Eyelid looking swollen/having hair missing? pics

[bijett]

We've just noticed that Millie's eyelid looks like it's been plucked or maybe s swollen?
It looks like a clean, defined line of hair missing so not as if she 's caught it on something sharp. Her eye looks fine and normal and she is her normal cheeky self otherwise.
Any ideas?
I tried to take a pic but she won't stay still
ETA: I managed to take a few pics while she was asleep but it's still very hard to see:

[debdegu]

hi my degu had a bad eye recently but the hair wasn't missing. Try some warm water on a bud, or take to vet for some eye medicine.

[luna1]

Hmmm......I wonder if Millie's cage mate/s have been indulging in over zealous grooming? Have you seen anything like this going on? I know that they are always grooming each other and we tend to ignore it until something catches our attention then we watch more closely. Also bearing in mind that they are going through the moulting season at the moment and their fur comes out much more easily.

The fact that it's almost a perfect line would maybe suggest that it is being inflicted. There is also the small possibility that there are mites around from hay? But then her cage mate would be suffering too.

Has there been anything that may have stressed them recently? They do, albeit rarely, lose fur in certain areas if they have had a stressful period. Obviously you will keep an eye (no pun intended) ;D on her but from experience, their fur seems to take a long time to grow back so it would be hard to see an improvement straight away.

Just some ideas to consider but failing any of these, then a trip to the Vet may be necessary.

[bijett]

I'll keep a closer eye on them, I did notice Molly grooming her in that area earlier on. Thanks for your input.

[moletteuk]

It looks overgroomed to me too, the skin doesn't look pink, so that is good. Does it look swollen when you compare it to the other side?

[bijett]

Argh, another bald patch has appeared on her front leg and shoulder. Vet on monday I think.

[moletteuk]

Vet sounds like a good idea.

Keep an eye on them as much as you can though, you might find some clues in their behaviour, and the vet will probably ask lots of questions anyway.

[bijett]

I googled it and found a section on degutopia about fur-pulling that ad a few photos. It could be stress-related. We've noticed that Mollie also seem to have a few hairs missing on her front paws although it's nowhere near as bad as Millie's. One of the causes listed was arrival of a new pet. We did get a amster a few weeks ago so maybe this is causing it. They also didn't have a wheel for a couple of weeks and ever since they got their new one, they've been on it constantly and were not taken out as long as usual because they seemed so happy with their new toy. I remember thinking they'd become very skittish a few days ago. I 've done the water bottle trick today mentioned in another thread and they have chilled a lot on their water bottle today.

[deguconvert]

Bijett, just wondering what the size of your cage is? Sometimes they are responding to a sense of wanting more space. Our boys had plucked their legs right up to their chests, and then when we built the bigger cage and put them in, all their hair grew back. But they plucked it all out again when Reep died last year, and were starting on their hind feet when we brought home two little "male" pups to cheer them up. They turned out to be female, but they stopped plucking their hair and it all grew in again beautifully. When we separated the boys out from the girls a while back, they started plucking their feet again. We will be building a second cage that will also be large for the boys, and then will introduce a couple of their little pups once they are settled, and the pups are old enough.

SO many things can bring on over grooming.