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Post by SpudsMom on Nov 7, 2015 22:10:06 GMT
Hi there, I wanted to reach out for some advice on tempting an ill degu to eat. I have a pair of boys, brothers, just shy of 2 years old. On Wednesday PM I noticed Twitchy had a prolapsed rectum, out about 1cm. We went to the emergency vet who knocked him down and coaxed it back in. By Thursday AM it had prolapsed again so we went to the small animal vet who knocked him down, put it back it and put a suture on each side. Thursday PM it had prolapsed a little despite the sutures and on Friday AM the vet knocked him down and sutured around the entire circumference of the anus leaving what he thought was a large enough hole. When I went to clean the sutures on Friday he was completely impacted so Saturday AM (today) the vet knocked him down, removed all the sutures, an astonishing amount of poop came out, and we were sent home with an antibiotic ointment for the area. I now have an exhausted degu who refuses to eat. I really can't blame him with 4 knockdowns in 3 days and multiple holes in his anus. So far the rectum has stayed inside, but the not eating is just as big of a problem. We have been home 6 hours and I have seen him drink once, the rest of the time he sits in the corner, every now and again I hear a whimper but for the most part just sits there with sleepy eyes.  I don't know what to do. The vet says if he doesn't eat by tonight I need to start force feeding critical care. He gets so stressed from handling so quickly now that I will literally do anything to help him eat on his own. How can I entice him to eat? How much longer can I let him go before I start the force feeding? Do I need to ask for metacam? or a steroid? |
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Post by uglibug on Nov 7, 2015 22:39:43 GMT
Metacam may help but you still need to get it into him. Has he got a favourite treat you could try, nuts or peas or similar? He is probably just stressed out so it might just be a case of keep trying things until you find something he just can't resist. I wouldn't worry too much about what it is at the moment, just try and get him eating something.
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Post by Bexi87 on Nov 7, 2015 23:42:10 GMT
I'd try as many different, high calorie options as you can and see if any tempt him. Thawed frozen peas seem popular with poorly degus recently.
I'm keeping everything crossed that he starts feeling better soon, poor little man sounds like he's been through the mill!
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Post by SpudsMom on Nov 8, 2015 0:59:00 GMT
Thanks so much. I had tried every treat I had and he had no interest. My vet just met me and gave him fluids and a pain med injection. I picked up some peas on the way back. Right now he is resting and looks a little stoned, but I will offer the peas soon. Fingers crossed this helps him start eating once the shock of it all wears off. I feel like every time he is manhandled he takes a giant step backwards and he is just done. I am hoping his young age pulls him through it.
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Post by deguconvert on Nov 8, 2015 1:12:20 GMT
The poor little guy!! Poor you!! I am so sorry! I hope he will soon improve enough to begin to each and drink. What about critical care? Maybe a tiny titch of peanut butter? Or nut butter of any kind?
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Post by SpudsMom on Nov 8, 2015 2:20:13 GMT
ooh, I can try the PB in the CC because even the healthy degu hates the CC so that might really help. Thanks!
I had bought a pumpkin today and gave them a piece, well that was the thing that was just too overpowering for him to turn down!! Which is amazing because I don't think I have ever given them fresh pumpkin before. His brother was busy eating all the peas that he turned down, so he got the full slice too. I am so happy I could cry. He is back to sitting, but it's a start!
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Post by winic1 on Nov 8, 2015 6:31:13 GMT
How about oats? My goos have never been able to resist oats, no matter what the situation.
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Post by bouncy on Nov 8, 2015 8:35:09 GMT
I'm wondering about the bad association he now has with being handled. Now he's eating and drugged, what's he like with his brother? Has he at least got some comfort there, or has he isolated himself?
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Post by moletteuk on Nov 8, 2015 10:25:18 GMT
Oats, nuts, oil seeds are all high calorie favourites, if you have a fresh pumpkin you could roast some of the seeds in the oven for a few minutes and they will be delicious (for degus and humans). Everything in these charts is safe deguworld.proboards.com/thread/15602/vegetable-seed-nut-nutrition-chartsI hope he eats some more for you today, and the rectum stays in the right place. |
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Post by SpudsMom on Nov 8, 2015 14:25:35 GMT
Great news everyone, he is up and running and eating. I am hoping we keep moving forward. No prolapse either, thank goodness.
