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stam85
Baby Degu
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Joined: 12 May 2008
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| Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 7:17 pm Post subject: Degu mom and daad are hostile to the baby |
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Hi there I am new to this forum and I am from Bulgaria. Since in our country there isn't a strong community concerned with degus I want to turn to you for help and this is urgent.
I bought two degus from a pet store as a pair. When I got them they had those bald bits around their body (over the eyes and paws) I have no idea how I didn't noticed that right in the pet store, I saw it when I got home. I was worried that it is some sort of disease but it was not. They were pulling it out by themselves. 5 days ago the female gave birth to two babies I found them in the morning one of the babies had a part of his face eaten and was clearly dying (few hours later it died) The other one was obviously miscarried much smaller and blind. I removed the father for 3 days because he was trying to impregnant the female. The female began to pull her baby's skin off  leaving nasty bruises. The baby is still alive got quite livelier and bigger over the past 5 days but they are still doing it. He has wounds all over his body but seems in a good health. I am really worried.Can I do something please please help me  |
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amethystbelle
Degu Rock Owner
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Joined: 30 Jul 2006
Posts: 673
Karma: 13
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Location: Nottinghamshire, UK
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| Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 4:19 pm Post subject: |
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Aw sorry to hear of your loss of the other little one Its a hard situation you are in and its hard to know what to suggest for the best.
Degus tend to pull their fur out through stress which in the first instance would have been caused by living at a petstore but the sad thing is sometimes degus get stuck with these patterns and its hard to break them. So even when they are happy they will continue to follow old habits and pull out their fur.
Is it both the parents or just one of them pulling the fur out? Aside from the missing fur is the baby ok? Do you have a good vet you can go too? The reason i ask is because if they continue to harm the baby it may be best to remove him and hand feed him, a good vet should be able t provide you with a pipette and formula to do so...
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stam85
Baby Degu
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Joined: 12 May 2008
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| Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 8:04 pm Post subject: |
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Hi and thanks for your reply. The baby is ok and looks in perfect health.He suckles almost all the time. Both of the parents do this and as I read somewhere (probably here) it becomes a habit and a stereotype.
Sadly I won't go to the vet.The reason is that even the best vet in the city has absolutely NO experience with rodents. There is more. My first degu had a weepy eye we brought him to the vet and he subscribed eye drops for dogs. My poor little man died in few days and I think it was because of the eye drops  He was so adorable and I will never forget him he used to sleep in my hand all the time and was so young just a few months old and I was thinking of getting him a companion female so he could be even more happy but....
The baby now has no almost no hair on his little head, has some minor flesh wounds but is doing fine. I think that I will leave him with his parents because I am not sure that he can make it alone as he is used to them now and starts crying when mom and dad are out of the cage for a little walk. |
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amethystbelle
Degu Rock Owner
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Joined: 30 Jul 2006
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Karma: 13
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Location: Nottinghamshire, UK
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| Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 10:47 pm Post subject: |
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I would leave him in there for now as nothing is better then being with his parents, just keep a close eye on them. He is feeding and being looked after they are just being over enthusiastic with the grooming 
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MaņasMom
Adult Degu
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Joined: 03 Jul 2007
Posts: 229
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