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Post by uglibug on Nov 27, 2015 8:16:53 GMT
I read a thread where someone was not aware of their options at the vet so just thought an info thread might be useful for others.
There is a gas tent that a vet can use for small animals. Our vet is great, espescially since our girls are not really people friendly. He just pops the whole carrier in the tent for about a minute befor he tries to get anyone out. It makes them a little sleepy and a lot easier to handle rather than having wide awake goos running amock in the room.
Also if for any reason you need to have a goo PTS, we found that bringing them home to their cage mates and letting them see and smell, if only for a few minutes can help with the grieving process. You always have the option of bringing you pet home.
If you are unsure of anything, always question and don't be afraid to ask your vet, there's no such thing as a silly question.
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Post by moletteuk on Nov 27, 2015 10:10:58 GMT
I've never come across the vet giving them a little whiff of gas to make them easier to handle, seems like a good option for difficult to handle degus.
I've also found that our vets are very happy to discuss anything with you, the are much more helpful and kind than human doctors!
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Post by bouncy on Nov 27, 2015 10:12:15 GMT
I brought one of my (other) animals back to be shown to his brother. It really does help. Instead of the stress that their cage mate has vanished, they will come over, nuzzle, sit with them for a while, then move on. I did this with a pair of 5yr old gerbils, and it was so clear to see the emotions.
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Post by uglibug on Nov 27, 2015 12:35:50 GMT
When we first took our girls it was a total nightmare, what should have taken about 10 minutes turned into a 30 minute game of "catch the goo". Ever since he just pops them in for a minute or so before he opens the carrier because our girls really antisocial when it comes to people. They come out a bit dopey but it does make them a lot easier to handle.
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Post by Maravilla on Nov 27, 2015 16:29:07 GMT
But don't forget that a gas sedation (no matter how concentrated it is) always means a certain risk for the degu. Quite often, when we go to the vet with our degus those already are somewhat weakened, but also apparently healthy degus can develop problems with the anaesthesia.
I know that being handled for a lot of degus means a lot of stress (for their owners, too), but it should always be decided in a certain situation if using a small amount of gas is better than not using it.
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Post by yasmin on Nov 28, 2015 3:32:46 GMT
If the degu is particularly squirmy/difficult, my vet has wrapped them up in a small towel like a papoose with just their head exposed. Most of the time though he is able to calm them down just by talking to them gently. When I bring in multiple goos, I bring them each in separate carriers and then put the carriers in a big long box that fits in the back seat of my car. That way the vet can examine one goo at a time with no issues of the other goos causing a problem.
Because of the risks of any anesthetic, he only uses gas sedation when he has to do the actual dental work or if he can't see well enough in the mouth of a degu that is showing definite serious signs of teeth issues.
And I agree that most of the vets that I deal with are usually willing to explore options and discuss openly the pros and cons and whether they are comfortable doing a procedure a certain way or not.
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