Phil going to vet, wish us luck

[winic1]

Noticed Phil rubbing his paws across his mouth more frequently.  Noticed him nibbling on his green "cheerio" treat instead of scarfing it down like his brothers.  Noticed him looking smaller than his brothers.  Finally got hubby to help me catch and weigh him.  He is down a lot of weight, quite a lot.

Have a vet appointment tomorrow late afternoon.  Supposedly they do exotics.  Supposedly they have seen degus before.  Might be possible, there is someone in the area who has had them, that's how we got our first.  Might be the receptionist will agree to anything just to get the business in.  She acted completely shocked that our degus have never been to a vet.  Never.  Never?  No, lady, never, there's been no reason.  Well, she huffed, they have people who bring theirs in regularly for check ups. (I doubt it very much, but let her think so.)

Phil is nibbling on stuff, and chewing slowly.  Lost weight.  Seems like teeth problems, most definitely.  Please let this vet have some experience, or at least training, in rodent teeth.  Please let him have experience in handling a fast, active rodent who is not used to being handled, at all.  Please let him at least have heard of degus.  This is the only vet place around who might.  And it's almost an hour drive away as is.

Poor little Phil.

[yasmin]

Poor baby. Does sound like a teeth/molar spur issue. How old is Phil?

They will need to use the scope to take a good look at his upper and lower back molars. I hope Phil is co-operative and bites down on the scope. Otherwise, they might need to sedate him.

Best wishes to little Phil and to you too winic1. Hopefully the vet is one with degu and rodent dental experience and that he can do the job quickly and thoroughly. Please keep us updated.

PS: If it is a spur issue, see if the vet will let you take home some Metacam (Oral suspension for cats – Meloxicam 0.5 mg/mL). Depending on how bad the spurs are, it is handy in case he is in pain/discomfort and won't eat. Baytril might also be prescribed if the spurs have caused extensive injury to his mouth. If not, it is not necessary.

[misscatafer]

Sending positive vibes your way

[bouncy]

Hope the little dude is OK - I took Scaredy in again before I left for my dad's, and he hadn't forgiven me when I left.

[Deleted]

Good luck ❤❤❤

[ntg]

Best of luck! You might find that you or your husband might have to hold him while the vet checks so take a towel or fleece to wrap him in just in case (although the vet should have these anyway).

[Emziedee]

Good luck guys!! C'mon Phil ✊🏻