Male degu lost his brother

jlbabs said:

Wow- a very late update on my part. Biggie did ok without a partner - he is clearly eating more and is less active. Although he has been getting tons of opportunities to leave his cage - he has been getting way more exploratory privileges than he had before this situation.

I recently came into contact with a girl who had a litter of only one male - I took it this weekend hoping to introduce the two. The little one is two months old and straight from his parents (not having the chance to live with other degus) - so far introduction has been a nightmare. Neither seems to be keen on the other - one is in a large cage and the other is in a seperate cage (an aquarium.. but it's all I have). They both chatter their teeth and grunt at the sight of each other. I have no idea how to even consider a real introduction on neutral zone..

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So right now they're just next to each other but haven't been introduced, correct? Begin mixing bedding between the cages to mix up their scents. You can also let them share a dust bath...place it in one cage, let the degu bathe, and then move it to the other cage. Dust baths are a social behavior in the wild that results in all of the degus smelling the same.

After a week or two of this, provided they're not showing real aggression (chattering isn't aggression, trying to seriously fight through the cages would be), do a short meeting in the bath tub or another place of "neutral" territory (anywhere they haven't been or at least don't go often). The first meeting should be really quick, just a minute or two. Over the next week (longer if you feel you need more time), make the meetings longer, immediately separating if there are signs of real fighting. Chasing, squeaking, chattering, grunting, humping, pawing, and small tussles can be normal and shouldn't be cause for concern...they're just trying to establish a pecking order. Babies, while easier to introduce, can be particularly obnoxious behavior-wise but it rarely leads to real fights. Adults are hard-wired not to seriously injure the babies. You'll want to supervise anyway and separate if there's blood-shed but let them work things out.