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Post by titchycatnipsandwich on Mar 2, 2015 7:35:12 GMT
River is going in for his op this morning, and while I'm expecting aftercare instructions I also know there's a lot of experience on here. What do I need to do in preparation for him coming home later, and what do I need to do when he is home?
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Post by Maravilla on Mar 2, 2015 10:58:44 GMT
Hello,
aftercare instructions depend a little bit on the way of how they close the cut. Generally it is said to take out the sand bath for a couple of days and also avoid bedding material. You can put towels, tissues or just let the levels as they are. When we took two of our boys for neutering, the vets stitched them AND then put some glue so an infection was unlikely to happen. Often, they only stitch. Than you have to take care that the wound keeps as clean as possible. You also have to check regularly the first time that the degu does not open the stitches. If they do, return to the vet immediately and also ask if they have an idea on how to prevent this. There is the possibility of making some collar but it won't last for long and maybe your vet has another better idea.
Besides, we took out the running wheel for some few days to avoid too much activity which could harm the wound. If you have a cage with several levels (that would mean a lot of "climbing") you might find it better to close some for the first few days as well. As far as I remember, both boys here were very active after the first 24-48 hours or so, but I found it too risky to offer them the running wheel from the first minute.
Make sure he starts eating soon. This is often a problem as being in pain keeps them from eating. Metacam or any other suitable painkiller can help. At the beginning you can offer him some very nice stuff, no matter what, as the most important thing is that he eats something.
In general, the risks are problems with the anaesthesia as well with post-op infections. These happen far too often so definitely have a very close eye on River during the next about 14 days.
Well, and depending on the reason for this surgery, there might be the need of keeping him away from girls for the next couple of weeks.
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Post by titchycatnipsandwich on Mar 2, 2015 10:59:32 GMT
I dropped him off about 2 hours ago. No aftercare mentioned at the pre-op, but she did say he was overweight- he's ~260g? Zoe is the same, Nyota is 220, so after some poking around this forum I'm not too worried. I've taken the sandbath out and swept it up, and moved food and water down to the bottom level. Hopefully that's everything!
edit- just seen Maravilla's post. I'll clear out the shavings and put a towel down, I can wash that more easily. He has ramped access to each level, so as long as he doesn't jump down he'll be ok. I'll take the wheel out as well for now.
As to the staying away from girls, haven't got any yet, but I'll bear it in mind for when I find some (the surgery is so I have more options with regard to finding him a pair to live with, I don't want to adopt boys, find out they're girls and have baby ones everywhere!)
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Post by Maravilla on Mar 2, 2015 11:19:16 GMT
You cannot say that 260g are too much for a degu. It always depend a lot on the size and body shape of the degu. There are small degus which do never weigh more than 180g, and other, bigger ones who do easily exceed 300g. Besides, in autumn and winter, many degus eat more and are heavier than in spring and summer.
And: as ill degus lose weight far too easily, it is always better that they are a little bit heavier than too thin. You just have more time to react and better chances.
Regarding the towel you want to use, make sure it is not made of terrycloth as River could get stuck with his claws.
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Post by titchycatnipsandwich on Mar 2, 2015 11:43:24 GMT
Thank you  the vet was saying that as he was "overweight", there was more chance of problems with the anaesthetic and post-op complications (hernia I think being her main concern). I knew that there were risks before I went for this option, so I wasn't more worried as a result of that. I just have to wait until they call me to pick him up. |
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Post by moletteuk on Mar 2, 2015 12:03:02 GMT
Good luck today. They all vary but 260g is unlikely to be significantly overweight. If any of mine were 260g they would be skinny!
Depending on your setup and where your degus wee, I would be tempted to clear out the substrate and just leave generous amounts in their potty areas, and not bother with fabric, mine get quite easily caught up in towelling, or you could use fleece in their nest, or just clean kitchen roll.
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Post by saddlers on Mar 2, 2015 14:00:31 GMT
We have varying effects with our boys, from being back to "normal" in terms of behaviour within a couple of hours, to being quite distressed for a couple of days. We have always taken their substrate out for a couple of days when it was wood shavings, and laid out newspaper. I have found that the finacard which we now use as substrate has never really caused any problems/stuck to the wounds. Definitely take the dustbath out for a couple of days. Hope he makes a speedy recovery, watch them with the stitched, we have only ever had one tug at his stitches, but I think he soon realised it was not a wise thing to do
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Post by titchycatnipsandwich on Mar 2, 2015 19:23:30 GMT
He's home now, no problems with the anaesthetic. He's got hidden stitches and tissue glue over the top, and we have a checkup in 3 days to make sure he's ok.
He's currently making what I call his sad chirrupping, no idea if he's actually sad but he shouldn't be in pain. He's currently not-lying in the desktop rabbit bed I bought him, so I can keep an eye on him til bedtime and he can be warm. Poor thing doesn't recognise his own cage at the moment. But he has his (much abused) stuffed frog, and he's watching me eat pizza. Will see if I can get him to drink something in a bit. (The vet seems to have confiscated his hazelnut, I can't find it or the shell anywhere)
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Post by titchycatnipsandwich on Mar 2, 2015 21:27:47 GMT
He is currently a very unhappy bunny. As far as I can tell, he hasn't eaten or drunk anything since I got him home. I have gently towel-wrapped him and tried to drip water into his mouth, but he just kept turning his face away and is currently moping on the top level of the cage. I have put food and water on each level in case he gets stuck anywhere tonight, there's soft tissue on each level as well. Apparently I can't give him any metacam until tomorrow afternoon.
