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Post by titchycatnipsandwich on Jan 7, 2017 12:27:17 GMT
Weirdly, I find it all easier without gloves. Degu claws getj better traction on gloves than skin, so his escape attempts are usually more successful for him if I'm wearing the bite-proof gloves. I've got some and will try them again later anyway, because he's really starting to get upset when handled.
And to add to this, the compounded antibiotic they gave me is no longer a suspension, it wasn't stable for very long. I've called the vets and hopefully they're going to just give me tablets to dissolve myself and administer.
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Post by titchycatnipsandwich on Jan 9, 2017 21:06:17 GMT
So, updates!
1. Molly is happy to supply me tablets to make up fresh suspension each week; we agree it's the easiest way to do this as he'll be on abx for ages. 2. Zoe is now feisty, bitey and I'm wearing gloves for wound cleaning to stop him puncturing my skin. His face is... I think it's improving? It's really hard to tell, when I'm cleaning he won't sit still and when he comes out to play in the evening he's not clean any more, but twice daily cleaning isn't fair on either of us unless we have to do it. 3. Nyota is still limping but I suspect it's behavioural- I can't find a physical reason for the limp.
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Post by moletteuk on Jan 9, 2017 21:14:43 GMT
Did the vet see Zoe again? Is she happy with progress, or at least not unhappy? I'm sorry Zoe is fighting you more You could take photos to track progress if you wanted to. My lot have had a couple of leg strains with no visible injury, tendon/ ligament type things which they recovered from slowly. I think they were sustained during panics to run away when they didn't get proper traction, kind of cartoon style.
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Post by titchycatnipsandwich on Jan 9, 2017 23:01:17 GMT
The vet saw him last Thursday, when she landed the second abscess, but said she didn't need to see him again unless I had concerns about the healing (ie another abscess cropping up, red/inflamed/swollen and not settling, further weight loss or not eating)
My main curiosity is that his teeth are growing in diagonally... She trimmed them while he was under anaesthetic as he hasn't been grinding them down much due to the whole sore jaw thing, and they were straight on Thursday. They're now slanting upwards from bottom left to upper right on top, and the same at the bottom - so he looks odd! I'm hoping as he starts eating more that'll sort itself out.
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Post by moletteuk on Jan 10, 2017 11:07:39 GMT
OK.
Keep a close eye on the slanty teeth, they grow very fast, do they still meet?
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Post by bouncy on Jan 11, 2017 21:31:16 GMT
Ditto the teeth. If he can't line them up himself to chew them down, they might need a trim!
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Post by titchycatnipsandwich on Jan 14, 2017 23:03:45 GMT
Sorry, manic few days.
The teeth still meet, but only just. He has, however, been spotted scraping away at a nut, so he gets til Tuesday to sort himself out (unless things get worse in that time, but Tuesday is my next day off).
His abscesses have been very scabby the last few days, and tonight I had the disgusting "pleasure" of restraining a degu with one hand and using wire cutters to gently cut away the scabs that were partially hanging off his face. The open wound obviously hurts a lot, as he's making lots of sad pipping noises and Nyota keeps nuzzling his face, earning lots of screeches in return... but the wounds are clean, and even if they heal as scar tissue I think it'll all heal cleanly.
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Post by moletteuk on Jan 15, 2017 11:58:37 GMT
Scabby sounds quite good, I think. Are you feeling more optimistic with the progress?
