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Nervous Degu's

  • 13-10-2012 9:20am
    #1
    FionaCassim
    Closed Accounts Posts: 15 ✭


    Hi everyone

    I am hoping someone can give me some advice.
    I adopted 2 female degu's from a woman two weeks ago. They seemed to be quite tame for her and when I collected them I was able to pet them.
    Since I brought them home though and put them into their new cage, they have just hidden away on top of the wooden house I put in for them. They run away from me every time I go near them and continually squeak their little "predator warning"..

    I have managed since yesterday to get one of them to take food from my hand through the bars of the cage but they still won't come near me and seem very frightened.

    Is this normal behaviour for them, I know it takes alot of time to tame them but should they not be warming to me by now??

    I have had rats in the past and their personalities are so different, rats are so sweet and love attention. Degus seem to be the opposite!

    Any advice would really be appreciated.

    Thanks


Comments

  • #2
    Cherry Blossom
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,973 ✭✭✭Cherry Blossom


    Give them time to feel completely comfortable in their new home first of all. Don't approach them if they aren't comfortable with it. When they are completely settled, let them out to explore the room (make sure it's degu proof), sit on the floor and do nothing, just ignore them. They'll come to you when they are ready, when they do, still do nothing, don't try to pick them up or touch them, just let em do their own thing. You try hand feeding them when they are out of the cage and happy to approach you. It just takes time.


  • #3
    FionaCassim
    Closed Accounts Posts: 15 ✭FionaCassim


    adrenalinjunkie wrote: »
    Give them time to feel completely comfortable in their new home first of all. Don't approach them if they aren't comfortable with it. When they are completely settled, let them out to explore the room (make sure it's degu proof), sit on the floor and do nothing, just ignore them. They'll come to you when they are ready, when they do, still do nothing, don't try to pick them up or touch them, just let em do their own thing. You try hand feeding them when they are out of the cage and happy to approach you. It just takes time.

    Thanks adrenalinjunkie - I sit by their cage every evening and talk to them in a low voice, and they do seem to be listening to me! The one that takes the food from my hand through the cage bars seems a little less nervous than the other, who is completely terrified of me!!
    How will I know when they are completely settled in their cage? The cage itself is an enormous 5 level one, with toys, ledges, hammocks, hay rack, wooden chew treats etc... I really want them to like me!! Are there some degu's that just can't be tamed?


  • #4
    Cherry Blossom
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,973 ✭✭✭Cherry Blossom


    I had one that spent a huge part of the day cruising around the house looking out over the top of my dad's shirt pocket :D. They all have different personalities, you just have to take the time to get to know them properly ;). If they haven't taken to exploring their cage yet I'd stay well back for the time being, you could try encouraging them to do this by scattering their food around randomly instead of putting it in a food container, just stick to one level first if they aren't coming out at all. Once they are getting around the whole cage you put their food and water at the furthest away part of the cage from where they prefer to spend most of their time. They will come along very quickly once they are sure they can trust you but you just have to wait it out till they get to that point unfortunately. The more nervous one will eventually become more comfortable with you once the other one is, so it's ok to put all your efforts into the the bolder of the two to begin with.


  • #5
    FionaCassim
    Closed Accounts Posts: 15 ✭FionaCassim


    adrenalinjunkie wrote: »
    I had one that spent a huge part of the day cruising around the house looking out over the top of my dad's shirt pocket :D. They all have different personalities, you just have to take the time to get to know them properly ;). If they haven't taken to exploring their cage yet I'd stay well back for the time being, you could try encouraging them to do this by scattering their food around randomly instead of putting it in a food container, just stick to one level first if they aren't coming out at all. Once they are getting around the whole cage you put their food and water at the furthest away part of the cage from where they prefer to spend most of their time. They will come along very quickly once they are sure they can trust you but you just have to wait it out till they get to that point unfortunately. The more nervous one will eventually become more comfortable with you once the other one is, so it's ok to put all your efforts into the the bolder of the two to begin with.

    Ah thank you so much for all your advice, I won't give up hope yet so!!
    Everyone keeps assuring me that they are really sweet and funny, so I'll just battle through the tough start and I'm sure we'll get there eventually!
    Thanks again :)


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