I'm just gonna leave him be for an hour now, see if he settles, but there's no pee or poop anywhere after several hours.
And he's not even interested in the (slightly adapted recipe of the) sick degu food that is stickied on this forum. At least I'm off work tomorrow as well in case I need to get up and take him in.
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Post by Maravilla on Mar 3, 2015 8:00:44 GMT
How's he doing today? He surely is in pain as the painkillers stop to work at some point. And abdominal surgery is no fun!! Hope he's getting better soon. You can also offer him a glass bottle filled with warm water to keep him warm. Uff, I now know what I forgot to say yesterday  : when taking him home it is essential to keep him warm as it is hard for him to keep his body temperature at a healthy level. |
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Post by saddlers on Mar 3, 2015 8:06:14 GMT
One of ours was a bit rough afterwards, off his food for a couple of days, and doing a lot of whimpering, it was a tough couple of days for him, but he bounced back rather quickly afterwards. Hopefully he will be feeling better soon
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Post by titchycatnipsandwich on Mar 3, 2015 9:02:17 GMT
He has literally just peed and pooped. Still very unhappy, I've towelled him again and managed to get a little water in, but not a lot. I had just put a rice sock in there with him, and after a few cautious sniffs he has flopped over the top of it. Not eaten anything yet so far as I can see, he is turning his face away from oats, seeds, hay, turtle mash, the sick-degu oat cookies...
I was told he'd had an injection for the pain that would last until this afternoon, and have metacam to give him for three days from this afternoon. I think he's more panicky and stressed than usual, and is running and leaping to get away from noises, which won't be doing him any favours with regards to resting. I have at least been given quite a bit of metacam; if I knew what injection he'd had I could work out whether it was safe to dose him early (I'm a pharmacist, I like to know my drugs!)
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Post by titchycatnipsandwich on Mar 3, 2015 11:56:38 GMT
Hoorah! Progress!
With a bit of coercion, he's eating honey and licking water off a stick. Now just gotta get him to eat something a bit better for him!
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Post by littlepaws1999 on Mar 3, 2015 12:08:30 GMT
When I neutered my goo just a few months ago he didn't want to eat much either. But he did like feasting on critical care (apple-banana) and fresh veggies, especially carrots. So maybe try to offer some veggies, it will fill his stomach and at the same time give him some water too.
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Post by deguconvert on Mar 3, 2015 17:31:36 GMT
I'm sorry he is feeling so rough. Like Maravilla said, abdominal surgery is painful and the first while after is difficult. I'm glad you found something to help him start taking in some water, and I think the little bit of honey is a good idea. Hopefully he will develop interest in more things now.
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Post by titchycatnipsandwich on Mar 4, 2015 19:39:28 GMT
Due to some sucky scheduling at work, I took River in for his post op check up today, rather than tomorrow. I had been considering going in anyway, as I haven't seen him eat (there's a lot of poop lying round for someone who isn't eating, but I figured that could be leftovers from pre-surgery). At any rate, the nurse was very kind- gave me a sachet of Recovery+, which I think is like the CriticalCare stuff I've seen mentioned on here. He slurped some of that up, then ran away. I've thrown him a sprout, a couple of dried pepper slices and some monkey nuts, and I've caught him nibbling at the sprout when he thinks I'm not looking- he drops it the minute he thinks I'm looking and looks all pitiful and sad. Which I haven't worked out yet, he should know by now it just gets him wrapped in a towel and given water  As an aside, he's really uninterested in apple and banana. Which I thought was very odd, as he loves metacam. |
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Post by moletteuk on Mar 4, 2015 20:32:28 GMT
The Recovery+ should help a bit, it's good that he accepted some of it. Keep offering different things, it sounds like he is starting to nibble at things, so that is good, some hay and leaves would be good for keeping his guts moving along, you could try the oats and oatie cookies again for a bit of energy. I don't think they have much of a taste for fruit since they aren't really designed to eat it. You could try the recovery+ with some baby food or mashed veg and a bit of peanut butter all mushed together, that would have the advantage of including some liquid.
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Post by titchycatnipsandwich on Mar 5, 2015 12:23:10 GMT
Half a sprout is missing this morning, and a peanut difficult to tell on the hay front, but I think we are getting somewhere! Oh, and he is definitely feeling better. I'm covered in scratches from where he escaped the towel and clawed his way up my arm to sit behind my neck. So yay! |
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Post by saddlers on Mar 5, 2015 15:56:50 GMT
Great news!!
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Post by deguconvert on Mar 5, 2015 17:18:18 GMT
YAY!! Glad to hear that.
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the vet was saying that as he was "overweight", there was more chance of problems with the anaesthetic and post-op complications (hernia I think being her main concern). I knew that there were risks before I went for this option, so I wasn't more worried as a result of that. 
: when taking him home it is essential to keep him warm as it is hard for him to keep his body temperature at a healthy level. 
