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Post by jparker92 on Jun 24, 2014 20:46:54 GMT
Hey, I'm getting myself really worked up about some blood I found mixed in one of the degus urine found in the cage. I don't know who it is as I only noticed it on the saw dust but it's a bright red colour. Both boys are eating fine and acting more or less normal though when I first came in the room they were really skittish which I found strange. I'm really worried it's something serious because after reading similar posts, there's nothing I could have fed them to cause the change in colour and it really looks like blood. There are no signs of scratches or anything that could have caused either of them to bleed externally so yeah, freaking out a bit, rightly or wrongly,
Any help or reassurance or advise would be really appreciated!
Jemma
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Post by ntg on Jun 24, 2014 21:02:49 GMT
Hi Jemma, could you possibly tell us what they're eating at the moment? Including any wood they might be getting, just to go through the list and see if there is anything that you haven't seen mentioned that could cause the discolouration.
If it is indeed blood you'll need to figure out which one it's coming from. Best way to do this is lining a travel case with tissue paper and putting one in at a time until they urinate. Usually blood in urine would be a sign of an infection, so it can be worthwhile to have a look and see if there is any swelling or redness around their urethral cone. There's not much you can do regarding immediate medical attention with the time so just stay vigilant and if there are any more signs of there being something wrong then write it all down and ring the vet first thing in the morning to make an appointment as soon as you can.
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Post by jparker92 on Jun 24, 2014 21:13:04 GMT
They only really ever eat hay and the pets at home brand degu nuggets as I get so paranoid about the sugars etc in other food. They do have some wood in the cage, which they possibly could have nawed on etc? It's like half a log sort if thing that I also got from the pet shop. I will keep a very close eye on them tomorrow and see if there's any changes in their behaviour and as you suggest look for any swelling and what not. If there's any more blood I will do the travel case thing to find out who it is. I'm just scared to lose them or of the thought of either being in any pain or discomfort, which is probably me being over dramatic, but I do adore them both. I just hope it's nothing serious  Thank you so much for the advise! |
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Post by yasmin on Jun 24, 2014 22:00:15 GMT
If it is blood, when it dries it should dry brown. Also, if it is colouring from something they ate, then it should stop. ntg's advice about putting them in a travel case to determine who is peeing blood is a good suggestion. Also, as ntg states, don't worry yourself too much at the moment – determine who it is and keep an eye on them. Call the vet in the morning if you are still concerned, the bleeding gets worse or he starts becoming lethargic and puffed up. You probably already read my posts on my degu Makoto peeing blood. He is doing fine now and is back to his normal self. The blood in the pee lasted a few days and then just stopped. So don't worry too much right yet. If you do take him to the vet, try and get samples of the pee so that they can at least test to see if it is blood or not. I got samples by lining their cage with wax paper about an hour before leaving for the vet. Then, when he peed – he was constantly dribbling bloody, tissue laden pee by then – I cut out the piece from the wax paper and placed it in a flat container to take with me. Fortunately though, I had also lined the carrier I took him to the vet in with waxed paper, and he did a great big bloody pee there for her to sample as well. If it is blood, then it is most likely due to an infection of the uro-genital tract, bladder, kidney. The vet may not be able to determine what it exactly is but antibiotics should be prescribed. Painkillers are probably unnecessary. Makoto stopped peeing blood within 24 hours of going to the vet and he's back to his old, rambunctious self.  Please keep us posted. |
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Post by Karma on Jun 25, 2014 0:18:40 GMT
Have you put any new bird/small animal toys that happen to be coloured red? The colouring off toys can pass through the system and cause a red urine. Is there more than one spot? Some wood shavings can have a reddish colouring on them and looks like dried bloody urine .... Good luck and try not to panic too much! It will be ok |
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Post by klbishop on Jun 25, 2014 8:36:19 GMT
weve had toys that made red marks, how are they doing today ?
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Post by jparker92 on Jun 25, 2014 10:04:54 GMT
Hello all thank you for the responses. I checked them this morning a few times so far and I've noticed the stained sawdust has now gone a pink colour, when I suspected it would go a dark red, could thins suggest it's not necessarily blood? There's been no more since then that I can see and one of the degus even peed when I came in and there was nothing red there, so at least if it happens again I have more of an idea who to focus on. Both are still acting normal, no changes in mood or behaviour. We have a few toys that have red colouring actually and last week I gave them a box from the recycling to chew up and find things in and that was a colourful box, but I didn't think it could be this as this was something I gave to them last week? But I have bright pink ledges they jump on and occasionally nibble at though I've not seen fresh marks on them lately? Anyway, thanks again everyone, will keep you posted with my progress and let you know of any changes /vpossible vet trips etc |
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Post by yasmin on Jun 25, 2014 17:27:41 GMT
Likely it wasn't blood; I would expect the bleeding would continue or escalate if it was. Glad they're doing okay. |
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