Worried: Degus losing fur on tails and lower back

[newtothis]

Hi everyone,

I have not posted for a while so hi. I have searched the forums for an answer to my query but have not find a suitable answer as yet. I have 3 boy degus (brothers) and all three have lost most of the fur on their tails - in fact their tails almost look like rat tails! They get on very well together (apart from the normal degu squabbles!) so the fur loss cannot be down to fighting. I saw on this website that one reason might be excessive grooming. I do see them grooming each other occasionally but not excessively and they don't bother with each others tails. The fur on all three of them looks quite unhealthy tbh with balding patches and hairs that seem to stick out in places. They have access to a sand bath 24-h a day with the sand changed every other day. Another reason could be a fungal or parasitic infection - is this likely? They are crazy active as usual so are not suffering from it.They eat the P@H degus nuggets and timothy hay (with occasional chopped carrot and cucumber) - should I be supplementing their food with a vitamin do you think? Sorry for the excessive text - I am just worried about them so hope someone who has been through the same thing can offer some advise - thanks!

[animalmadchloe]

Do you have any photos hun, I think there diet should be improved as just pets at home nuggets won't have all the goodness they need and I'm pretty sure they contain molasses, ie sugar which is not good for degus , but I don't think that would be the cause of the fur loss, could be over grooming that your not seeing or possibly a fungal infection can you upload some photos xx

[newtothis]

Mar 14, 2015 23:19:46 GMT animalmadchloe said:

Do you have any photos hun, I think there diet should be improved as just pets at home nuggets won't have all the goodness they need and I'm pretty sure they contain molasses, ie sugar which is not good for degus , but I don't think that would be the cause of the fur loss, could be over grooming that your not seeing or possibly a fungal infection can you upload some photos xx

Hi animalmadchloe, thanks for your reply. I shall try and get a couple of photos and post them. I read the ingredients list on the p@h degu nuggets packet - there is no mention of molasses or sugar products in there (there is added vitamin C apparently). I give them supplemental veg maybe once per week (usually cucumber or sometimes maybe carrot [whatever we have left over although they don't seem interested much in the veg as they only eat tiny amounts of it]) we never give them fruit. I have looked at the degu diet lists on this forum and wonder what I might be missing? is there something that specifically nourishes their coat? - can you make any suggestions? The area where the fur has been lost is not red and there are no white flakes so it makes me think it is not an infection - but then again for all 3 to have the same amount of baldness on their tails??? maybe it is excessive grooming. A key reason for 'fur pulling' (another word for it apparently) I read is stress - I find that hard to believe with mine - they live in a Liberta explorer cage, which has been modified with large shelves to provide even more space, there are plenty of hide tunnels and each has their own running wheel. Thanks!

[animalmadchloe]

Have.you had a look on zooplus for degu food? You can get bags of dried herbs leave and flowers and seeds all this is needed for there diet and it's very reasonably priced I spend about 25 on all the feed I need which I make up my self picking out all the high sugar or bits that are not needed the degu nuggets themselves on there own dont contain all the goodness degus need it dont believe carrot is quite sugary too mine.love broccoli washed spinach cucumber courgette odd bit of cabbage and carrot and pepper as a rare treat x

[moletteuk]

It could be mites or a fungal infection, but you would normally expect to see some discoloration to the skin and some irritation, it could be worth a vet visit, since you have the same thing in 3 degus. Lower back isn't a usual place for overgrooming, but for some reason this seems to be a time of year for it, although you usually get one in the group who is the overgroomer with no or less overgroomed patches, so seems fairly unlikely. Random fur loss occasionally occurs with no discernable reason, but if you have 3 with the exact same pattern this again seems unlikely.

It's definitely worth improving the diet in case there is an element of loss of condition, a good selection of oil seeds normally gives a visible improvement in coat condition. A selection of high calcium oil seeds (nigella/ black cumin, celery, fennel, coriander, sesame, poppy) is good for their bone and dental health and then a selection of other oil seeds skin and fur, in particular linseed and hemp, but a selection is best, see chart deguworld.proboards.com/thread/15602/vegetable-seed-nut-nutrition-charts You can buy mixes ready made at Ratrations or ordered from Hansemanns in Germany (along with some forage), or you can make up your own from health or spice shops.

