Hmmm :( 4 Degus all with a missing patch of hair??

[mwoody]

Hi,

We got 4 degus about 3 weeks ago and they have been great so far.

However the other day I noticed that all 4 of them had a patch of hair missing on their noses.

One of them has a really big noticeable patch while the others are a bit smaller and one is only just noticeable.

It seems like this happened over night to all of them as they were all fine the previous day.

We have got them in this cage - ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41CM8tPAvlL._SS400_.jpg

Any ideas what could be causing this? As a new degu owner I dont know if I should be conered or not.

Thanks for your time

[Jaiye]

Maybe they went a bit mad over chewing bars over night? Not sure =S

[noshalot]

Thats what I thought as well

[Bexi87]

My two recently had a little bold patch on their noses and have the same cage, all hair has now grown back and you can't tell it was ever missing - i think it is over-chewing the bars/bottom rim that rubs the hair off!

[deguconvert]

Yep, my conclusion as well. Bar chewing will definitely wear the hair of the nose, especially if they are doing it constantly. Out of curiousity, what are the dimensions of your cage, and do you know the approximate age of your four goos?

[smux]

DC, a quick google of "posh pets cage" found me dimensions of 57 x 46 x 148cm at www.myposhpet.co.uk/rats-and-ferrets/modern-tall-chinchilla-rat-cage.html (and an exceptionally high price of £125 for a cage too...could build one double the size in wood for that :-))

[deguconvert]

There are conflicting results about whether or not your cage is large enough to keep degus in. The Degutopia cage calculator says it is fine for 2-4 degus, but the german cage calculator says it is too small period. I am thinking that having four degus in there, you are right at your maximum according to Degutopia, and the fact that your degus are chewing so hard on the bars seems to indicate that they may be feeling crowded in there. So . . . what would your options be? Saving up to get a new cage, adding an addition to the cage you have, getting a second cage and putting two of your four into it . . . if it is the same size as what you have now. Those are three I can think of off the top of my head.

Degus really do demand a lot of space, and for most of us on the forum, it is something that we have each had to learn through trial and error. Very few of us started off with cages that gave the degus we had the space they needed. This is very naturally a dilema that involves finances and what can be afforded, which is something only you can answer. If your degus are young, under six months of age, you may be able to have another few months in that cage without it becoming very difficult, but as they approach their adult sizes, they will fight, and will fight more and more because of hormones and limited space. They can become VERY grumpy in limited spaces.

The cage you have is beautiful, I would have thought it is quite suitable for 2-3 degus myself, but your degus may be telling you otherwise.

[smux]

Another problem with that cage is the height...degus do like height, of course, but if it's at the cost of actual floor space it'll add to their problems. A cage that is 2 metres tall and 1 metre wide will have less floor space than a cage that is 1 metre tall and 2 metres wide because of any access ramps and such, and that cage is slim so there isn't much left floor-wise except on the ground floor. My advice personally would be to get another one-floor cage and link it to the one you have somehow so they have the new cage to live in and that cage to play in...it's that or turn more of the floors into proper floors by adding in big wood ledges that fill out the space and only give enough space to get up there.

It's a nice looking cage, it just isn't feasible for degus in large groups. Given the floor space, I probably wouldn't put more than two in there unless I had to, and even then only if I knew they got on well...as DC said, it should be suitable for 2-3 degus but if your 4 are growing up they are going to want more space and they're all stuck on the ground floor basically (the upper levels aren't really suitable for much).

[malteser60]

That is the exact cage I have, and mine love it, howeve they have always liked climbing stuff. Even when I let them out they try to climb everything - including the walls! I was quite shocked when, shortly after moving into the house I'm in, I let the degus out, and after a while I look up and I see Nutmeg two metres off the ground climbing the wall! The walls are painted over embossed wallpaper and I guess she manages to dig her claws into the wallpaper.

Mine also chew the bars, but they do that irregardless of whether they are in the cage, or actually outside the cage chewing the bars. Daft goos!

I definitely want to give mine more ground space but at the moment I don't have the tools or time to build a custom cage (or even knowing how long we'll be in this house), so the cage is the best option as I can dismantle it for moving. I'm tempted to get another one and join the two.

[mwoody]

Hi,

Thanks for all the advice guys, in order to combat this I have put in a load of different sized shelves.

I drew out this plan-



and took it to my local timber merchants, it cost £24.57 for all 21 pieces cut to how I wanted it. Bargain when you consider some pet shops charge £5-£15 PER SHELF!!! Heres a few of the pieces-





And the end result is this-




Still needs some more work to create the space but so far they love it and especially all like to crowd into the really cramped space between two boards strangely enough!

Going to invest in some new toys over the coming weeks, quite liked the idea of putting treats/bedding in a egg box to keep them entertained

thanks again for all the advice

[mwoody]

oh, forgot to mention, still got about half the boards left to play with!

[deguconvert]

I think that is looking good! If I may suggest . . . horizontal running space is very important to degus, so if you have lots of woodleft, why not put in more shelvingaround the outside edges and develop more flat space. They do like to climb, but running room is crucial too.