Fur Chewing

[smithomatic]

Ok guys, I have a bit of a problem at the moment, here is what has happened so far in chronological order;

Degu 1 began to chew the fur on his hands

Degu 1 began to chew the fur on Degu 2's hands

Both Degus have bald hands for about 1 month

Degu 2 has grown back the fur on his hands

Degu 1 has started to chew the fur on his wrists

Degu 1 has completely bald wrists and hands and some swelling on the wrists (very tiny amount of blood)


Degu 1 is the less dominant degu, both have a wheel and thier own feeding bowls and water and degu 1 has become much more friendly towards me since the chewing began. They both get the same attention.

Is there any advice from other owners? I am having a really hard time with this as I cannot think of anything I can do about it at all.

Many thanks

[NightwishRaven999]

Chewing of fur is sometimes a sign or pure boredom.
It can also become a habit, much like a human chewing his/her nails constantly.

Do you degus have daily access to Timothy or Meadow Hay ?
Some owners have diagnosed the cause of this habit as being a lack of fiber in the degu diet.

Cases like this are not so rare. Many degus chew the fur off their paws or tails.
From what I have read on the matter, the reasons for this are not quite clear.

Some sources also claim this as a stess related habit when degus are dealing with illnesses.
Although this theory does not support itself well, since the fur-chewing habit is widespread even among healthy degus.

I am sad to say there is little advice I can offer on the matter.
Hopefully someone who has dealt with this problem in the past will be able to offer some assistance. Please keep us updated...

Since you mentioned swelling and bleeding, perhaps soaking your degu's paws in a mild solution of salt water might be advisable.

[smithomatic]

Hi Nightwish,

I managed to snap a short video on my phone earlier today. Im hoping to get it uploaded later on tonight (10.30pm GMT). Hopefully this will give you a better understanding of the situation.

He does have timothy hay, I supply them with fresh timothy hay every day aswell as hay that has small flakes of dandelion and carrot in.

I also wish to add that although his wrists are swolen from chewing he does not appear to be in any visable distress, he still jumps and runs around as if normal. He has also become very friendly over the past few weeks, he is usually exceptionally shy.

[smithomatic]

Hey everyone I wanted to give you all an update on my degus progress.

I have began to use a teetree oil that you rub onto the degus arms, it helps to reduce swelling and calm irratated skin. I applied this a couple of times a day for about a week and his condition imporved greatly. His arms went from red and swolen to a pinky skin colour. I stopped applying the oil when the swelling went down. He seemed in pretty good shape for a couple of weeks.

Just recently his arms have become all bumpy (kind of like a nettle sting). He has been chewing again but not as much. I applied the teatree oil again but this time he began to do something very strange. I applied the oil and returned him to his cage and he began to push his face quite hard against the floor and walk around in this way. This lasts for about 5mins. He is also refusing the treats I offer him whenever I apply the oil; he takes them from me, puts them into his mouth, then drops them onto the floor.

Is this anything that other owners have experienced? I will be taking him to the vets if his condition worsens but monitoring him the meen time.

I am hoping that the new much larger cage will be ready in a couple of days, hopefully this will take his mind off whatever is causing him discomfort and give him something to explore and have fun in...

Many thanks

Smithomatic

[deguconvert]

Teatree oil is actually something you need to avoid using with your degus. I am rather alarmed that you have used it . . . although it is an excellent treatment for people and probably other animals, it is actually rather harmful to degus. I do hope I have this wrong . . . but I think you really must stop the use of it until we have the feedback from other members who are more familiar with this than I.

[deguconvert]

Teatree oil is actually something you need to avoid using with your degus. I am rather alarmed that you have used it . . . although it is an excellent treatment for people and probably other animals, it is actually rather harmful to degus. I do hope I have this wrong . . . but I think you really must stop the use of it until we have the feedback from other members who are more familiar with this than I.

[smithomatic]

Hey DC,

Thanks for the reply, I was worried about using is at first. When I initially saw it in the shops I avoided it, as I am aware that Degus do seem to have very specific needs regarding diet and general health. However this was something I spoke to my vet about and she recommended it, she has explained that she has used it on many degus to reduce the swelling of thier wounds from fights etc.. it does appear to have worked to some extent. I am more concerned about the degus mouth rarther than his arms. I think the arms are the symtop but the mouth is likely to be the problem.

[smithomatic]

Are you able to reccomend any specific anti-chew creams?

thanks

[deguconvert]

No . . . not really, I'm sorry. Although, a forum member used zinc cream, like you would use for a baby's sore bottom, to prevent a degu from chewing on a wounded area . . . and as I recall it worked quite successfully for her. The difficulty was in applying it . . . it is thick and sticky and it was difficult to avoid getting it on other parts of the degu. I think that if you are able to hold your degu fairly still though, a Q-Tip (cotton bud on a stick?) would make the process tidier for both you and your degu.

[smithomatic]

Hey DC,

Thanks for the advice. I have continued to use my teatree oil for the last few days and his condition has all cleared up again. Last time I stopped using the oil becuase I didnt want to over do it but perhaps it flared up again becuase I needed to treat it for a little bit longer, after the swelling reduced. This time I will continue to use the cream for a little bit longer (the cream is also an anti-septic / anti-bacterial) to stop any infection resurfacing.

I understand your worry about using teatree as it is toxic to any animal that ingests it (including us humans!). The nice thing about the oil/cream I am using is that a) the teatree content is diluted and b) when you rub it into the skin it soaks in (no left over residue). Becuase of this the degu (nor his friends) can ingest it from grooming. I also spend a good hour observing them after the cream is applied, so far neither of the degus in the cage seem particularly intrested in the smell.

Since the rash has cleared up, the degu has stopped pressing his face to the floor and has started eating and drinking again. So far things are looking good. I will be taking him to the vets again soon for a check up and to also investigate his teeth to make sure that there is no infection there.

I obviously would not reccomend to other users to use teatree oil as I am not a degu expert but this is a treatment that seems to have worked for me.

If anyone else has had experienced using teatree oil, please do leave a comment. I'd love / need to hear about other peoples experiences. This way I can better judge its continued use for myself..

Many thanks



Smithomatic