[Marra]

ok heres the run down:
I have 4 females (by my best guess)
2 I purchased 6 months ago Harry and Sally
2 I rescued from another degu owner Eva and Juliet 3 months ago
I kept the 2 pairs separated for 3 months but kept the cages really close and had playtime with all 4
When I rescued Eva and Juliet, Eva had been beaten up on some but healed good and was starting to climb the bars which she hadn't done with the other owner.
When all seemed good at playtime and fed the 4 treats at the same time they were friendly and seemed to have no huge issues. Many boxing matches but seemed in fun.
Now I have 3 sleeping together and Eva sleeping alone. She stays in the dust bath house all the time and when she comes out the others yell at her and chase her around.
I have tried adding vanilla to the bath and it seems to work a little but it is still alot of bullying going on.
The cage is 4ft high, 2 feet long and 1 1/2 feet wide. With 2 bowls for feeding and 2 seperate water bottles I have tons of ladders, ropes, and branches as suggested by another site.

Please any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

 

[Nibbler]

what if u remove the dust bath from the cage ? and offer them it a few times a day ?

 

[Marra]

ty for the response but i am confused they don't seem to fight over the bath and i do not want to remove the one area she seems safe in. I have added a few more cardboard homes to see if maybe she takes a liking to one of them with no luck so far.

 

[Marra]

Thinking about removing her into the smaller cage and letting her relax a couple days. But still keeping the 2 cages really close then maybe try the playground activity with just one of her sisters thinking that might soothe the bullying?

 

[Sasami]

Hmm, that cage sounds a bit small for four females. What brand is it?

Yes, you may want to separate her for a bit and then re-do introductions as if she was a brand new degu. Has there been any blood shed?

 

[Marra]

Sadly yes she had her foot hurt but it has healed nicely and she is walking on it fine now.
sorry i dont see a name on the cage and I am setting up to build them a new one with an optional divider so I can separate them in the middle prolly take me 2 months at the max to complete it

 

[Sasami]

That sounds like a good plan, great to hear that you're building a cage .

 

[Marra]

sexing update

I have had a few times to look at it seems I have 2 boys and 2 girls
Could that have something to do with the rude introductions?
Cage building date has changed hoping next month we will have enough to build it.
Just wondering when I introduce them the 2 boys really take a liking to one girl then they all 4 start to pick on the other girl?

 

[Sasami]

I have had a few times to look at it seems I have 2 boys and 2 girls
Could that have something to do with the rude introductions?
Cage building date has changed hoping next month we will have enough to build it.
Just wondering when I introduce them the 2 boys really take a liking to one girl then they all 4 start to pick on the other girl?

Yeah, that would explain it.

You're not going to be able to keep them together as a group without constant litters. I would get the males neutered or keep them as separate, same-sex pairs.

 

[Marra]

I had a few degu friends look at some pictures I took and it appears they are all girls so no worry about the litters. But we started the cage build today it is gonna be huge 6 ft high 5 feet wide and 5 shelves 2 ft deep. (sorry for American measurements but I am horrible at the conversions)
I am planning on separating the cage shelves through the middle to make it suitable for 2 pairs on each side. I have another question now, will a simple wire seperater be okay or will they fight through it?

 

[Sasami]

I had a few degu friends look at some pictures I took and it appears they are all girls so no worry about the litters. But we started the cage build today it is gonna be huge 6 ft high 5 feet wide and 5 shelves 2 ft deep. (sorry for American measurements but I am horrible at the conversions)
I am planning on separating the cage shelves through the middle to make it suitable for 2 pairs on each side. I have another question now, will a simple wire seperater be okay or will they fight through it?

If they're all girls you can keep them together so I'd make the separator temporary. You can remove it once they're getting along .