My Degu flattens his back?

[biogarbe]

Hello, a few months ago, me and my partner adopted a Degu named Charlie. He didn't get on with the other Degus and was a grumpy little guy. He got into a serious fight and lost half of his tail as a result. Anyway, I've worked with him and eventually earned his trust. He let's me groom him and he returns the favour.

Over the last two days I've noticed him sort of squishing/flattening his lower back whilst arching his upper back. He's stopped using his wheel, and is grumpy again. There has been no changes to his degu diet, the environment, no new toys, no new degu treats and he has plenty of fresh water.

Any help or advice would be really appreciated.

Thanks

Sean

[randomname]

How are his poops? Do they look normal?

[biogarbe]

They look normal. But I have noticed him physically having to pull them out. Do you think it could be constipation?

[randomname]

That doesn't sound right, pulling them out. Could be constipation. I'd definitely take him to vets to see. I'm not an expert, but I do know gut problems can kill if left untreated. I'd maybe try to feed him watery foods like cucumber in the meantime & maybe put a bowl of water in, see if he'll drink more to loosen them up. Does he have any plastic, fabric or rope toys in his cage? If not, maybe he's ingested hair & there's a bit of a blockage? moletteuk can you shed any light on this? Are there any degu laxatives out there?!

[moletteuk]

Degus will quite often directly pull out the poops that they are going to re-eat, so that isn't alarming in itself (it's normal for degus to eat some of their poos). It's not normal to see them pulling out every poo and fiddling down there frequently, and you will often see this activity if there is a problem. Do the poos smell OK? There should be no smell, if there is some gut disturbance you will often get some smell. If there is a digestive issue then you can try some recovery food (Supreme Recovery or Oxbow Critical Care) and encourage forage eating.

Is he eating normally and pooing normal amounts?

Does the weird move result in him dragging his genitals on the floor? I think you need to take at look at his genital area to see if everything looks OK. Either pick him up directly, maybe using a towel, or place him on a sheet of mesh or glass or in a glass jar or pyrex dish, whatever you have that might work. Look for any swelling or liquid, or bad smell, or perhaps prolapsed penis.

Since you say his behaviour isn't quite normal then I would get him checked out by the vet, it's best to move swiftly if there is something affecting him as a whole and causing lethargy.

[biogarbe]

Thanks guys. His poos are normal, no smell, I've checked his genital area, again nothing unusual. All his toys are natural.This morning before leaving for work, I gave him a small piece of lettuce and some cucumber.

When I got home from work I was happy to have him greet me in his usual excited way. Opened his cage and he pretty much jumped into my hands. He seems fine, climbing around my shoulders again.

I will still keep an eye on him and take him to the vet as soon as possible.

[moletteuk]

Is he wiggling his tail when he does it? The other thing it could be is excitement, possibly sexual excitement, especially if there is a chance he could be a she? My girls occasionally do something like this when they are in heat, other signs of being in heat are more activity and less eating.

[randomname]

I didn't know they pulled their poops out, have seen guinea pigs & bunnies do that, but not degu. Always good to learn something new. I thought they just ate them, not harvested them!! Ewwww.

Glad to hear he's feeling better biogarbe , must be a relief. Hope he continues to get better

[Emziedee]

Hahaha !! Degus have some sordid habits!

[Emziedee]

biogarbe Hi, I just read this;

"This is a normal behaviour and is called "coprophagy". Degus produce two sorts of faeces, one hard type they usually do not eat and another soft one rich in nutrients (e.g. protein) and vitamins.

Coprophagy is widely spread among small mammals, including all sorts of rodents, hares, rabbits, pikas. Some other species like shrews have a similar mechanism.

It is assumed that coprophagy serves to bridge periods of scarce food availability or resting periods."


Sounds like your goo has a lot of vitamin infused poop! Lucky him! Haha

[randomname]

I've heard that it's because they need to digest things twice to get all the nutrients they need. Like how a cow has 4 stomachs to get as much goodness as it can from grass, animals like rabbits & degus just eat the poop & digest the hay twice. I think it's because hay/grass isn't particularly rich in nutrients, & they need to eat a lot in comparison with carnivores. Nature is truly beautiful eh?

I don't think it would be related to the flattening of the back though - or we'd see them do it more often. I asked biogarbe as I had a guinea pig with similar behaviour years ago, he was pooping, but was rummaging around down there a lot more & flattening his back end a lot. Turns out he had impacted anal glands (quite common in Boars apparently) which was pushing on his (*cough*) poop pipe. Some poops were getting out, but there was a build up & the vet had to clean it out EWWWWW! As long as I "expressed" the anal glands once a month, problem was solved. I just thought maybe there's a bit of a blockage there, or something causing pain when he's trying to poop a pellet. Sounds like it's more a behavioural thing though if he's ok now.

Only parents & animal slaves get to chat about poop casually, in anyone else it's just weird!

[biogarbe]

Just got back from the vet. She said that there are no obvious signs that he is ill. She suggested that it could be his feeding pattern. And he could be eating green veg too much (meaning i am probably spoiling him too much with treats) So I need to regulate and routine feeding times.

He is still fine, however I think he's giving me a look of disappointment because of his little road trip.

[moletteuk]

They only way you can have too much green veg is if it is either high in oxalic acid eg spinach, collard greens, parsley (which can cause kidney stone issues) or too many brassicas and beans can cause bloating and gas. These two issues aside you want to be offering as much greenery and forage as you can as they are what degus are designed to eat.