He passed on oats last night which are hands down their favorite treat too. Thank you for the list, to be honest I have long snuck around the diet posts so I could dry garden foliage and make seed mixes for them. He turned down both. I'm not sure why the pumpkin worked but will freeze some cubes to have on hand.
The vet suggested to seperate them but I had pushed for them to stay together. Even sitting miserably in the corner his brother sat right next to him. After he would wake up from isoF we put them together for warmth and they would snuggle. I think it was a source of comfort even though the vet was a tiny bit annoyed I kept toting both to the office.
I still have to rub the ointment on his bottom and he still comes to the cardboard tube, which they know means out. He is a little more squirmy but he doesn't avoid the tube or the travel cage so I am hoping the drugs might help blur it.
Does anyone have experience with prolapsed rectums? This is an absolute first for me. We had just moved the week prior so I know he was likely stressed. He didn't have diarrhea and the fecal/urinalysis were clean. I just keep coming back to the stress. They play in their travel cage and all their nests came with them. We literally moved down the street as well so it was short. I'm not sure how to cut down on stress in the future. I will likely be moving cross country next year. Rodent valium?
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Post by uglibug on Nov 8, 2015 20:08:49 GMT
I'm glad he's feeling better. I have no experience with prolapsed rectums but have had 3 degu moves: one with the four girls and the arrival of both pairs of boys. To keep the stress down we moved them in their old substrate so that it smelled the same and tried to put the cage back how it was when they left. Everyone seemed to cope ok but it does take a while for them to settle into a new place. We found just leaving them be and chatting to them was better than trying to handle them for the first week or so.
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Post by moletteuk on Nov 8, 2015 20:12:03 GMT
You must be very relieved at the improvement, great news  I can only find one other case of rectal prolapse on the forum and it's not that helpful because there is no follow up message deguworld.proboards.com/thread/10624/bleeding Have they eaten anything unusual or been behaving differently, chewing up more wood or bits of the cage than usual, anything different at all apart from the stress? I think you were right to keep them together, I would only separate if there is a bad wound or vulnerable stitches or something like that, they just get so stressed and agitated or depressed it can really make any illness worse. |
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Post by deguconvert on Nov 8, 2015 21:54:42 GMT
I second that, Moletteuk. You did right to keep them together, Spudsmom, despite the peevishness of the vet.
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Post by SpudsMom on Nov 9, 2015 0:00:58 GMT
Thanks everyone, he is still doing well!! His mood is so much better too, gives me a real run for it when I am doing the bottom washing/ointment. Rectum still inside where it should be too- thank goodness. I never thought to use the used bedding in the travel cage- that could definitely help and I will try that next time we need the travel cage. It would cut down on what I call the pee Olympics too! His prolapse was so big, I seriously thought he had cut his belly open when I first saw it. I can message photos or try to host/link, but I think if anyone saw something like he had they would be finding the emergency vet pronto. It was just awful. The only thing I noticed out of the ordinary is they were eating more during/after the move. Usually they only eat pellets here and there but the dish was empty every morning. Food and cage accessories (chews, etc) were the same. So maybe he just binged on pellets and it backed him up/forced him to strain? He is the dominant one so if anyone was going to eat more it would be him. I can watch for that next time and maybe instead of letting them free-feed on their scoop I could divide it up throughout the day in servings. Or maybe cut it back entirely so that he is forced to eat more hay. I know I noticed them eating more, but at the time I dismissed it thinking if anything it was normal given the circumstances. But in retrospect that could very well be a part of why this happened. I will be watching his butt, quite literally, come next move and for the indefinite future. |
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Post by bouncy on Nov 9, 2015 2:15:16 GMT
Moving home is the most stressful time for humans, so I can only imagine what it does to goos. Stress can indeed disrupt bowels, so it might be as straight forward as that. So glad he's perked up |
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Post by moletteuk on Nov 9, 2015 11:13:00 GMT
I guess they all react differently to stress, but I'm surprised at the increased appetite, I would have thought it more likely that they would hide extra food. I suppose it's the only theory we have, so at least it's something you can watch out for when you move again. Hopefully it's just a one-off.
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