Over a Dozen Degus!
Today's post will be discussing 2 separate rescues that were surrendered by the same individuals. Unfortunately, the degus had been kept by hoarders/unethical backyard breeders. They'd been poorly kept and seldom handled.
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Rescue No.1:
The first rescue took place on the 14th of August 2019 and consisted of a Mother degu nursing 4 female 2-week old pups (2 male pups sadly were not surrendered), and 2 pairs of females.
Deidre, DeeDee, Delilah, Denica, and Darcy:
Deidre was/is the Mother to four beautiful girls. She was/is a fabulous Mother and raised her pups well. Sadly, Deidre has a severe fear of humans and doesn't take well to being handled. Until she has gained confidence, she isn't eligible for rehoming.
Although it's incredibly sad that the pups were in their second home at just 2-weeks old, it did allow us to work with their confidence around humans from a very young age. The pups are now much older and are all incredibly sweet degus.
As they're lovely, happy, and healthy degus, they're available for adoption! If you're interested in adopting them, please visit the 'adoptables' section of our website.
Dodo and Daisy:
Dodo and Daisy were a last-minute decision. We weren't intending to take more degus, however, we couldn't leave them behind. The young girls were petrified, and still, are to this day - Dodo in particular.
Dodo and Daisy are extremely difficult degus. The only way to describe their temperament is as if you'd captured a wild degu and put them in a cage. As an experienced owner, we've adopted them ourselves and have bonded them to our herd of difficult-degus.
They've made great friends with Dolly, Demi, and Darren (castrated). They're rarely handled other than to check on their wellbeing, but they have the best time in their large, enriched adventura.
Dominica and Dina:
Dominica and Dina, like all of the degus, had been fed on a high-sugar store-bought rat mix. One of the most interesting things about Octodon Degus is their intolerance to dietary sugars. A degus main diet should be high in fibre and consist of predominantly hay with a small number of pellets that contain vitamin C, high fibre, and low sugar.
We ran urinalysis on a sample of Dominica's because of her bilateral cataracts. Cataracts can occur secondary to diabetes mellitus - a disease which degus are prone to.
Results were suggestive of prediabetes as traces of glucose were present, but not enough for us to be concerned about diabetes. Fortunately, we were able to correct the issue after a few months of consuming a suitable diet, however, Dominica's sight will, sadly, never return.
Fortunately, Dina came off well and was also the most confident of the adults - but still extremely skittish.
We're still working with the girl's confidence around humans, they may be available for adoption in the future.
Rescue No.2:
The degu's previous carer got in contact with us again asking if we would be able to take another 7 females that'd previously been kept off-site. We decided to help on the 17th of September 2019.
Dorothy, Dellar, Dove, Dallas, Donnie, Dora, and Dosha:
Dora also presented with a unilateral cataract which occurred due to prediabetes. We introduced the girls to a correct diet which helped resolve the glucose present in her urine. Just like Dominica, Dora's sight will never return.
Dellar and Dallas presented with the most severe behavioural issues, but the whole group suffer from confidence issues.
We will continue to work with the girls, and they will hopefully be eligible for adoption in the future.
The girls now live in a group of 13 - Dosha currently lives alone due to ongoing health issues.
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