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Post by greenking on Dec 4, 2015 8:24:53 GMT
Hello, one of my degus (Alvin) is literally chewing his foot to bone. It started after him and his cage mate got neutered (they started to fight really really bad) and I didnt wanted to separate them.
I kept them in a smaller cage without wheels/levels after the surgery so they dont move too much and so. I noticed after a couple of days that he was dragging his back foot behind him but the vet said that the foot is not broken and I should leave it like this.
Now, after all that dragging around his foot got a little wound because of the friction and he started to chew it. Now his back foot is literally only haf foot and I can see his bones but that doesnt seems to bother him.
What should I do? I tried putting some powder to stop the infection and bandage his foot but he will just unbandage it after 1 hour and start chewing again.
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Post by moletteuk on Dec 4, 2015 12:03:13 GMT
My assumption would be that he is in a lot of pain, possibly in two places, whatever was causing him to drag the foot in the first place and now the foot as well. They hide pain very well so they don't show weakness as prey animals. Have they recovered from the neutering surgery, how long ago was this?
I would look for a better vet who will take this more seriously, or speak again to your current vet and insist that they take it more seriously if there isn't another vet. Has the vet seen the half chewed foot?
Is he on painkillers, metacam? Constant re-wrapping of the foot may be the only option. A heatpad may encourage him to sleep for more of the day and therefore spend less time attacking the foot.
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Post by greenking on Dec 4, 2015 12:32:51 GMT
The op was almost 3 weeks ago. They bot recovered very well. No penile prolapse or anything really.
The vet got their stiches out like 1 week ago and everything is fine in that area so he shouldnt have pain from that.
The wound looks dry now as is starting to heal but I'm afraid that over the night he might chew it again.
I let them out in the living room for like an hour today and they seemed very normal as usual playing jumping and climbing the couch...
They shouldnt be stressed as their cage is like 1.80 tall and 1.5 wide with 5 levels and wheels and toys, and I let them out for atleast an hour every day. So he shouldnt be stressed or so.
They also have a thick towel that they sleep in so heat pad isnt really necessary.
And no I didnt found any painkillers/metacam here...
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Post by deguconvert on Dec 4, 2015 18:33:23 GMT
I'm glad the operation went well. That is good news. However, animals are not prone to self mutilation unless there is pain and a problem that is severe enough that removing the limb by chewing it off is preferable to dragging it around. If it is left as is, the chances of infection/gangrene will constantly increase. As that increases, the potential to successfully treat decrease. You really need to have him looked at and soon, either by the vet you have or different one. Is your vet aware of the formation of the wound and the resulting mutilation?
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Post by greenking on Dec 4, 2015 21:02:17 GMT
the problem is his foot was ok. Except for the dragging part he was movin it good (scratching pushing in it ect).
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Post by greenking on Dec 4, 2015 22:18:39 GMT
Ok I got a vet appointment for tomorrow. I'll keep you updated.
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Post by deguconvert on Dec 5, 2015 5:54:08 GMT
Excellent!! Will be looking for the outcome.
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Post by moletteuk on Dec 5, 2015 11:33:03 GMT
Good luck with the vet tomorrow.
Hopefully the vet will be able to work out what is wrong with the leg, and hopefully will give you some painkillers. You could ask about a dry antiseptic spray or something similar that you can put on the foot and tips for bandaging the foot.
The heatpad is a distraction strategy rather than just for the warmth, most degus find them irresistable and just lay flat out on them for ages, so it might mean more hours of the day when he is leaving the foot alone and also resting the leg injury.
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Post by animalmadchloe on Dec 5, 2015 15:26:16 GMT
Please keep us updated x
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Post by greenking on Dec 5, 2015 16:53:43 GMT
Ok, I went to the vet and he said that the area is not infected and will regenerate. He gave him a shot of antibiotics and badaged his foot.
He gave some cream with antibiotics and with a litthe anestethic so he doesent feel pain in that area. He told me to come back in one week for another control.
The vet said that he might have got a parasyte or so that was casuing iching in that area and the goo tried to handle it his own way (by cchewing his foot down).
All in all I got good news today and hopefuly my goo will be fine. I'll keep you updated with his evolution.
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Post by greenking on Dec 5, 2015 16:57:39 GMT
Bonus photo of the goos.  |
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Post by deguconvert on Dec 5, 2015 22:17:04 GMT
Good news!! Thank you for the update, and for the photo! They are adorable!
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Post by bouncy on Dec 6, 2015 1:36:31 GMT
They're real cuties! Glad it was good news  |
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