[Katie&Aaron]

Hello everyone!

My boyfriend and I are new to these forums. We joined so we could get some feedback from other degu owners about our two degus Leo and Mimi. We've had our babies since February. We've actually got two quick questions to ask.

1. About a month ago we noticed that Leo had lost some hair from the tip of his tail. When we took him out of the cage to get a closer look, it seemed like the tip had been bitten off or something... we assumed it was from our other Degu but now the other one has the same problem with her tail. It could just look this way because the hair has fallen out. We were just wondering if it's normal for degus to lose hair off of their tails and also if there's anything that causes this to happen?
If it's not normal, is there anything we can do to fix the problem?

2. Also, we realized that Leo and Mimi are getting big and they needed more room so we had a new cage built for us. It's a nice big cage with 3 levels, and ramps for them to play. We haven't left them in this new cage yet because we want them to get used to it first. However, Mimi seems to be squeaking A LOT when she's in her new home. Is this normal?

 

[Sasami]

Welcome! Congrats on your new degus.

1. Does the cage have a wire floor? Or a wire wheel?

2. What kinds of squeaks are they? If they seem timed (like an alarm clock beep), it might just be an alarm call which is normal for a degu in a new environment. They get jumpy sometimes.

 

[Katie&Aaron]

Thanks for your reply!

Our cage does have a wire wheel, yes!

Now that you say it, it does sound kind of timed like an alarm clock lol it just worried me because it happens when she's cuddled into our other degu. I thought she might be getting hurt or something.

 

[Sasami]

I've seen degus' tails get caught in wire wheels so that might be the issue. Try a solid metal wheel if you can .

Don't worry about the alarm call, it's not the same as the distress call they make when injured. It just sounds like she's nervous in the new environment but she'll calm down with time .

 

[Katie&Aaron]

Okay! Thanks for your help... I will try a solid wheel!