A degu that drops food, picks through a bowl and leaves the harder pieces, or takes longer over meals is telling you something has changed about chewing. Degus have continuously growing teeth, front incisors you can see and cheek teeth you cannot. Home checks narrow down what you can observe, and the limits of home checks are exactly why this sign deserves a prompt vet visit rather than a wait-and-see approach.
What You Can See: The Front Teeth
Choose a calm moment and gently lift the lip while your degu sits supported on your lap. Healthy front teeth meet evenly, appear straight rather than slanted, and show a natural orange tint on the front surface that is normal for degus. Look for a tooth that has grown longer than its partner, a jagged or broken edge, or teeth that cross instead of meeting. Note what you find without probing further. Never attempt to trim or file teeth at home, since a split running up into the jaw can follow unskilled trimming, and the mouth of a stressed degu is a poor place for improvised dentistry.
If your degu will not tolerate even a brief lip lift, do not force repeated attempts. The eating observations below carry real diagnostic value on their own, and a vet can examine the mouth properly with suitable equipment.
Watching a Full Meal Closely
Set aside time to watch one complete meal without distractions. Note which items he picks up eagerly, which he attempts and drops, and which he ignores entirely. A degu sorting soft pieces from hay, leaving pellets he once crunched readily, or chewing with the head tilted to one side is giving you specific information. Watch for drooling that wets the chin and chest fur, since persistent wetness there often travels with chewing difficulty. Note whether he approaches food with appetite and then fails, which suggests willingness blocked by discomfort, or shows little interest at all, which paints a different picture for the vet.
Write the observations down the same day with the date. Vague recollections of a gradual change help far less than a note saying dropping began on a particular week and hay intake fell across the following days.
Weight as the Objective Measure
Weigh your degu weekly on small kitchen scales, at the same time of day, in the same container he sits in calmly. Record every figure. Appetite changes in a small mammal show up in weight before they show up in appearance, because fur hides a shrinking frame. A downward trend across two or three weighings strengthens the case for urgency when you phone the vet, and a stable weight alongside dropping food still matters, since it helps the vet judge how much intake the chewing problem is costing him. Bring the weight log to the appointment rather than summarising it from memory.
Why the Vet Visit Cannot Wait for Certainty
You cannot see the cheek teeth at home, and those teeth do much of the grinding work. A vet experienced with exotics can examine the full mouth, assess the jaw, and explain what they find and what options exist. Dental discomfort is painful, and a degu eating less also takes in less of the fibre his digestion depends on, so appetite loss compounds quickly in this species. Book the appointment when dropping and sorting persist beyond a day or two, sooner if weight falls, drooling appears, or he stops eating hay. Phone the practice the same day if he stops eating altogether.
Supporting Him Until the Appointment
Keep hay available at all times and offer the foods he manages comfortably from his normal diet, noting what he accepts. Keep handling gentle and brief, since a sore mouth makes a degu defensive about head contact. Avoid introducing sugary treats to tempt appetite, because degus handle sugar poorly and a new food muddies the picture you are presenting to the vet.
The meal notes, front-teeth observations, and weekly weights you gathered form a ready-made history inside KinsLe's Pet Passport, letting the examining vet start from your dated evidence instead of a first look alone.