Post by yasmin on Apr 1, 2016 22:47:35 GMT
I brought Jin to the vet because she was drooling. She was still eating, but I thought it prudent to have her teeth checked. The vet said that she had a smell coming from her mouth and that he could see a few small spurs, so he sedated her and dealt with the spurs.
He was able to remove the small spurs and some what he thought might have been food that was trapped between some developing spurs. He said that the procedure was so minor (the spurs were very small) that she would not need painkiller.
It took her longer than the others to come out of the anesthesia, but she did and looked fine. However when I checked on her before going to bed, she looked miserable. One eye was closed, she couldn't eat very well and she was drooling again, a lot more than before. She hid away in her nest.
The next morning, we gave her some Metacam and, as the day progressed, she began to eat again – seeds, rolled oats, puffed rice. She stopped hiding and was running the wheel and acting very normally again. I went to bed hoping that she was recovering.
This morning though, she looked bad again – drooling, eye closed – and now she doesn't even attempt to eat. She is hiding away most of the time. We have just given her another dose of Metacam and I am starting her on antibiotics just in case there is something else going on that is treatable. She is already looking gaunt and sunken.
I am afraid that I might lose her because this is exactly what happened to her sister Gi. Gi went in for dental work, spurs were removed (though hers were more extensive), and she went downhill from there – not eating or drinking and starving to the point of having to be put to sleep. I am wondering if maybe some of these degus might be allergic/highly sensitive to being under anesthesia. Or, that maybe something else is going on with them. Most of my other degus have little issue with routine dental work and anesthesia.
It doesn't make much difference in the end – if the dental work isn't done, they will end up dying as well. Still, I am very worried for her.
Has anyone else had an experience like this?
He was able to remove the small spurs and some what he thought might have been food that was trapped between some developing spurs. He said that the procedure was so minor (the spurs were very small) that she would not need painkiller.
It took her longer than the others to come out of the anesthesia, but she did and looked fine. However when I checked on her before going to bed, she looked miserable. One eye was closed, she couldn't eat very well and she was drooling again, a lot more than before. She hid away in her nest.
The next morning, we gave her some Metacam and, as the day progressed, she began to eat again – seeds, rolled oats, puffed rice. She stopped hiding and was running the wheel and acting very normally again. I went to bed hoping that she was recovering.
This morning though, she looked bad again – drooling, eye closed – and now she doesn't even attempt to eat. She is hiding away most of the time. We have just given her another dose of Metacam and I am starting her on antibiotics just in case there is something else going on that is treatable. She is already looking gaunt and sunken.
I am afraid that I might lose her because this is exactly what happened to her sister Gi. Gi went in for dental work, spurs were removed (though hers were more extensive), and she went downhill from there – not eating or drinking and starving to the point of having to be put to sleep. I am wondering if maybe some of these degus might be allergic/highly sensitive to being under anesthesia. Or, that maybe something else is going on with them. Most of my other degus have little issue with routine dental work and anesthesia.
It doesn't make much difference in the end – if the dental work isn't done, they will end up dying as well. Still, I am very worried for her.
Has anyone else had an experience like this?
She is still drooling on one side of her face and the eye on the same side continues to be half closed though not all of the time – an improvement for sure. She is also looking overall a bit better – more active and alert. She seems to be okay with a bit of fresh greens and cooked squash but her ability to deal with harder foods comes and goes. 
Will be making an appointment with the vet ASAP.