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Post by shanibandangle on Jul 25, 2014 17:24:26 GMT
Hi everyone, earlier my little sister who is 11 was hoovering and she left the hoover plugged in and part of the wire was inside the corner of my degus cage. I never heard it happen, but I went to give my degu Poppy a treat and she was trying to take it from me but looked like she was struggling. It was then that I noticed the chewed wire and started freaking out. I inspected her mouth and noticed some red on her bottom teeth - her top teeth look fine. It's hard to see inside her mouth but the bottom is looking a little burnt, and the bottom lip is very visibly swollen. She wasn't acting strange or anything, she even ran on her wheel and jumped about, but she looked like she was trying to groom her whiskers as they are quite frazzled on one side. Will they ever heal?
I took her to our nearest vet and it's safe to say the vet didn't have a clue what he was doing. I asked beforehand if they dealt with degus and they said they yes, they would have a look. He was pretty useless and made us do his job for him. He didn't know anything about degus and what was normal or abnormal for them. After a while he gave her a steroids jab to prevent infection and said it should heal in a few days. We also got a syringe to give her water through incase she isn't drinking herself.
On the way home she was very quiet and hid underneath the hay in her carry case. As I put her back in the cage her sister Daisy started heavily grooming her, Poppy looked like she was enjoying it. Since she's been in she has just been laying on her stomach on the top floor of the cage, pretty much where I put her. She is clawing at her whiskers, probably in an attempt to straighten them. I am keeping a close watch of her to make sure she can still eat and drink, but she's very quiet for now.
I am really confused about the trip to the vet, I'm worried because he didn't know what he was doing, and I trust the people on forums such as this a whole lot more than I trust him.
Any advice would be much appreciated. I've only had them both for about 8 months and am quite new to the animals. Thank you.
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Post by ilikedegus on Jul 25, 2014 21:52:42 GMT
Hi shanibandangle
I guess Friday night is not a good night for replies.
First, welcome to the forum.
I'm sorry for Poppy's experience and your and Poppy's experience of the vet.
I've never had a degu who obviously had an electric shock. Perhaps someone else will see this post who can help more.
But I wanted to say, if she's running around like you say, she is probably going to be OK.
Her whiskers will be frazzled until they re-grow (like any hair, they fall out one-by-one and are replaced...could take a while but eventually she'll have her full set back).
Is it definitely the whiskers she's clawing at?
Steroids reduce inflammation only, they don't prevent infection. The injection may have made her more comfortable though.
Keep an eye on her (I'm sure you will) and don't fuss over her if you can help it - she's probably a bit shocked (no pun intended) and so some quiet time will be good for her.
Her mouth may well be burnt so do make sure she's eating as well as drinking, and see whether she starts to paw at her mouth, indicating problems. There are painkillers and antibiotics that can be given to degus if needed.
If you tell us whereabouts you are, someone may be able to recommend a vet.
You sound like you are a caring degu owner, which is good :-) PLEASE come back and tell us how Poppy is.
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Post by shanibandangle on Jul 25, 2014 22:13:29 GMT
Thank you for your reply. I have now noticed that she is pawing at her bottom teeth as well as grooming her whiskers. From what I can see, the base of her bottom teeth and the skin surrounding them is red. The swelling makes it difficult to see. She is struggling to eat most things at the moment, but i think she is managing to eat tiny bits of hay at a time, most pieces are falling out her mouth though. It hurts to know she's hungry yet can barely eat anything  She doesn't seem to be yelping so I don't think she's in pain but I think chewing might be bringing her pain... Not even sure if she can drink at the moment. We will definitely seek out more help tomorrow from Pets At Home who can hopefully point us in the direction of a good vet as I think she now has dental problems |
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Post by shanibandangle on Jul 25, 2014 22:14:24 GMT
Forgot to mention I'm in Central Scotland  |
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Post by ntg on Jul 26, 2014 1:13:23 GMT
Unfortunately, I don't think P@H will be much use, they'll probably just recommend the vets they work in conjunction with who, by all accounts, aren't too sharp with degus. The only vets in Scotland I've heard come recommended are the lawrie vet group www.lawrievetgroup.co.uk (Alistair Lawrie was the vet that was named) but I don't know if they're close for you or not. With her being unable to eat solids it may be worthwhile trying a puree such as vegetable baby food as it should be easier for her to swallow. As for medication, metacam may be beneficial as it's an anti-inflammatory as well as a painkiller. Let us know how she's doing! |
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Post by shanibandangle on Jul 26, 2014 1:33:04 GMT
