Degu Breeding FAQ

>Questions relating to degu reproduction<

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IMPORTANT NOTE

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SEXING
BREEDING SEASON
PUP CARE
WEANING & LACTATION
PREGNANCY
GENETICS & INBREEDING
NEUTERING
MATING
OTHER

QUESTION- Sexing Degus ANSWER
How do I tell if my degus are male or female? The best way is to compare their genitals. Gently lift your degu's tail, supporting their body, and examine the distance between the cone and anus. If both your degus' genitals appear the same, they're the same sex. To tell if they're a boy or a girl, have a look at the pictures on the degu sexing guide to compare and teach you how.
QUESTION- Breeding Season ANSWER
My two degus were mating and then started fighting, what was the problem? The most likely explanation here is that your female is either not in oestrus, or not familiar with the male. Remember that the act of one degu mounting the other is also a sign of dominance of the top degu and submission of the bottom degu. If your female is unfamiliar with the male, she may not have been happy with what he was doing and started fighting with him to get him to back off. Also, females not in oestrus will not let males mount them and will show signs of aggression toward the male to discourage him from mating. To correct both these problems there is one solution. Put your male's cage alongside the female's cage (it's best not to let them mix as this could lead to further fighting and injury) to allow them to become familiar. After a month or so, your female should be more tolerant of the male.
QUESTION- Pup Care ANSWER
I rescued 2 moms and their litters a little while ago. The babies are 2.5 weeks old and are very active, drinking from the water bottle, and nibbling up food. When I hold them they just sprint up and down my arms and some of them leap. Is this just because they are babies or because I am not taming them enough? I sometimes don't get to hold them all daily and the moms are already skittish enough. I have 11 right now, 9 of them reserved to go to homes. I don't want the future owners to have to deal with crazy degus. Are babies normally like this? It sounds a lot to me like your babies are hyper as they aren't used to you yet. The running around and leaping is a classic escape response and shows they feel insecure when you pick them up and are trying to get back to a place where they feel safer. It sounds like they need a bit of work to get them tamer! Instead of picking them up, try just sitting next to their cage with your arm/hand in it to allow the pups to familiarise with your scent. Don't move too much and the pups will come and explore you. You can then progress on to picking them up, but don't lift them all the way out of the cage. The closer they are to their mum the better as this will help them to relax (they're still weaning and their mother provides comfort for them). They're never too young to do a bit of training work!
The baby degus are 6 weeks old tomorrow and I was wondering when to separate the boys from the gals. The gals I am going to leave in the tank and put the boys in plastic tubs (large ones) until they go to their reserved homes. When should I remove the males? 6 weeks, 8 weeks, 12 weeks? I don't want more babies!! The age of sexual maturity of degus is highly variable and can be anywhere between around now and when they are about 6 months old. The average age of sexual maturity in females is around 7 weeks, in males it is slightly longer at around 12 weeks. To be safe I always separate our pups as soon as they are fully weaned at 6 weeks old. 
Right now we have babies which I am assuming they are under 6 months old but I could be wrong there. Anyway at what age do they start showing the characteristics of being full grown degus? At what age are pet stores allowed to sell them? And finally how can you really be 100% positive the sex of your degus? Juvenile degus become fully adult at around 1 year old. Although degus become sexually mature between 7-12 weeks old, it takes a while for all their adult characteristics to develop. These include growth to full size (including full bone growth), full maturation of reproductive organs and teeth maturity. It is around this age that the degus will begin shedding winter fur during shedding season as well.

Pet stores should sell degus after they are four weeks old at the very least, as at this age they should be fully weaned, however whether this actually happens or not is questionable. It isn't healthy to wean pups before they are three weeks old and all reputable degu breeders aim to have pups fully weaned after four to six weeks.

As for sexing the degus, this is actually simple once you know what to look for and can be done from birth. To sex your degus, hold one in your hand and gently lift up the tail. You should be able to see the anus and the urethra (a projection of conical skin- this is NOT the penis, both sexes have it). Female degus have virtually no gap between the urethra and anus, whereas males have quite a large gap (about a finger width in adult males) between the two. This is the only real way to tell as the female's vaginal opening is often concealed and males have internal testicles and a penis that they retract inside their body when not in use. A full guide to help you do this (even with pups!) can be found here.

