'getting old' symptoms

[jutchy]

Hi!

So 7 years ago, I bought 2 female degus that were already 1 year old. I didn't know, but of of them was already pregnant and gave birth to 8 healthy babies.

I gave the 5 males away and kept the females. Unfortunately, one of the 2 originals passed away last year, and one of the pups passed away after a sudden seizure about 4 months ago.

Thus said, I still Have Nhym (the mom(, and Ninja and Ni, her 2 babies with me.

Nhym has been having problems lately though; she keeps loosing the hair around her left eye and on the side of her mouth... then a few days later it grows back as if nothing happened. She still eats fine but she drools a lot, and now I've noticed that she hasn't been munching on her wood sticks enough and her teeth are getting a bit too long in my opinion (working on that)

So here's my question; I know degus usually live up to around 8 - 10 years in captivity, but since it's the first time I've had a degu live to the point where Nhym is now (she's 8 yrs old), I just don't know which symptoms of illness can be attributed to the normal cycle of the animal simply just getting old and what should be sounding an alarm.

I love my pets and I do what I can to make them comfortable, but there comes a point where a 300$ visit to the vet that'll only prolong their lives by about 2 months is just not worth it anymore.

So for all the proud degu owners out there that have had degus live long, what do they start doing (health related) when they get really old?

[deguconvert]

We are approaching this stage for the first time ourselves, and I really don't know what to tell you. However, with the drooling that you are seeing, I think it sounds very certain that her molars are over grown and they need to be addressed. A vet will be able to determine if her health is strong enough to lightly knock her out to grind them down. If she has begun to lose weight, or isn't eating as well, she may be in a compromised state of health already. If that is so, you will likely be faced with the option to have her put down. Not a thing I like to write at all, and my stomach sinks to think it. Our two oldest boys are also seven years of age and showing it more and more. I am in empathy with you!

[ntg]

Although I've only had my lot for 2 and a bit years, I adopted a family where the dad is now approximately 7-9 years old. In all honesty the most marked differences from the young ones is the fact that he's a lot slower, sleeps a bit more and finds obstacles a bit more of an effort. The frequency of seeing these things has increased over time as well, although he seems to have caught a second wind at the moment and has bounds of energy.