HELP degu going downhill fast

[sarahshay]

So iv had my degus for bout 4/5 years no issues at all but suddenly i have one whos lost alot of weight (still able to eat as she eats her treats wood toys and food ) her tip of her tails gone still havent found it in or around her cage but its seems to be healing by itself one of her sisters keeps chewing the end but i read tht they do tjt to clear it up  nd now she has a milky discharge has a kinda pink tint to comeing out both eyes no dicharge from mouth tho  iv noticed her iching alot and just found out my hamster who lives next to them had mites and is now in spare room recovering from his extra cage buddys but no idea whats wrong with her to add i did change there food from petsathome nuggest to tht selective onw nd this other leafy one they also have could she just be alergic to the new food even tho shes had it in the past or is therw a bigger issue causinf all this please help i rang vets but cant get her in till  i get paid  

[bouncy]

I'm afraid the vet is the only one who can really help. I'm not sure which country you're in, but the pdsa will help, and a lot of vets will offer an account or payment plan, rather than see a sick animal. The discharge could be as a result of an eye infection, or a deeper issue with tooth roots.

Have you checked whether the mites have migrated to the goos? A good pet shop will stock a treatment.

[sarahshay]

I hve checked for mites n cannot see any at all i rang the vets ndbthey was saying they only do payment in one go or u cnnot b seen so going to ask my boss today if i cn borrow monney as his lent others cash before fingers crossed

[bouncy]

I really hope he understands and comes through for you

[winic1]

If you know you have mites on another pet, and your degu is scratching, it is a safe bet she has mites. In fact, they all will have mites, it just hasn't gotten severe enough for you to be able to see them yet. They all need treatment for mites, and follow the directions completely, if you only treat lightly you may not eradicate them and they will just return. So will any other hamsters you have, and all cages will be contaminated and need thorough cleaning and changing of substrate as well. Mites don't just work their way through one animal at a time, they spread out as much as possible. If you recently acquired the hamster and that's how the mites got into your house, I'd go yell at the pet store the hamster came from and make them give you the mite treatment and a big bag of new bedding for free.

As for the eyes, you really need the vet to diagnose whether it is an infection or an irritation/allergy. It could be something simple like she's allergic to the mite bites, and that's her reaction; I have a cat who when she gets fleas, even just a few, starts losing patches of her fur immediately because she is allergic to the flea bites. Hoping it's something simple like that, and that your boss will come through for you so you can get her to the vet. Is there another vet in town who might be more understanding?

[moletteuk]

You could treat for mites, depending on what type they are you wouldn't necessarily see them, and remember the non microscopic ones get everywhere hiding in crevices.

Discharge from eyes combined with weight loss definitely needs vet attention, make sure they check her back teeth.

[sarahshay]

Iv just revived my drawf hamsters mites treatment and it says to be used on small rabbits guinea pigs hamstets rats mice gerbils chinvhillas n other small rodents up to 1250g body weight its callded xeno 50-mini contains ivermectin ? I got this from the vets and did ask if cn be used on degus nd vet said it should be ok but just wondering if nyones heard of it or used it on degus and if its save to use on degus even if i cnt see miteson my degus ? Update on the tail injury it seems to be healing all ny itself so just the eyes and weight loss to get checked out wen i cn get booked in least thats one thing off my mind

[moletteuk]

Yes, that is the correct mite treatment.

What kind of mites do the hamsters have, can you see them on the hamsters? Or do they have itching and the vet decided it was worth treating without doing tests?

[sarahshay]

One hamster has mites tht the vet did the cellotape test and could see them other hmaster nd degus iv chexked but cant see anything but iv notived them iching more often so today iv treated the hamsters but iv got to wait till tomoz to see what my work days are so i cn book dasiy the degu in the vets tomoz dnt want to treat the degus incase it makes dasiys eyes worse or affects her tail stump as not fully healed yet hopfully i can get her in tues as i think that should be my next day off just got to find somthing to take her to the vets in shes known for chewing threw her cage at the pet shop wen i brought her so its gatta be dasiy proof :L ny ideas ?

