Older lone degu missing fur

[simong]

Hi,
I have an older degu (best guess 5 years) living on his own now that his brothers have died (last one passed away about 6 months ago).

He seems fine and happy with living on his own. He's active, has the run of most of the house and I work from home so he gets plenty of human attention.

Just recently, I've noticed he is scratching quite often and loosing fur around his haunches, front legs and belly.

He's been to the vet (a degu expert) who thinks it may be related to teeth problems making it difficult to groom properly (he's lost a few teeth and needs his other teeth regularly burred). The vet has checked for mites and / or a urinary infection and found no obvious problems.

Personally, I'm not convinced that it's a teeth problem as he is also loosing hair in a line under his belly where he scratches with his back legs.

There's no obvious damage to the skin and neither has his bedding / environment changed to cause a problem.

I have read that lone degus will over groom themselves out of boredom but that doesn't explain the overly frequent scratching ?

If anyone has any advice / suggestions about the fur loss / scratching or keeping lone degus that would be very much appreciated. (Re-homing Houdini is not an option and neither, realistically, is getting him a friend - he is *very* aggressive towards other degus)

[deguconvert]

Perhaps the constant scratching is more an indication of emotional distress and loneliness. Have you considered the possibility of having him neutered and getting a female or two to be company for him? Or do you think he would also be aggressive with females?

[simong]

>Perhaps the constant scratching is more an indication of emotional distress and loneliness.

yes, that's what I'm worried about. he doesn't seem unhappy *at all* but I don't know what's really going through his head.

Getting a female friend for him is an interesting idea, but ultimately, as much as I love my degus, I really don't want any more (and besides unless the new friend conveniently died at the same time it becomes an ongoing problem)

[deguconvert]

Well, you could always look about for one that is of similar age and needing a new home. Maybe?

[smithomatic]

I know it sounds bad but have you thought about sending him to a new home? Perhaps you know someone who is thinking about getting degus, if they get pups the intro would be easy and you could still visit?

[yasmin]

Stress can cause fur loss. My degu Lilac lost patches of fur on her back after giving birth. It's a sort of alopecia like humans get. If this is the cause, it will grow back eventually. However, if he is stressed because he is lonely then that issue will need to be solved. Getting him a degu friend is the best way to deal with this but, if this is not an option, I have heard that alot of human attention can also help.

Still, this does not explain the scratching. Try allowing him to have frequent sand baths and see if that helps.