Bald patch on nose

[savvy]

I noticed a dark parch on Dixie's nose yesterday, its almost on the bridge but towards his right eye.

Today there's a small bald patch.  The skin doesn't look broken or red/inflamed and his general behaviour is the same as always.  The patch is right where the bar of his cage rests when he is having a good chew of the bars.  They have plenty of wood, but do like a good chomp on the bars.

There have been quite a few squabbles between the boys in the last few days, but again nothing out of the ordinary.

Is there anything I can do and is this normal?

Thanks!

[yasmin]

Not sure if it is normal and or if there is anything you can do about it. If he is doing fine and there is no pus or inflammation then it is likely that it is due to his rubbing his nose while chewing the bars. However, keep an eye on him to see if any other parts of his body start losing fur.

[Bexi87]

My girls had this when I first got them, they used to chew one particular air vent they used to chew.

Since I covered the vent up the dark patches on their noses have completely gone.

As long as they aren't bleeding or getting infected I'd suggest trying to cover the bars and see if that helps.

[deguconvert]

It is pretty common that such a thing will happen to a degu that is a dedicated bar chewer. Most of the time the skin remains in good health. If you are concerned, or begin to see any inflammation, or sores, then put something heavy (that can't be tipped over or easily moved) in front of that particular area and see if you can discourage the chewing. What is even better, put up a chunk of wood that can be chewed instead. Kiln dried softwoods are totally safe, so you can use a wood screw (or a wing nut, with pre-drilling of the hole into the wood piece) and a washer or two, and hang it up in the cage that the chew site.

[savvy]

Thanks all. There are so many areas they both love to chew at I may need to cover most of the cage.

I have some large pieces of wood (it was their old house) which are in there to so I may Barton them to the bars as it'll cover some of their favourite bars and give them more floor space. I also have a grass hammock arriving in the next couple of days so that will be something else for them to explore.

I do move the cage around every time I empty the whole cage for cleaning which is every 4-5 days so they have plenty to keep them amused.

[moletteuk]

Some degus just love to chew the bars. As has already been said, covering the favourite places and keeping the cage interesting can help sometimes. I would throw in a ton of twigs, branches and logs. I second DC's suggestion of attaching a chunky batten of softwood to the bars where they like to chew, it will offend them so much having this lump in their way they ought to concentrate on chewing that to pieces rather than the bars.

[savvy]

On the plus side, it gives me a chance to check their teeth, lol!

Just off to the hardware shop.

[kati]

I have the same thing with Woo and too many bars to cover. I give her plenty of wood to chew on but she's still loving the bars. I reckon as long as it's not red of inflamed it should be okay.