it until I got the hang of it.Good luck =)

[emmzie87]

ive been beeen goo's for a couple of years now, any q's, just PM me, happy to help.