Thanks, at least Pets At Home is a step in the right direction I'm struggling to sleep tonight as I'm just so worried about her right now. She had a little sneezing fit not long ago and her mouth has made this clicking noise ever since she got back from the vet. She has been sleeping a lot, particularly in her hay bed and even between the sheets of her hammock, which they have never done before!! Her hammock is made of fur which makes me think she's really cold. I don't understand how the burn could have caused all these symptoms that she never had before... She isn't taking water from the syringe either, I don 't know how I can help her it's the middle of the night and i'm afraid I might wake up tomorrow to find out she's worse. |
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Post by shanibandangle on Jul 26, 2014 1:34:17 GMT
That vet sounds great! It's very near me and I will go there tomorrow. Thanks so much |
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Post by deguconvert on Jul 26, 2014 5:55:45 GMT
Oh honey! I can imagine how frantic you must be feeling, as I know I would be so terribly worried if I were in your shoes. I do hope that the steroids shot will have at the very least prevented much worse swelling, but I suspect she needs more help than that. I am really glad that you are so close to the suggested vet. I wish I could put together some thoughts and advise that would greatly help you, but I'm floundering, and can only feel worried along with you. Please let us know how things go for you and for Poppy. I am really hoping for the best outcome.
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Post by anita on Jul 26, 2014 6:50:08 GMT
Poor Poppy if it as hot in Scotland as it is here at the moment keeping her hydrated is really important by putting the syringe right in the corner of her mouth behind the teeth you might avoid most of the swelling and dont wait for her to take it a short sharp squirt will at least get the water into her also with oats being soft they might be a good way of getting some calories into her. Let us know how she gets on with a more knowledgeable vet.
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Post by shanibandangle on Jul 26, 2014 10:47:37 GMT
This morning poppy is looking better, she is now eating solid food but still isn't drinking. She sniffs her water bottle, goes back in her house, then comes out and sniffs it again but doesn't try to get any. I want to take her to the vet but my mum reckons it will be too much stress for her after her visit yesterday. Now I can't decide if it's a good idea or not, because I don't want her to get freaked out again Still not much luck with the syringe full of water, she doesn't even open her mouth around it so squirting it just gets all over her nose. I'm going to try and feed her some broccoli later. There is a bowl of cucumber in the cage but they aren't eating any. It's impossible to get any water into this lady! |
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Post by ntg on Jul 26, 2014 10:53:19 GMT
With her not raking any fluids in then the vet is her best chance. At the very least they'll be able to give her some fluid shots to make sure she's hydrated and give her the best chance.
To reduce some of the stress of travelling do you take her friend along with her? As it can really help them to have a bit of company.
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Post by ilikedegus on Jul 26, 2014 12:05:29 GMT
Please take her to the vet!
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Post by anita on Jul 26, 2014 13:03:21 GMT
if her mouth if sore maybe a small bowl of water would be more comfortable for her to drink from than the bottle!
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Post by shanibandangle on Jul 26, 2014 13:39:31 GMT
Well I have some good news, she started drinking from her water bottle again a few minutes ago (a biiiiig long drink!) though while she was swallowing the water her teeth were making a sharp grinding sound which I hope is just due to the temporary misalignment of her chewing due to the swelling. I could have cried when I finally saw her drink some water, have been trying for hours to give her some So everything is looking up for the moment. The vets closed early today so I phoned for some advice from a specialist at Pets At Home who knows a lot about degus, and I've been monitoring her like a hawk. Now that she's eating and drinking and doesn't seem to be in pain, I hope she's on the road to recovery. |
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Post by yasmin on Jul 26, 2014 14:22:45 GMT
Glad that Poppy is eating solid food and drinking again. It does seem she is on the road to recovery. From this point on, I think the main concern is infection. (The steroid shot will have helped keeping inflammation at bay and the the pain that comes with it but I'm not sure if it actually will prevent infection.) Also, when the steroid injection wears off, she may start feeling pain again depending on how quickly she heals up. You should definitely take her to a vet if she becomes lethargic again and if she stops eating/drinking again. Then she might need additional pain killers (Metacam) and possibly antibiotic treatment. Hopefully it will be smooth sailing from this point on.
(Very lucky actually that she didn't get completely electrocuted.)
Please keep us posted.
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