Degu with swollen and jagged cheek

[kati]

My little Goo has a swollen cheek/jaw. I've booked her to the vet and I am so worried. The side of her cheek/jaw feels rough and jagged, like there's something hard stuck there. She seems to be acting her normal self, but I am worried it may be some plastic when she was nibbling on the running wheel. She's eating and nibbling on stuff and doesn't seem in pain but I am really just hoping it won't be the worst news tomorrow at the vet's. I wouldn't know what to do with her sister, Woo, if it was bad news I haven't felt this worried in a long time

[deguconvert]

Hi Kati! I am sorry about the cheek situation that your little goo has. You have done the right thing by getting an appointment with your vet so quickly. I don't think there is much I tell you do to for now, you have already done the best thing. It is good that she is active and seems happy in herself. If you see her start to show signs of slowing and lethargy, then you need to make sure that she is able to keep warm. Do you have a heat pad, or hot water bottle, or if neither of these, then a sock filled with rice that can warm in the microwave.

[moletteuk]

Hi Kati, try not to worry too much, just make sure they do a full examination at the vets even if they need to anaesthetise her with a little gas.

[yasmin]

Welcome to the forum, kati.

Make sure the vet checks for teeth spurs. If she has them, then they will need to be removed. Hopefully your vet has experience with degus.

[kati]

Thank you guys! Just got back from the vet. He had a look and said cos she's eating and drinking as normal and running around its probably not her mouth and teeth and she possibly got injured in a fight with her sister. She will have to go on antibiotics at first to see if that works and brings the swelling dowb. I hope it does. Now need to work out a way of feeding them to her without having to traumatise her each time.

[yasmin]

What type of antibiotics were you given? Is it a liquid? Is it flavoured?

[kati]

They're called baytril and metacam. She still eating and drinking and running around a little, but sleeping more. I hope it's just an effect of the medicine.it is a liquid I have to feed her woth a syringe but she obviously doesn't like it and it's hard to keep her still. I will try with sone oats later but it doesn't look like shed be interested.

[moletteuk]

You can try various treats for hiding her medication, a little bit of shredded wheat or a slice of nut or little bit of peanut butter, or anything she really likes.

I'm just going to say that vets can sometimes be a bit reluctant to do a proper mouth examination because it is quite difficult to do without anaesthetic and they can be reluctant to do the anaesthetic because there is a certain risk, but experience on the forum shows that dental and mouth problems are very common and it is worth doing the proper exam sooner rather than later if you have concerns. They can grow spurs off their back teeth which can puncture the tongue or cheek, so it can get pretty nasty.

[kati]

Thank you for your tips. Tried with food again but she knows something isn't right so had to force feed them again. It's quite difficult as she really fights it and not sure she actually has it all. Luckily so far she's still eating, drinking and even running in her wheel. She seems to be sleeping a bit more but that could be me being too worried, plus it could be because the swelling is painful and the stress from force feeding the meds as well.

I will wait another few days and see her progress. The vet said it's too far back to be her teeth and seems more like a jaw issue from a fight that's got infected. She scratches it a lot and I think has burst it because there was a little bit of blood visible in her fur. I hope the medicine she does manage to take in will numb the pain and stop her from scratching.

[bouncy]

Kati, if I need to look at mine, and they're in a wriggling mood, I wrap them up in a tea towel, so just the front of the head is showing (face and ears). Much more manageable, gives you better sight of dribbles, and you can stroke to soothe her.

[animalmadchloe]

Have you tried putting it in a shreddie or nut and letting it absorb in or I find mixing it in a pile of dried porridge oats works well no degu can resist oats! Does sound to me like a dental issue either a spur or maybe a molar root making its way out of the jaw line...

[kati]

Taking her back to the vet's today. A week of meds but no signs of improvement.

[bouncy]

Sorry to hear that fingers crossed the vet has a better idea!

[moletteuk]

Good luck at the vet today. Push for a proper mouth exam, even if there is a risk to the gas anaesthetic. Or xrays if they still think it might be the jaw.

[kati]

The vet will sedate her and cut it because it looks like an abscess buy it could be secondary to something else. It sounded like cancer. So I'm waiting for the call. I'm also worried about her sister and how she's gonna cope if worse comes to worse

[moletteuk]

Hang in there Kati, at least it sounds like the vet knows what they are doing.

[animalmadchloe]

Good luck xx

[kati]

She was put down. . It was a tumour not an abscess and because of where it was it was better not to let her suffer. I need to see what to do with her sister now because she will be lonely.

[yasmin]

Oh no. Sincere condolences to you and her sister.

[bouncy]