Fur pulling?

[degusanddogs]

Hi everyone.
I'm not sure what's going on but both my girls have Tiny patches of hair missing of fore paws I read this could be fur pulling by themselves or to each other for a number of reasons over grooming, dominance, boredom etc however the skin is not sore, red or inflamed and there hasn't been any fighting that I know of. Since reading the many reasons behind fur pulling (if it is im not sure) I've been spending more time with them. Making them goodies got some new toys, the patches of missing hair don't seem to be getting any bigger or worse but don't seem to be getting any better either I did only spother them around a week ago . I don't know what to do. They do need a bigger cage so they are let out of the cage every single day without fail 2-3 times at least somedays more and allowed a free run for a good half an hour each time. They are happy little things so I'm bit stuck, what could be causing it. I also checked their sand bath to make sure it is clean and not harbouring any poop and it's fine.. I'm new to degus only had them for just under 12 months. Any advice would be greatly appreciated
Thank you in advance

[Deleted]

Hi again!!

I think your case might be due to boredom or stress, as you've got them in such a tiny cage (no fault of yours, p@h fault). I would first fix that situation and see if having a big new home with lots of toys help. The Thickets cage isn't even big enough for one degu, so you can imagine how small it must feel to them, both being in there.

The allowing them out is good, but cage size makes no major difference to the notion that they need "out" time, so even when you have the Aventura style cage, do continue with this.

[moletteuk]

It's very, very common and not necessarily anything to worry about too much. Just make the cage improvements as soon as you are able and then see how it is.

[degusanddogs]

Apr 7, 2017 12:51:19 GMT moletteuk said:

It's very, very common and not necessarily anything to worry about too much. Just make the cage improvements as soon as you are able and then see how it is.

**update**
Since being moved into a bigger cafe fur pulling has stopped and the fur appears to be returning, they love the new cage.

[randomname]

*****aaaawesome****
Really happy it's worked out, am sure they're loving their new cage. Just goes to show how important a decent size cage is. They're going to loove their degu slave so much more too

[deguconvert]

WOO HOO!!! That is great news!! So glad that the fur pulling has stopped and the fur is growing back. THRILLED they are loving the new cage. Do you see new behaviors?

[degusanddogs]

it's brilliant yeah!! I haven't noticed many as of yet, one thing I noticed is Heidi the most shy has gained a little confidence

[moletteuk]

Great