Hello everyone! I am pleased to announce that today I will be sharing some information on degu sexing and baby care. This information can be difficult to find as it is not a well covered topic. I can only thank my friend Ady for this - it was Ady who wrote the article and has allowed me to host it here on Degu Chronicles. Click to read after the break... Degu sexing guide: When purchasing or adopting degus, it is wise to sex them yourself. Once you know how to sex a degu, it is simple. Locate their genital area, here you will find both the anal and urethral openings in both males and females. The primary difference between male and female degus is the distance between the urethral cone and anus. In females, the distance between these organs is very small - just a few millimetres. In males however the anal opening is situated further from the cone – about 1 centimetre. In mature degus, the female urethral cone is quite conical, while the male cone is more penile shape. If your degu isn't used to being handled, you can try some of the following tips:
Baby care: The gestation period for a degu is 87 – 93 days. This is quite a long time in comparison to other rodents and that's why degu babies are born with fur, teeth and open eyes. They can be active in a few hours after birth, exploring their surroundings; they spend most of the day in their warm nest. The mother will feed them roughly every 2 hours. There is no need to separate other females and neutered males from mother and babies. Everyone in the enclosure will take their fair share of care for the little ones (keeping them warm, cleaning them and bringing them back to their nest if they wander too far). Degus won't hurt their young, but should the baby die, it is natural for adults to eat the dead body as a precaution, to avoid predators being attracted by its smell. The youngsters will chew on adult food a couple of days after birth; they won't start feeding on adult food until 2-3 weeks of age. The mother will feed her babies for 3-4weeks. Rejection of youngsters after contact with humans doesn't occur in degus. The size of a litter is usually 3-10 degus. Signs of pregnancy: Degus hide their pregnancy very well; there are often no signs in the first 6-8 weeks. Usually, in the last month of pregnancy, the female will start showing a full tummy and gain weight. There is a visible pear shape to her body and around 7-14 days before birth, the female will start showing nipples as swell. There are 3 nipples in a line between the front and hind leg placed on each side of the tummy and another 2 nipples between her hind legs. Other possible signs are; increase in drinking and changes in behaviour, especially with moodiness and protection of the nest. Towards the end of pregnancy, the expecting mother and her cage mate usually start preparing a nest. Movement of babies inside the female abdomen can be seen in the last few days before birth. So your goo is pregnant.... What to do before birth:
What to do after birth
Thanks for reading everyone! Should you have more questions on this topic, head over to Degus International Forum for more advice.
11 Comments
Josh
5/12/2012 11:35:52 pm
Thanks for the comment Cholo, I am pleased you found this article useful. I should make my feelings clear on this matter however - this guide is simply unbiased information on degu breeding and baby care. I do not promote the breeding of degus as there are already far too many degus up for adoption. This guide is intended to help those who have found that their degu is pregnant.
Kelly
9/13/2012 05:07:42 am
This info has been totally amazing, my degu is very tame and lets me hold her and play, recently she put on quite alot of weight and last night she allowed me to feel her stomach and there is defo babies in there. Have been looking for info and this is the only site that actually helped. Thank you so much.
Sue B
5/21/2013 08:38:30 pm
Thanks so much for the post. I've been looking for this sort of information. I bought a potentially already pregnant lady and her daughter from a pet store and wasn't sure what I should be looking for
Michelle
4/1/2014 10:23:35 pm
Just read up on pregnancy I found loads out thank you I have just found a nest of babies this morning and didn't know what to do after reading this article I feel better
Debbie
8/7/2014 12:47:47 am
Hi, just wondered if there were any signs that my goo is ready to give birth? Thanks
Melissa
9/17/2014 04:09:51 pm
Thank you very much for this information!! It has been very useful as I have a pregnant degu.
Radar360
3/18/2021 09:04:24 am
I found this very helpful and will use it as I bought 2 degus and the place didn’t sex them right I now believe I have a pregnant degu because of it I think we are going to separate them but keep them together when I’m around then when he is old enough we may castrate him Leave a Reply. |