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Post by selphibloomers on Sept 29, 2015 21:43:16 GMT
Hi all You may remember me posting about Tufts before, my little girl who had always been a bit poorly. We've had her in to the vets and sedated for them to check and file her teeth and that were all fine. No spurs and no overgrown teeth or damage to tongue etc. We're a bit baffled. Today she is eating with her head tilted and drooling a lot. She had always drooled to a degree, sometimes it stops then she'll start again. I think she has root problems, possibly growing in to her head. Would this tally with her symptoms? She's always been a sickly degu but is such a happy soul. I'm worried about her and think I need to get her head X-rayed to be sure but at the same time am terrified it will be root problems which are untreatable more of less and I'll have to put her to sleep ?
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Post by animalmadchloe on Sept 29, 2015 22:00:43 GMT
I don't have much experience with yet but two of my degus molar roots are growing down wards you can feel them well bellwether jaw line but it's not causing any issues yet I believe there is treatment to prevent pain but it all depends on how bad the over grown root is. I'm sure someone with more experience will be along to help soon try not to worry could be something simple as a gum infection
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Post by yasmin on Sept 30, 2015 2:27:18 GMT
Drooling is usually a sign of spurs. I have had three goos with molar root issues but none of them ate with their head tilted or drooled as a result. My only girl who drools for reasons other than spurs, Meiyo, has a problem with her jaw locking open.
The head tilt makes me wonder if she might have an ear infection, though I don't know how the drooling would relate, unless she's had a small stroke. Then again, if it is a root issue then it might be dependent on where the roots are growing into?
An X-ray will at least rule out/in your fear of it being a root issue. And if it is a root issue, – which it may not be – though it is untreatable, my goo Lilac lived a year and a half with the issue. She required some special attention to feeding (giving her food that was the right shape for her to eat) and medication (I can elaborate on all of this if you would like me to), but I know for sure she had a very happy, active, full life for all of that year and a half.
How old is Tufts? When did she go in to the vets (a day ago? a week ago?)? Is she eating all sorts of foods or only certain shapes/types? Is she showing any other odd behavior like stumbling or not using an arm or a leg?
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Post by deguconvert on Sept 30, 2015 2:36:15 GMT
Has she been checked for an ear/eye infection?
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Post by moletteuk on Sept 30, 2015 9:53:51 GMT
It would be unusual to have root overgrowth without any spurs. Have you or the vet tried feeling along her bottom jaw for bumps or pressing on her nose approx between the eyes to check for sinus pain as a sign of root overgrowth?
Has she had a course of antibiotics? Has the vet considered ear infection?
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Post by selphibloomers on Sept 30, 2015 10:32:40 GMT
Hi all
Thanks for your responses. Tufts is about 2 years old. She went to the vet about a month ago. They checked her for spurs etc. Lily one of our others had her spurs removed there and her incisors filed down so they know how to deal with them.
The head tilt is new I only saw it yesterday evening and I keep a closer eye on Tufts than the others. She has been drooling for a very long time off and on. She eats most foods from what I can see (flat, round, shaped), they have a JR Farm degu as their hard feed and then ad lib hay, garden herbs, field herbs and dandelion as forage with fresh when I can get it safely i.e. not from the side of the road or where I don't know what has been used on it. They also get the Ratrations degu seed mix.
She does limp but that is from when she got beaten up by her sisters last year. They did a number on her and she ended up with a big abscess on her leg which we got cleaned out at the vets and healed well but her leg has been pretty knackered since then. She gets around ok and can use it to itch and put pressure on it but it doesn't function fully. After that she has been split out with Lorina in a separate cage from her sisters.
As of yet she has not been checked or treated for an infection. She did have eye issues that she was treated for when we first got her which made no difference and cleared up. Thinking about she is occasionally a bit squinty with her left eye (as you look at her) which is the one we treated.
Last time we saw the vet she said she thought she felt a bump on her lower jaw, but her actual teeth inside her mouth are all fine.
I think she needs to go back in for an x-ray and we will get her out tonight to have a good feel of her jaws and nose.
She is baffling us completely as she goes from being all fluffed up and drooling to looking perfectly healthy. She is being fed critical care regularly as well which she loves.
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Post by ilikedegus on Sept 30, 2015 12:05:55 GMT
Regarding a diagnosis of root overgrowth, a degu with this can be kept comfortable for many months on Metacam/Meloxicam painkiller daily.
Long-term it causes kidney and liver damage, but if it's an alternative to having the degu put down while she's still enjoying most of her life it may be an option.
We had a degu in this situation, and he had a mainly good quality of life for months after his diagnosis.
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