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Post by randomname on Aug 6, 2016 19:24:42 GMT
Something's wrong with BB. Am off to emergency vet in half an hour. Was wondering why he wasn't rushing to say hi earlier. Found him under wheel. Thought the worst, but he's moving around now. Looks like he's hobbling, but not lame. Maybe in pain? The look on his face isn't good either, can't describe it. Watched him for a while & he was cleaning his penis or maybe anus for a while - may be a problem there? Then he did the face washing movement, but centred around his front teeth. Might be dental? He wouldn't take a rosehip, fenugreek crunchy or seeds. Maybe he's got internal problems? God knows. Vet says he won't know til I get there. Gonna cost £130 for consultation alone, goes up to £150 after 11. Taxis will be £50 on top. Then whatever treatment he needs. Going to try to catch him now, that'll be fun (!) This is not a relaxing Saturday night!
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haaj
Foraging Degu
Posts: 99
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Post by haaj on Aug 6, 2016 19:28:22 GMT
Oh my God! And you just commented in my thread about the emergency vet, what a ghastly coincidence! I hope your vet appointment goes well and it's just something minor. Fingers crossed!
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Post by randomname on Aug 6, 2016 19:58:21 GMT
that's exactly what I thought - he was probably ill when I was typing - feel awful. Should've checked him soon as I got up. Was just saying how healthy he was looking this week, hope I wasn't tempting fate. Just waiting for taxi now. Have put him in carrier & he's trying to dig his way out, so am taking the activity as a good sign - he's not drowsy or lethargic. Checked poops & have found a few small ones, & he was ok around midnight last night, so am assuming it's happened this morning. Hopefully will be able to catch whatever it is in time to help.
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Post by randomname on Aug 6, 2016 19:58:41 GMT
I can't actually see anything wrong - just everything
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haaj
Foraging Degu
Posts: 99
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Post by haaj on Aug 6, 2016 20:08:38 GMT
Have put him in carrier & he's trying to dig his way out, so am taking the activity as a good sign - he's not drowsy or lethargic. That is a good sign even if it's something serious - a year ago, when we were having trouble with Warmfur, the vet told us that even in serious conditions goos have a natural reserve of resources to help them battle those, and then you see a period of lethargy followed by those little spikes of activity - the degu healing itself as best as it can. It's when the degu becomes lethargic for the second time, after being active this way, that things can go wrong, but I think you're reacting fast enough to prevent that.
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Post by bouncy on Aug 6, 2016 20:20:22 GMT
Oh no! That's so sudden and random! The only thing that comes to mind, as we've had a random warm day today, is that he's gotten too warm? Fingers crossed
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Post by deguconvert on Aug 6, 2016 21:29:30 GMT
Oh my goodness, Random!! What a day our members are having!! How are things going? I suppose it is too soon to know yet. I hope all is well!!
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Post by randomname on Aug 6, 2016 22:27:11 GMT
Hi just got home. Vet says no injuries apparent. BB did a diarrhoea poop on him though - so he thinks it's probably his guts, but not ruling out dental issues. Said his front teeth looked ok, couldn't see back ones obviously. Has given him injections of painkiller, antibiotic & that clopy-thingy stuff to get his guts moving. Has given me baytril to bring home. BB looks miserable, is hiding under his wheel. All hunched up & sad. The plan is to take him 8am Monday morning to my vets to investigate. Emergency vet said he's pretty certain he'll be ok 'til then. I'm not so sure. He looks so miserable. Hoping those injections start working soon. Any ideas to get him eating? Am just trying every seed, forage item, food stuffs etc we have. He's even ignoring oats & sesame seeds - most unusual. I've some critical care, but he won't take the syringe. He just wants to be left alone it seems.
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Post by Bexi87 on Aug 6, 2016 22:30:06 GMT
Poor BB do you have any baby food or peanut butter? Something that he would never normally get at all might work. Do you have a heatpad for him to snuggle with? Fingers crossed he is just having a bad day and will start improving tomorrow.
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Post by randomname on Aug 6, 2016 22:37:14 GMT
Ooh I have peanut butter, worth a try. Thanks @bexi87. I do have a heatpad, but I think it's at the back of the shed - be fun finding it! Good idea. I can't think straight, am still very panicky & jittery, mind racing. I'm more or less agoraphobic, so leaving the house was a big deal for me ("luckily" I was more panicking about BB than going out, but now I'm home it's all just caught up with me) Pathetic really, am a grown woman! Poor BB, he better get well - his treatment just cost me more than his cage did! He looks so sad under his wheel, but I think he's just resting for now. Will give him an hour to sleep & let the meds work, then see if there's any change.