We already have a couple of general diet threads on the go at the moment, so have a look through. Also see the feeding guide deguworld.proboards.com/thread/16425/degu-feeding-guide

Once you have sorted the seeds, the important thing is offering a selecetion of forage, this will also improve their health in all sorts of ways, as it contains vitamins and minerals in the form that degus are most suited to digest. Veg is not important it you offer a variety of forage.

PAH don't contain molasses, so no immediate panic, but if you look at the above mentioned threads you will see other recommendations.

[chelsea0824]

I seem to be having a similar problem with one of my boys.
He has a semi bald patch on his upper back (right by his head on the back)
It isn't bothering him but if there anything I can do to stop it?
I have a feeling his brother is over grooming him?

[moletteuk]

Middle of the shoulders is a popular spot for overgrooming. Check the skin looks completely healthy, it should just look smooth and grey. See if you can catch his brother grooming him frequently to confirm.

There's not much you can do about, you can check they have plenty to occupy themselves and check there is no particular stress occurring.

[EmilyMichaela]

Mine have been doing this recently too. It's one of the things that gave us a kick to get them a bigger cage and make sure they have loads to do and have space to sit apart if they want to. Fred has a bald patch on his back just behind his head. We're going to see if it gets any better in the next week or so (they would have been in their new home a fortnight) If not I'm tempted to take him to the vets just to be sure

[moletteuk]

Sounds like a plan A cage change, even to a better cage, can be a bit stressful to some degus, so it may take a while for overgrooming to settle.

[newtothis]

Hi everyone - just thought I would update you RE my boys loosing patches of fur. They are now on the 'best' diet as researched on this forum and have been so for over a month now but there have been no improvements. Mendel now has small patches of fur missing just above his nostrils. All three still have fur missing on their tails and feet - although the skin under the bald patches is grey so it is not infected - they also get regular sand baths. I have watched them together and have never seen any grooming. They get on very well so no issues there and they are their usual crazy 'how do I escape or jump this' selves. Just seems really odd to me. However, I am comparing them to gerbils (which I previously owned) and my gerbils never had this problem - I should stop doing this. I find it very unlikely that they are bored - they have a modified Liberta Explorer cage and have lots of out of cage time. Couple of questions to the degu experts.
1. Do degus molt? As it's getting warmer could this be a reason for the loss of fur?
2. Could they be allergic to their bedding (although I have not seen them itch). All the bedding I have is from P&H and the packaging stats suitable for degus.

[moletteuk]

Since this has been going on a while you might want to get an experienced vet to take a look.

Degus do moult, mine are still moulting into their summer coat at the moment, it doesn't normally involve any patchy loss of fur though, you just see loose fur on dark surfaces and sometimes a moult line travel down their back in a V shape.

Which bedding are they on? If they are on shavings it is definitely worth trying switching, especially as the fur loss seems to be in close to the ground places. There is lots of choice of paper, hemp or cardboard based ones in UK, see bedding thread deguworld.proboards.com/thread/8754/cage-bedding-reviews

[Karma]

I uv one degu that gets a large (almost 2 inch diameter) bald patch on his back EVERY time he molts - just seems to be his way of doing it. It grows back in at the end and everything is all good.

I am starting to have the same problem as you though - not on the tails though but just bad coats even though they are on the same diet they have been for the past 3 years. I was thinking of maybe trying a UV light and see if vitamin D is a problem, or filtered water because I have moved and our water is extremely "hard" down here and maybe they get getting too high of a mineral in it.

And trying again for the millionth time to get them to eat fresh or dry herbs and plant matter since mine are junk food addicts!

I did have success 2 years ago with flax seeds when one of them was going through a very bad molt and his coat was very rough and dull. Have about a teaspoon daily and I think it took a month or two but defintely helped greatly (omega 3s are great for coat). Might be worth a try on your guys? Also good for the immune system - I would look into mites though as well.