Degu Biting Her Own Tail

Niall0001

Hi guys.

Noticed today my Degu's been biting her own tail any time it twitches, letting out a yelp of pain when she bites it. No blood, wounds or loss of hair noticeable but she seems quite irritated by something. Gave her tail & hind quarters a thorough clean with a tiny bit of Dettol but no difference.

Through reading online I can see that this can often be a sign of boredom, which may ring true as her sister died a month ago so she's now alone. But that she's causing herself pain, it seems unlikely to me.

Any help massively appreciated.

lorebringer

Repetitive behaviour - licking, pacing, marking and perhaps even biting - is a dogs way of soothing themselves when they are stressed. A change in circumstances is often the reason for this (like losing a friend) and this could be what your dog is trying to do. It is a behavioural problem, and you need to nip it in the bud to stop it. Preventing her from doing it by distraction (loud noise, yell, clap hands etc.) and praise when she stops is a good method of doing this. Think of it like a male dog humping - there is a drive to do it but they don't have to and often it just becomes a behavioural problem. If she is biting out of stress, it may be a good idea to spend more time with her/try to not leave her alone as much until the stress passes (while preventing the behaviour).

Another area that may need to be looked into is glands. Dogs have two anal glands on either side of their anus which can fill up and may need to be drained. They can also become infected or compacted, which can be very uncomfortable, and even painful, for the dog. Because she is biting her back end (often, dogs will just aim for the area and not the specific stop!), this is something that may need to be looked into. There are several reasons these anal glands can become full but they are easy to deal with if caught early. Your vet will be able to take a look and drain them, if needed. Another physical problem to consider is joint issues. A lot of dogs will lick or bite at an area that is sore and, once again, because it is her back end it may be a good idea to have her hips looked at. Hip issues are quite common, particularly in larger breeds, but treatment can be very successful in maintaining a pain free life for your dog. I really recommend you bring your dog to the vet to have her looked over and to make sure there isn't a physical reason she is biting at her tail area. Once this is confirmed, it is clearly a behavioural problem that can be dealt with as above.

Niall0001

Thanks for the advice, but... erm

I'm talking about a Degu - one of these wee fellers:

alie

Someone told me dettol is poisonous to animals,you should check it out

**Vai**

Yeah I dunno if Dettol is a great idea.

The rest of it is boredom. My degu's will take patches of fur off each other if left bored for too long. You need to get her another little pal (careful with the introductions though) and think about changing the layout of the cage as well as putting in a few new bits and pieces.

Dont worry too much about the tail biting, one of mine only has half a tail from his brother taking a fancy to it when they were young but theres not a bother on him. I really would get another degu asap, they are very social animals and need that company. One of the same sex unless you want a whole herd of them!

lorebringer

*mortified*

teacherspet

That is so funny lorebringer.

Niall0001

& they'd made such an effort too! Which is massively appreciated, all the same.

Biting her tail seems to have more been a dose of the grumps (possibly due to nicotine withdrawal lol - I caught her nibbling a cigarette butt from an ashtray). Later in the day she got really contrary, even almost biting me when I picked her up during a frenzied effort at giting her tail (didn't break skin or anything - it's very much a last resort for these wee fellers. 2 years & no bites). Kept a close eye on her & it seems she couldn't actually bite the tail & has given up completely with it & is back to her old self, wandering over to me for broccolli treats, tickles & cuddling up for a wee sleep.

Happy days.

& Vai: I'm looking to get a male so she can breed a wee family. Anyone in the Drogheda area looking to pass on a male - give me a buzz. Thanks again.

alie

My daughter would love one of these, we had every kind of hamster but some are very bitey even though they were well handled, she has been asking for another one but your little degu is beautiful. I just wonder , are they easy to care for and whats the lifespan?. Thanks

Sigma Force

Dettol is not a good idea, don't use it. If you think it's a medical problem consult a small animal vet it could be mites or a fungal skin problem. Once any medical reason is ruled out it could be boredom and stress from loosing her pal.

What size is the cage? Increase the size if possible anyway, give the animal plenty of new safe toys check out zooplus.ie for some and you can probably make some of your own using cardboard boxes.

If the tail develops any cuts or looks sore a mild solution of warm (pre boiled then cooled) water with a little salt in it can help the healing process.

Niall0001

alie wrote: »

My daughter would love one of these, we had every kind of hamster but some are very bitey even though they were well handled, she has been asking for another one but your little degu is beautiful. I just wonder , are they easy to care for and whats the lifespan?. Thanks

Very easy to care for but you have to watch their diet for anything containing Sucrose (a component of sugar found in most fruit) as they can develop Diabetes. Clean their cage once a week. That's it, really.

They can live until 6 years old but general lifespan seems to be 2 years. They are infinitely better than Hamsters as they are quite smart 9Hamsters are notoriously dumb) & can be trained easily. My fella gives me five & hops straight into my hand from anywhere when I say 'treat treat treat', for example. They're very entertaining animals to watch also, full of mischief & very brave.

I can imagine them being a perfect pet for children. Just be sure to give them lots of tickles & Broccolli - it's like Degu crack!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJXrimAHLw8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUXKFr_DVVA

Cherry Blossom

alie wrote: »

My daughter would love one of these, we had every kind of hamster but some are very bitey even though they were well handled, she has been asking for another one but your little degu is beautiful. I just wonder , are they easy to care for and whats the lifespan?. Thanks

You'll need a same sex pair, you can't keep them on their own, I had two males and one quite fancied the other who didn't quite feel the same about it so we ended up with them in two cages side by side with playtime out of the cages together for most of the time someone was home. One of them took to cruising around the house surveying the world from my dads shirt pocket. Mine lived for 6 and 7 years respectively on a diet of 2 parts chinchilla pellets (not mix) and one part guinea pig mix and as much hay as they would eat. Chinchilla pellets can be hard to source and at one stage we had to import a bag from the states. It also goes off quite quickly but we double bagged it in small portions in vacuum storage bags then put in the chest freezer and it kept well like this. We only took a few days worth out of the freezer at a time. We had five chinchillas as well so for us it was worth doing. The only treats we gave them where the choice pieces removed from the guinea pig mix and very occasionally a few rolled porridge oats that we kept as treats for the chillas.

Degus also need a dust bath, don't keep it in the cage with them though as it gets very messy. We never used wheels as they had plenty of out of the cage time and they can easily damage their tails on most types of exercise wheels, if I was tempted I would have got one of those big chinchilla wheels from the states or a big flying saucer wheel.

alie

Thank you so much for all the information, they do seem much better than the hamsters, I bought in a pet shop in Camden street, they seemed to be inter bred with varying health issues, also we got a pregnant female, so the family and cage got bigger, we also had one that escaped regularly. We still have all the toys etc . Would I buy from a breeder or pet shop, I'm not mad about the latter as my own experience wasnt great.

Cherry Blossom

Non of the cages/toys etc you get for hamsters are any where near big enough for degus, they are similar in size and space requirements to pet rats, anything made of plastic won't last 10 minutes. A degu cage looks like this