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Fighting Degus
Most people who own Degus own more than one. This is important, because Degus in the wild live in very large communities. They need the companionship of other Degus…no matter how much love and attention you show them. But, if you have more than one Degu, you may notice that they fight, and those fights can turn deadly serious, depending on what the fight is about.
It is normal for Degus to squabble from time to time. Even humans cannot live in close proximity without the occasional squabble. Most Degu squabbles are over food, and are quickly settled amongst themselves. Males may fight to the death over females, which is why it is never wise to have more than one male in a cage.
There is always a fight for dominance, but that usually doesn't entail actual fighting. A Degu wins dominance by having a bigger pile of sticks than the other Degus. In the wild, the Degu who has the highest mound around the entrance to his burrow is the dominant Degu. Would that humans could work out their differences as easily as Degus.
A great deal of the disagreements between Degus will be verbal, as opposed to physical. They may squeak and squeal at each other. They may demonstrate their unhappiness with tail thumping. However, if they start growling it is about to get serious.
Ideally, you will introduce your multiple Degus to each other when they are very young. If you do this, in most cases, the only fights that you will witness will be the occasional squabbles over food or space, and of course the all important stick building contest.
Introducing older Degus to each other is a bit trickier, and requires more caution. You should also note that just as there are some people that you don't like in this world, some Degus simply do not like each other, and when their patience with each other runs thin, a fight will break out.
When a fight breaks out, quickly put on a pair of leather gloves, and throw a towel over the Degus. This will temporarily stop the fight, as it confuses them. While the fight is stopped – temporarily – remove one of the Degus, and put him in a different cage. Again, some fights are fights to the death, or to grave injury at the very least. You must stop it as soon as possible.
Leave the cages near each other, so that the Degus can still communicate, and smell each other. After two or three days, you can try to put the Degus back together, but if another fight breaks out, this is a sure sign that these two Degus will never get along, and they will need to remain separated.
Understand, however, that most Degus get along just fine, once dominance has been established. They will play together, dig together, eat and sleep together, and live in perfect harmony for the majority of the time.
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