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Post by bouncy on Aug 6, 2016 22:43:59 GMT
Take a deep breath. You've done what you can. He's going to look miserable after being poked, travel sick, stuffed with weird stuff, and a distinct lack of treats by goo standards. See how he is in the morning when he's feeling less harassed. He might even forgive you tonight if he's getting peanut butter
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haaj
Foraging Degu
Posts: 99
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Post by haaj on Aug 6, 2016 22:52:12 GMT
It's perfectly OK for him to feel confused and stressed for longer than an hour, after such an exhaustive trip. I think you should wait for the morning and decide on course of action then. There was a great recipe posted on this forum a long time ago. Not sure if it applies to your situation, but perhaps it will be worth a try if things do turn out to be temporary stomach problems, and the recovery process requires some enticing? Here it is: deguworld.proboards.com/thread/6023/recipe-food-entice-sick-degu
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Post by randomname on Aug 7, 2016 0:25:14 GMT
He has come out from under the wheel, is now on a ledge, looks like he's dozing. Still semi hidden, but at least he's not curled up in the corner anymore. Has ignored the peanut butter so far. Will just have too see how he goes from now til Monday.
Checked the babies, they all seem 100% fine. Should I think about moving their cage away from BB's? They can't get to each other, there is glass in the way, but are side by side. Am worried it's contagious. Also, if it's an infection, do I clean BB's cage tomorrow as usual, or leave him until he feels better? It's not too bad, but worried about bacteria if he's ill.
That recipe looks good, might give it a go tomorrow if he's still not eating.
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haaj
Foraging Degu
Posts: 99
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Post by haaj on Aug 7, 2016 0:51:33 GMT
I'm not an expert _at all_, just a degu owner for a few years, and you should probably wait for answers from others who are more knowledgeable. That said, I think that: (a) if it were a contagious infection he contracted, that'd be happening to at least a few more degus already, most certainly would be going on if they're babies. So if they're fine, I think it's reasonable to assume it's not contagious.
and
(b) I don't know what kind of cage BB is housed in, but cleaning it is definitely a good idea, since whatever it is that he ate (or whatever it is that caused the irritaiton - infection - whatever) can still be there, buried in the substrate or hidden underneath something. So if you have a spare clean cage, put BB in it for a while and do a clean sweep of his cage; also I'd replace the water bottle just in case, if you have a spare one - sometimes even when you change their water every day, there's still the possibility of a little bit of green muck happening that has to be removed.
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Post by yasmin on Aug 7, 2016 2:32:25 GMT
How old is BB? The vet seems to have covered all bases. When you found him under the wheel, was he curled up or stretched out on his side? Did the vet think there was any bloating? Did he eat a lot of greens before that? Diarrhea is never a good sign; however, if he was bloated or had some type of blockage, it could also signal that his gut is moving again. I hope he starts eating soon.
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Post by deguconvert on Aug 7, 2016 4:57:20 GMT
I can't think of more to add, but am going to think on what kinds of things might help with his gut. Dill weed and fennel are good for the stomach, but you might be needing something to pump up his natural bacteria, which might have been low from the time you got him from the vet. How are your two babies doing? This is kind of a weird and gross idea, but maybe if he were to eat some of their poos he might be able to repopulate his gut with some good bacteria from them. So, how do you feel about "harvesting" from their cage?
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Post by uglibug on Aug 7, 2016 7:58:57 GMT
Nothing productive to add, sorry, but how is he doing this morning? Any joy in getting him to eat something?
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Post by randomname on Aug 7, 2016 9:18:14 GMT
yasmin - no idea as he's a rescue. Best guess is around 1 or 2. He won't eat anything fresh. I don't think it's bloat. He was just lying on his front, same way he usually lies in his bed. I haven't actually seen any diarrhoea myself, his poops looked small but not squishy in his cage. Maybe he did that specially for the vet?! haaj Think you're right about cleaning - it'll also let me see what poops he's being doing today. Good idea about the water bottle, can't hurt to change it, have got a spare one anyway. I always bin bottles after a year (only found out you're supposed to do that recently) deguconvert I've got some dried dill & fennel seeds, i'll add them to the mix today. I really don't know if this is an on going thing from when we first got him, or something new. There's 3 babies - plenty of poops! Do I just grab any of them or are there specific kinds I'm looking for? He's been moving around in the night, has gone to his water bottle, is drinking his baytril in the water. Not sure if he's eaten anything. Still won't take treats from me. He just looks miserable. His eyes are half closed & he's just sitting there. He wakes up if I go over to him, but isn't alert & bouncy as usual. Is ignoring the heat pad. He doesn't look worse or better than last night. Am actually surprised he's still with us. All the animals I've ever had who looked as down as he does didn't make it, can't help fearing the worst. Keeping everything crossed my vet can find out what's wrong tomorrow.
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Post by randomname on Aug 7, 2016 11:10:28 GMT
I'm beginning to think it's dental. Have been sitting with BB & he is occasionally grinding his teeth. He also has a squinty eye on the left side. He still looks really miserable, is refusing all foods. Tried breaking them up, grinding them to powder, mixing with a bit of water. He actually looks worse. Have phoned emergency vet, but they said to wait & see my vet tomorrow as he'll need xrays most likely. He's lost weight so am worried it's not safe, but I can't see any other options. I just hope he makes it through the night.
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Post by bouncy on Aug 7, 2016 11:24:01 GMT
Just keep loving him until tomorrow. Is he the kind of Goo that may appreciate a cuddle with mum?
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