About five months ago, we bought two degus, who we were told wouldn't breed, but they were also being fed on hamster food, so I'm now aware that the person we got them from didn't really know much. Anyway, as you may have guessed, we noticed one of them getting larger and on Jan 5th she gave birth to five babies. One died, four are still with us. We don't know how he got out, but yesterday we found one of the babies was out of his cage and had been chased under the sofa by one of the cats. He seemed to be ok, although a little panicky of course, with two small nicks/scratches, one on his back left foot and one on his tummy. Yesterday afternoon and evening he seemed fine and normal, and was running around the cage as normal, but tonight he seems to have become lethargic and withdrawn, although the cuts seemed to have healed nicely. Our local vets had never seen a degu before we took the father in to be neutered the other day, so I'm not sure if taking the baby there will do any good, as there are no visible outward signs of injury. What would you advise? I would suggest one of two things could be causing this lethargy in your pup:

1. He's exhausted- if he's been out for a long time, and being chased on top of that, he will have been using up a lot of energy. He probably won't have slept during this time, or eaten, and he will have been very stressed by the whole experience. Remember that he is still very young and has just about been weaned (I am guessing), so frequent feeding is still very important to allow him to maintain his energy levels. I would say the most likely explanation is that he is exhausted mentally and physically by the ordeal and needs a little time to recover. However:

2. He has internal injuries- you need to be very careful about this possibility. If he has scratches, there is the chance that he may have internal injuries, also. For example, he might have been pounced on by the cat, or become trapped under something. Internal injuries are very hard to spot- classic symptoms are lethargy and rapid deterioration of health, sometimes there may be swelling (e.g. around the abdomen). Internal injuries are very serious and your degu could die very quickly from them, so although I hypothesise it is exhaustion, I would still get him checked over by a vet as they will be able to give him a thorough examination.

It's worth pointing out that stress can have very serious consequences for a young degu as they are less able to cope with it and often take longer to recover, especially when so young. You will need to keep a very close eye on him over the next few days and monitor his eating, drinking and social behaviour. If you haven't been weighing him, you might want to start keeping a daily weight record so you can check he's not losing weight. You also need to know how he got out- baby degus are notorious for squeezing out between bars that are too small for an adult degu to get through- although I don't think he'll be doing it again in a hurry!

QUESTION- Weaning & Lactation ANSWER
I thought I bought two males but ended up with a liter anyway. I'd like to know how old they should be before separating them from the mother? Any advice on making this easy would be appreciated.

 

Weaning for degus should take at least four weeks. You should not separate the babies from the mother before they are four weeks old. More information on weaning and everything you need to know about can be found here.

As a side point, it's worth checking the sexes of your degus to make sure they are both females, or you could end up with even more babies. Remember that degus have a post-partum oestrus which means they can become pregnant again immediately after giving birth if the male is still present. To avoid this, remove the male for a few days, then you can re-introduce him again. More information on sexing degus can be found in the appearance section and in this special guide.

