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Post by savvy on Nov 25, 2016 16:44:36 GMT
I am posting this as a warning.
As you know I lost my little guy today due to an unknown cause. Tonight I have heard of another death this week within a couple of miles from my house with very similar symptoms.
First Symptoms are:
Fluffing up when squatting, but moving normally the rest of the time
Eyes half closed as if dozing or having a headache. But this is only when squatting.
Eating and drinking slightly more than normal
Next symptoms are:
Eating and drinking normally
Slow movements around the cage
Within 24 hours they are off their food and their gut has shut down
Within the next 24 they are dead.
I don't want to alarm anyone, but two deaths within two miles in less than a week is shocking.
I am going to liaise with the owner of the other degu to see if we can narrow down what's causing this.
If you spot any of the above symptoms, please, please, please consult a vet. Even if it turns out to be nothing, its better safe than sorry.
I am not sure if there is a link between the two or if its something quite natural, but I'm taking notice of it.
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Post by deguconvert on Nov 25, 2016 17:20:39 GMT
Thank you for posting this, Savycat. Can you please inform us of any developments or revelations? My thoughts and heart are with both of you that have lost furry little loves.
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Post by winic1 on Nov 25, 2016 17:45:48 GMT
First thing I would question would be the hay and the bedding that you use.
So easy for it to have gotten damp while at the store or warehouse, have dried by the time you got it, but still be harboring harmful fungus or bacteria.
Or, the field had some poisonous weeds in it that weren't noticed and got harvested with the hay.
Didn't someone else here just have a degu suddenly take ill and die, and their vet mentioned they'd seen the same thing in a guinea pig that week?
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Post by winic1 on Nov 25, 2016 17:52:43 GMT
yes, it was Feffie lost one degu and had the other looking very sick. She had just bought a new bag of hay that was different than her usual. Perhaps check with her, also?
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Post by savvy on Nov 25, 2016 17:56:41 GMT
I will do thanks Winic1.
I use the same stuff for both of my guys, but think I'll chuck it out and get fresh. I'll check with the other lady tonight to see if she's been using the same.
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Post by Emziedee on Nov 25, 2016 19:07:10 GMT
I've been storing the hay in a outside cupboard 😳 should it be inside?
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Post by randomname on Nov 25, 2016 20:01:28 GMT
Hay/straw wasn't involved with my BB's sudden death. I keep mine indoors, is the same bag I've had for weeks. Is Mulderhorf Organic hay & Naturestroh from Zooplus. The rabbits & chins also have them & are ok. He did have some of those symptoms briefly, but died within a couple of hours. Was eating/drinking fine. Am not that far from you though savvy. It is a mystery. I'll ask my vet if she's noticed anything when I next contact her. Is it maybe the cold or the fact we've probably all had our heating on lately - wondering if the changes in temperature, rather than the actual temperature is playing a part? Just a thought. It's heartbreaking all this loss, feel sick every time I see another one gone too soon. |
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Post by moletteuk on Nov 25, 2016 20:18:20 GMT
The increased appetite is a strange symptom. Do you both use the same vet, and have you discussed this with the vet?
@garfunkel Hay needs to be stored in a dry atmosphere, it would be much better indoors, the humidity should be much lower particularly in the winter.
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Post by ntg on Nov 25, 2016 20:30:34 GMT
Well my lad died in Washington the other week. As far as I know there was no increased appetite, just eating slowly then not eating but having normal activity levels to progress to not eating or moving within 24 hours.
However we never get hay from pets at home and there were no new food sources as I hadn't ordered anything for them. We know nobody else with degus in the area who we might have been in contact with and we never venture to pets at home or other pet stores that sell pets. I'd also expect all my lads to have went down with it if it was contagious as they're all related.
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Post by savvy on Nov 25, 2016 20:51:12 GMT
My heating is rarely off Randomname because I have a health condition which means I can't control my body temp very well.
I've been to see the other owner tonight, her degus are kept on hay, but as before only 1 degu in the pair was affected so it doesn't look like its contagious which is a bit of a blessing.
I now live in North Shields but still have some of the things I bought with me from Boldon Colliery. The other death was also in North Shields, I'll check tomorrow which vet she used.
When I was speaking to the lady tonight, her partner mentioned a batch of sand he uses for reptiles which hadn't been filtered properly and killed three of his in a week.
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Post by deguconvert on Nov 26, 2016 23:11:54 GMT
WHOA!! The sand killed three reptiles in a week?
I'm glad to know that there doesn't seem to be anything contagious.
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Post by savvy on Nov 26, 2016 23:32:38 GMT
WHOA!! The sand killed three reptiles in a week? I'm glad to know that there doesn't seem to be anything contagious. Yep. Three geckos in one week. He complained to the company, they knew about the faulty batch but didn't care about the deaths. |
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Post by deguconvert on Nov 26, 2016 23:52:42 GMT
GRRRRRR!! That makes me really angry!!!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 28, 2016 16:41:51 GMT
Ugh I keep reading this and panicking 😖
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Post by savvy on Nov 28, 2016 16:57:09 GMT
Ugh I keep reading this and panicking 😖 Panic will only make things worse, for all of you. Degus can pick up on panic and that in turn starts them panicking. I've looked at Dixie a hundred times since Friday and panicked because he's been kipping. I can't even tell you what to get the vet to check for, just try to keep her quiet tonight. It could still just be her hormones. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 28, 2016 17:00:26 GMT
Ugh I keep reading this and panicking 😖 Panic will only make things worse, for all of you. Degus can pick up on panic and that in turn starts them panicking. I've looked at Dixie a hundred times since Friday and panicked because he's been kipping. I can't even tell you what to get the vet to check for, just try to keep her quiet tonight. It could still just be her hormones. Thank you savvycat, I really appreciate the help. I wish you and Dixie all the best! |
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Post by deguconvert on Nov 28, 2016 18:01:40 GMT
Put on your favorite mellow or cheerful music, and imagine you have a vacation day to do your favorite things in. I hope all is proved to be well and in good health.
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Post by savvy on Nov 29, 2016 10:57:29 GMT
May have solved part of the mystery with the other death in North Shields.
Bumblebee was the surviving member of the pair and I have just finished unpacking the things he came with. In one of the bags I found a single dandelion and carrot stick which contains egg. The packaging doesn't say degus on the suitable for list (if they are not on the list, I don't feed it.) There would have been two originally in the packet so I think the other may have been eaten
Could this one be diet related? I know I'm super careful with my guys diet, so this remaining stick will be going out for the birds.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2016 11:41:11 GMT
Geesh, I do give mine things that don't say "Degu" on it, that just say like small furry and I generally know what they can and can't have... I wouldn't look that far into it ever? I definitely will look harder. Mine only have forage mixes and seed mixes and hay and nuggets though. Only real treat they have often is sun flower seeds. Occasionally my mom will come with one of those big treat things for "her fur babies" lol but I let them chew on it for all of two minutes before it's put away. So I'll have to look into those more for future reference
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Post by savvy on Nov 29, 2016 12:00:07 GMT
If it says all small furry animals it should be safe. This was a cheaper version of a Bordom Breaker.
Maybe its cause I have to check my own diet so rigorously (I'm protein intolerant) that I check theirs so thoroughly.
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