[emmie]

hi i was wondering if anyone cud tell me if i wud have to separate my female degus to breed them ? i currently have 4 females in one cage and 2 males in another they all get on well and play in there play pen together im no thinking of mating them but wanted to know if the girl cud stay together of if they have to be taken away because of the pups?
many thanks Emmie

 

[Sasami]

They can be kept together, the other females will help raise the babies. I'd reconsider breeding, though. It's not usually worth the effort..it's difficult to find homes for degus (well, good homes), problems with the pregnancy can result in death if you don't have a degu-experienced vet in the area (many vets don't even know what a degu is), and breeding degus of unknown backgrounds can lead to babies with poor genetics. We're seeing more and more genetic problems popping up and I honestly feel that it's due to "backyard" type breeding. In other words, the people who have a few degus from a store and breed them for fun.

 

[emmie]

thank you for ur help and advice my friends have asked if i wud breed them as they are interested in having some they are very hard to get hold of in my area unless u want to go to pets at home who dont even no how to sex them at our local anyway they also no nothing about there restricted diets ant were feedind them all chinchilla treats even with honey ....At this i decided as mine are from oppest ends of the country that there not likely to be related and they appear to have no teeth problems so im willing to breed from my friends as these will be looked after not just dumped in a cage and left.
im very responable with my pets and wud never breed them with havin fantastic homes in place
again thank you for your help

 

[Nibbler]

thank you for ur help and advice my friends have asked if i wud breed them as they are interested in having some they are very hard to get hold of in my area unless u want to go to pets at home who dont even no how to sex them at our local anyway they also no nothing about there restricted diets ant were feedind them all chinchilla treats even with honey ....At this i decided as mine are from oppest ends of the country that there not likely to be related and they appear to have no teeth problems so im willing to breed from my friends as these will be looked after not just dumped in a cage and left.
im very responable with my pets and wud never breed them with havin fantastic homes in place
again thank you for your help

I understand your concern for your friends wanting to add to there homes, and that degus are a joy to have around, but what about the concern for your own little girls ? they may not be related to male but females can still have birth complications,is it really worth risking there lives ? do you have a vet that you bring them to for regular check ups? and if something goes wrong with the pregnancy example your degus needs a c-section is your vet quailified to do so as most vets don't know anything about degus, also it can be very pricey and probably not worth the effort putting your own degus at risk, as well there is so many animals right now that are in shelters that need good homes, all they need is a second chance. Im sure there must be some sort of rescue near you that has degus waiting for that chance.I know that this will probably not change your mind, about breeding and that is in your right but i would definetly research more on breeding degus before you decide to do so.

 

[christine]

I bred gerbils for a bit and it was HARDER than anyone ever said in books! You can read and research but having it happen is soooo much differeent. I thought I was ready but I was not. I read everything i could find but it's so much different as an experience. I will never breed anything again. I don't care if I have homes lined up....it's a HUGE undertaking. Please, pleae PLEASE reconsider!