QUESTION- Pregnancy ANSWER
Help!!!!!! What does a pregnant goo act like? Mine wants to bite you when you go to pet her. She doubled in size in a 4 day period is this normal? We got her from a pet store in 1st week of Oct so I know it's not my boys who did it- so not sure of due date hence why I asked about behavior. She normally wants to be petted and held now just wants out of the cage regardless of the scratches you get! We noticed 2 weeks ago she went from normal size to pear shape and now a pregnant pear:) Also very irritable! It's highly probable your degu is pregnant. Degus tend to only 'show' (i.e. exhibit a noticeable weight increase/bulge) a couple of weeks before they are due to give birth. I would say your degu will have her pups any time soon, so get ready! Pregnant degus become increasingly irritable when they are so close to parturition. This is mostly due to their large size- they find it harder to move around and do 'normal' degu things. This is coupled with hormone level changes which also affect their behaviour. My advice is to leave her alone for a week or so until the pups are born. Please don't handle her during this time (from now until parturition) as you may inadvertently cause her to miscarry, which is not only fatal for the pups but could also put her at risk. It's a sad fact that many degus bought from pet shops are already pregnant, this is due to inexperienced staff mixing up sexes accidentally and being ignorant of the information about degus available. It also means that her pups are likely to be inbred, as almost certainly she will have been mated by a sibling. If you would like any more help/advice, please don't hesitate to contact me. You might also like to read through the degu breeding section to pick up some top tips!
I went to a Pet Shop yesterday and bought a Degu, they said it was a female. Well she has a really really big belly and she don't move around a lot. My mom thinks she may be a very old grandma, but I think she may be pregnant! I don't know how to tell for sure though. She is very sweet and tame, I named her Leea. There were 6 other degu's in with her at the Pet Shop, an some were males. Any ideas or advice would be great. It does sound highly likely she's pregnant. The lack of movement is a complete giveaway- plus her size. Degus only 'show' (i.e. become huge and obviously pregnant) about 2 weeks before they are due to give birth. I would say look out- she's likely to have the pups any time soon! If you would like advice about how to cope with pups, mail or post a message any time, and I suggest you read the 'breeding' section for loads of tips. 
HOWEVER, it is also possible that your degu is obese. This could occur if she was fed ad lib. at the pet shop, and may also be indicative of a stress related disorder. If this is the case, It is likely to be aggravated by the fact she is kept alone. Degus are highly social animals and can become depressed and ill if housed on their own. All is not lost though- single degus often form a unique bond with their owners and rely on their company much more than socially housed degus. She will therefore need much more attention from you- whether she's pregnant or not. I would say that it would be a good idea to go back to the shop and check her brothers/sisters environment- see if they're all a little fat and check how much leftover food there is around. If all else fails, wait three months (the gestation period of a degu) and if she's still fat and no pups appear than there's something else going on.
QUESTION- Genetics & Inbreeding ANSWER
I used to volunteer at our local SPCA and there have been lots of degus coming into rescue this year. I have two females with teeth problems which is another genetic trait. They have to have their back teeth filed under anaesthesia every few months. This is a common problem in guinea pigs, rabbits and rodents. Obviously the problem with degus is that they have such small mouths and few vets can manage to treat them. Just for your information as this is a trait common in all animals whose teeth grow [continually]. It would be nice to breed it out. Yes, I agree it would be much better for our pets if we could breed this out. It's very hard to do this currently, for two main reasons: 1. Degu's molars are VERY hard to examine! Often, we don't know there's a problem until it becomes one, if you see what I mean. The only real way to check our degu's molars thoroughly is to have them examined under general anaesthesia. If we had to do this routinely as a precautionary check it would put our pets at increased risk from having anaesthesia- the smaller the animal the higher the risk. To check our degus molars for the sake of breeding purposes is an unnecessary risk. The only way that would be feasible is not to breed from any degu with a history of molar complaint. It may also be beneficial to only breed from degus who have good incisor teeth in terms of absence of malocclusion, etc. However it has not yet been proven there is a direct correlation between incisor and molar teeth abnormality (interesting area for research, though). 2. We correct our degus problems! This is completely normal for human pet owners to do- after all we want what's best for them. But we may also be hindering them by doing this. In the wild, degus are actively pressurised by natural selection- I'm sure you know about survival of the fittest. Any degu with molar problems in the wild would quickly be affected in a dramatic way-infection would lead to eating problems which would eventually lead to death, removing it from the breeding population. This degu would then be unable to pass on its 'faulty' teeth genes thus keeping down the molar problem in the population. Us humans interfering with our pets actually overcomes the molar problem as we can help them outlive the disease- giving them more opportunity to breed and pass on defective molar genetics. Of course the more degu breeders there are who are aware of the problems the better the chance of outbreeding unhealthy conditions. Perhaps the best way to expand our pets gene pools and increase their general health is to cross with a wild importee- Degutopia is actively looking into this. This will produce what we hope will be hybrid vigour and push the first step in changing our degus health for the better. Thanks for your interest and support, we couldn't do it without people like you to spread the word!
QUESTION- Neutering ANSWER
I have just got a pair of degu's and have discovered they are male and female, so I have enquired with a vet about neutering. could you let me know a bit more about it and the risks involved. Would it be best to castrate the male as opposed to operating on the female. First let me congratulate you on spotting the 'difference' and second for not wanting to split them up. I think in your case, neutering your male would be the best option. Neutering is a much higher risk in females of any species than it is in males, as in females it is much more invasive and takes a lot longer. The male's operation itself is not high risk, however there is the risk carried by having to put your degu through a general anaesthetic. This is quite dangerous for small animals, but a good vet will be well aware of this and can minimise that risk for your degu. Of course the quicker the operation the better for your degu, as the less time spent 'under' the smaller the risk. Male neutering takes different amounts of time dependant on animal species, size, ability of vet and individual complications. Neutering is one of the most routine operations vets perform, and I know some that can neuter a cat in under five minutes, including knocking the animal out! It's likely to take a little longer than that in a degu due to their small size, but I would think you're looking at maximum of half an hour. In terms of finding a vets, this is the most important part. Please try and find a vet with degu experience, or at least one that has performed neutering operations on similar animals such as chinchillas and guinea pigs. So many vets treat degus like any other rodent when they clearly need special treatment. The other thing to consider is your male degu itself. How old is he? You are going to have to wait until he is fully adult before neutering him or you may stunt his growth. Degus reach full maturity/adulthood at around 1 year old- bear in mind that you will need to separate him from the female during this time as he will reach sexual maturity before then. If he's older than 1 year, any time is fine to neuter him- but remember that neutering could change his behaviour and you may notice a difference in his personality. This is not always the case, however. After neutering, it's best to keep him separate from the female for a couple of days to let him recover. Remember to keep his wound clean (it will only be small and should heal quickly) and check it regularly. After this you may reintroduce, generally neutered males have no problems getting along with any degu, but you might want to keep an eye on the female just to check she's OK with him. I would advise that you read the neutering section- it contains a list of the pro's and con's of neutering to help you make your mind up. Remember that if you decide not to neuter, you can't put him back with a female unless you want him to breed (and please make sure they aren't related!) or pair him with another male, so he will probably have to be housed alone. I strongly advise against this since he's used to company, but of course the decision is yours. Hope this clears things up, If you would like any more advice, don't hesitate to ask!
QUESTION- Mating ANSWER
I would like to know please why only one of my degus sits and chirps for at least an hour twice a week. It's driving me potty, I have put the radio on for him to no avail; I have offered tit bits, he does take them, but munches and still chirps at the same time arhhhhhh! Could I ask you what sex this degu is, and what sex is his companion? I am asking as it sounds very much like the 'bark' which is most often used by males after mating or dominance mounting with another degu- be it male or female. This call is very loud, short, and continues for many hours at a time. It basically acts as a warning to other degus in hearing range that he is the alpha male of the group- a territorial display.