[moletteuk]

If the mites are confirmed on one animal and you have others itching I would go ahead with treating everyone as it will be beneficial to have all the treatments going in sync, but it is also OK if you want to get confirmation from the vet.

Degu secure pet carriers are made from metal, like the john hopewell one, or you can make your own wooden one, or you might get away with multiple layers of plastic/ cardboard if you don't have time to get a proper one.

[bouncy]

If it's an adult goo, some of the metal cat carriers are also suitable.

[sarahshay]

Update : she went to the vet today and he said shes got a chest infection and he wants to treat tht with batril and metacam to see if tht brings back her appertite and stops the eye issues shes also had to be sepetated from her sisters as he said her tail looks clean and wants to heal but thinks her sisters are causing it to reopen he also said to hold of the mite treatment as it may habe made her wprse so thamk god i waited to ask so over all the plan is start meds see how she imporves over a week if wprking thwn more meds if not its xray to check her teeth wants tp try and fix the breathing issue before any others :L but he checked her teeth yoday and said they looked perfect but may be a root issue just gatta wait nd see what happens fingures crossed shes on the path to recovery

[deguconvert]

Thank you for the update, Sarahshay! I really hope that she will respond well to the medications! God be with you!

[moletteuk]

Sounds like a good vet visit, reassuring that the teeth look OK so far. I would say to separate her for the shortest time possible (if at all) as it can really cause them to be distressed or depressed being on their own, particularly as she seems generally unwell (rather than just the tail injury), see how she copes and use your own judgement.

[sarahshay]

My plan is to keep the cages next to each other so she cn see and chat to her sisters but can also wonder around without being whacked over by her very lively sister shes very under weight and kept falling off shelfs at night so she may be better of in a smaller cage to stop her injurying herself more and i cn keep check on her eatting /drinking better if shes by herself she always spent most her time alone wen she started geting ill maybe some peace from the annoying sisters will help her get better quicker think im ganna keep her seperate for a week then see how she is and if she needs xrays deside on whats best for her if she shows shes getting better beforw then she will be placed back with them . Whats the longest a degu can be kept alone then put back with her sisters and will i be able to just put her bc nd they will accept her as before or will it take time as if it was a new degu iv never seperated them before so dno what to exspect wen i put back togever any advise is welcome

[moletteuk]

It varies and depends on the goos. You could perhaps let them meet up for half an hour each day supervised and this should help them keep their bond.

Keeping her separate will make it easier to feed her up without overfeeding the others so you can take advantage of that. You can offer all kinds of seeds, including grains like oats and millet if she is very underweight, high fat ones like hemp and linseed, dried veg are usually well liked by poorly degus and also nuts and favourite forage. It may also help figure out what else may be wrong to know if she is able to put on weight with this kind of extra feeding.

[sarahshay]

My poor baby woke me up yesterday sqeeking guesing she was after rhe other two who was still in bed i want her to see poppy but think shes better off alone maybe let poppy see her tomoz for abit but sammy is younger and not so caring for her sisters health so she will habe to stay in her cage alone y the sisters have there catch up shes more active and alert after just two days of treatment but her eyes hve gotten more watery hopfuly another couple of days and she will be ok to go bc with them as her balance has come bc abit was wondering if anyone knows what the recovory food is the vet mentioned it but  he never said the name and forgot to ask one stressed out owner to match one stressed out goo  

[yasmin]

In Canada it's "Critical Care". In the UK there's one called "Supreme Science Recovery Liquid Feed".

[moletteuk]

In UK it's same Supreme Recovery and Oxbow Critical Care, the easiest place to get it from in my experience is the vets, you don't normally see it in the shops, only the internet. It's good for keeping their digestion going if they lose their appetite, and/or you can syringe feed it if they won't eat at all.

[sarahshay]

Update dasiy wasnt getting any better even with the meds was going to ring up vets monday to book her in again (didnt have much hope of her coming home with how ill she had become) but come home ready to do meds and my baby has sadly passed away im so glad shes gone her way and that i havent had to make the choice she gave up her fight but she will forever be in my heart me and dasiy would like to thank everyone who commented and gave advise shes gone to rainbow bridge to meet all the other degus who are sadly no longer with us