Baby degu has the body swollen

[iulia]

Hi All, 

I need your help, some suggestions or solutions if anybody had had before such an experience with his degu:

My baby degu(4 months old) was limping and the doctor gave him some pain killer. After the 4th day of taking the medication, I found him in his cag with his body very very swollen and hard. He could barely breath. I rushed to the vet`s clinic, the doctor put him on oxygen and gave him steroids, but she doesn`t know what could hve caused the edema.

Any of you had similar experiences? Please share them with me, every minute is crucial for my baby degu.

Thank you,
Iulia

[moletteuk]

The only thing I know of that could be related to this is that if a degu has a blocked nose, which forces them to breathe through the mouth, this causes them to swallow air and can cause severe bloating, this is not too uncommon. You can try simethicone to help the degu pass the air, but you really need to treat the blocked nose.

If your vet thinks it is fluid, rather than air causing the swelling, then I've never come across this. Perhaps there has been an internal injury at the same time the leg was injured? Or a reaction to the painkiller, although it is usually well tolerated short term? (Metcam is usually around one drop per day of cat strength 0.5mg/ml)

I would recommend staying in touch with your vet to work through possibilities of what could be going on, or if you don't have faith in your vet, look for another vet.

[deguconvert]

What has been the outcome in your crisis?