I would say you should check the sex of the other degu he lives with (just to be sure!). Remember that dominant male degus will often 'mate' with the subordinate male in the group to confirm their superiority. Unfortunately, short of neutering the offending male, there is nothing you can do to stop him from barking. The best tactic I have used is to distract the male as soon has he starts barking- use a bit of his favourite food, or let him explore a new area.

You might want to check the sounds page for some more information on degu vocalisations.

When my degu bred for the first time he did his typical bragging chirping and then 2 weeks later he started again. Concerned, I checked him and he was fine, so I checked her and found a white cartilage type of ‘plug.’ After much research I could find no information on this with degus but did find that chinchillas do have a plug discharge that occurs a couple weeks after mating. Could this be an argument for their closer relationship to chinchillas as opposed to rodents or rabbits? Males, as you have noticed, emit a characteristic 'bark' after mating with a female (or sometimes with a male/themselves!). This is a very loud, short and repetitive squeak that goes on for several hours, and is thought to be a territorial warning to other males that may be in ear range. When you hear your male doing this, it's a sure sign he has had some sort of sexual activity fairly recently. After the first mating with a female, some of the semen/mucous ejaculated will remain inside the female's vagina, in front of the cervix. This hardens to form a 'plug' which acts as a barrier, protecting the pups that will develop inside from harmful external bacteria. After the plug has formed, if the male attempts to mate with the female again, the plug must be removed in order for the semen to get into the female's uterus. This happens when the male inserts his penis- it pushes into the plug and barbs which point backwards on the male's penis hold it in place, so that when the male withdraws from the female, the plug is pulled out with it. Any mating attempts after this will allow semen to reach the eggs of the female. Sorry for all the gory details! Chinchillas- chins are directly related to degus, as are guinea pigs. They all belong to the suborder Caviomorpha. Caviomorphs are still classed as rodents, unlike rabbits which were classed into their own order a few years ago (order Lagomorpha). It's hotly debated whether caviomorphs should have their own order and also be separated from Rodentia like rabbits were. For the latest on the debate and more info on degu class, you can visit the controversy and family sections.
QUESTION- Other ANSWER
My degu, Roger, is 6 and a half, today I noticed that his penis is out and will not go back in. He does this a lot but today is different, it won't go back in and there is a large bulge at the top, and his penis seems to be drying up. I have no idea if he can pee, and he seems rather uncomfortable, but other then that everything with him is normal. I have no idea what to do with him, he is my baby and I want to help him. It sounds as though he has a prolapsed penis, the result of an infection in his penis- either in the skin or inside the urethra. The infection causes swelling which means that he cannot retract his penis inside his body, making it even more sore and swollen. Don't worry, if you take him to the vets now they will be able to give him antibiotics and possibly an antiseptic cream for you to put on it. When you start giving him this medicine, it should clear up within a week or two and he'll be back to his good old self! The sooner you get him to the vets the sooner he'll start feeling better, so it's best if you get an appointment right away as he must be feeling quite uncomfortable.

Do you have a degu breeding question that you would like answered? Degutopia can help! Send your questions to us and we may even post them here!