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Post by titchycatnipsandwich on Jan 17, 2017 17:03:51 GMT
Updates! 1. His teeth didn't get any better (unsurprisingly I guess, but I was kinda hoping he'd give a nut a proper go and grind them down himself). I took him to our regular vets today for teeth burring, and they've shortened them considerably. 2. He's still not able to pick a nut up with his mouth, but he is actually trying now! And being very grumpy that he can't pick it up. When I give him the doxy and Metacam tonight, I'll have a better look what's going on in his mouth. 3. If I can avoid it, he isn't having anaesthetic again for a while. They nearly lost him today, he's bounced back really well but the vet nurse was really concerned while he was under. Based on my limited knowledge of human anatomy and my greater knowledge of human anaesthesia, I suspect he hasn't cleared the previous lot of anaesthetic yet - we still don't entirely understand how anaesthetic works. I mean, we know what it does in the brain, what we don't know is why what it does turns consciousness off for a while. At any rate, in humans, one can expect it to take ~1 week for every hour of anaesthetic you're under to clear the body, longer if you have poor liver or kidney function, or are malnourished. So if at all possible, I'm aiming to keep his abscesses clean, his teeth short and his scraps with his brother to a minimum. 4. Everyone at the vets thinks they are absolutely adorable and cute as buttons, which makes me wonder if we're looking at the same critters on an up note though, the vet nurse has a degu on his own from Pets at Home, after the staff separated him from his cagemate for fighting. I pointed her here, so she may show up, and said there was a lot of good advice about introducing new degus. She couldn't get over how sociable Zoe and Nyota are with each other, so hopefully she's able to find him a friend. Right now, I think things are looking good. Things will be not looking good if we need more anaesthetic, if he can't get going with nut shells again, or if he keeps not-gaining weight.
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Post by bouncy on Jan 17, 2017 17:14:39 GMT
Wow! Big update! Try chopped or ground nuts for now. That'll get his weight back up! It could be that the scabbing is preventing him from opening his mouth wide enough. at the frustration - Squidgy LOVES pecans, but can't pick them up in his mouth either (even though the pups can). He stamps his feet, grunts, and even growls!
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Post by deguconvert on Jan 17, 2017 18:09:15 GMT
Thank you for the updates! So glad he bounced back from the anesthetic! That must have scared you when you heard! Keep a good eye on him. I would do the chopped nuts as well. SO glad he is doing better bit by bit!!
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Post by moletteuk on Jan 17, 2017 18:47:20 GMT
Nice to get an update. Are the abscesses doing OK?
What kind of anaesthetic are they using?
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Post by titchycatnipsandwich on Jan 17, 2017 18:56:09 GMT
After the scabs came off on Saturday, they're blood-crusty but otherwise healing nicely and doing well.
I'm not sure which anaesthetic they're using, but it's always been inhaled anaesthetic because it's easier to bring them round from if things aren't going well. Everyone who's looked after him has said they'd rather pull him out early and us make a new plan than him die under anaesthetic.
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Post by titchycatnipsandwich on Jan 18, 2017 14:40:38 GMT
url=https://flic.kr/p/RkRY32] [/url] Clean face and short teeth by TitchyCatnipSandwich, on Flickr Have a picture of abscess 2 and his nice short teeth! Abscess 1 is now just a line closed together with a light crusting of blood. Abscess 2 is still open but is clean wound underneath any accumulated crud.
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Post by bouncy on Jan 18, 2017 14:48:29 GMT
Awwwwwwww bless!
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Post by deguconvert on Jan 18, 2017 19:35:05 GMT
Makes me think of "Degu Revenant"
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Post by ntg on Jan 18, 2017 19:42:13 GMT
Although not pretty the tissue looks clean and healthy from the picture! Yayy for Zoe!
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Post by moletteuk on Jan 18, 2017 20:09:05 GMT
Looks pretty good Let's hope he can adjust his teeth or figure out for himself how to live with them, otherwise I think they could be the stumbling block.
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Post by titchycatnipsandwich on Jan 21, 2017 14:40:11 GMT
Ok, so on the up side, we have weight gain (currently 204g and steady, up from 190g last week...).
On the down side, I don't think his teeth are "right". Given that this is the degu who was the first to work out how to get into a macadamia nut, he can just about pick up a hazelnut but gets very frustrated at them and any other nut I put in front of him. I don't know whether they've burred his teeth "wrong" or whether he's still struggling with his jaw.
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Post by bouncy on Jan 21, 2017 14:43:47 GMT
Could well be the jaw but, if you're in any doubt, it's worth asking the vet.
That’s some great gain!
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