Wobbly degu

[pippathedegu]

Hi, this is my first post but I've been reading threads for years. I need advice on a recently lone elderly degu. We believe she is between 6 and 7 (we've had her 5 years and her previous owners said they were between 1 and 2). 

Our other 2 remaining degus (from an original group of 5) died quite suddenly within the last two weeks so we've been giving her lots of extra attention and she's been eating normally. However, we let her out her cage today for a run around and she is very wobbly. She is happy for me to touch all her feet and doesn't seem to be in pain but one of her back legs seems to drag a bit when she runs she seems a bit unstable.  I've seen her scratch her ear with the seemingly limp leg so she can still move it so I don't think it's broken. Is this something anyone else has experienced with elderly degus? We've put bridges around her cage so she doesn't have to jump anywhere but we aren't sure what else we can do. She seems otherwise happy and still enjoys running around the room and exploring . 

I'm a bit reluctant to take her to the vet as previous trips with our degus have seemed very stressful for them,but I'm wondering if it could be an infection which killed our other two and has now affected her? I've also heard of lone degus developing neurological problems but she's only been alone a couple of days so I doubt it could happen that quickly. 

I'd really appreciate any advice. Thanks in advance. 

[savvy]

Welcome to the forum, I'm sorry to read about the problems you're experiencing.

Without seeing a vet it's impossible to say for sure whats wrong, but if vet trips stress her out, I'd monitor her for a few days to see if things settle down first.

Both of mine have had similar symptoms to yours, sudden favouring of one rear leg, limping, etc and it was just a strain which settled down. It is very easy for them to sprain legs when they are running around.

If the leg and foot feel normal and she's trying to use it, I don't think it sound like a stroke as I would have thought that that would affect the whole side.

But as I said, without seeing a vet, it's impossible to say.

[pippathedegu]

Thanks for the reply! We were thinking it’s a good sign that she’s still eating so hopefully nothing too serious. We’ll monitor her for a couple of days and if she deteriorates we’ll take her to the vet

[moletteuk]

If it's just one leg that is affected then I would say the most likely thing is a strain, but all sorts of things could be possible. Is she a bit jumpier than usual due to now being on her own and not having buddies for lookout duty? I would monitor her weight carefully, although she may lose weight if she is grieving, and may lose weight from a leg strain too, so actually it might not be that great an indicator of more serious issues right now, hmmm.

The only thing you mention that particularly worries me is possible infection, so do be watchful for any signs of that like ear infection signs, or whatever you saw in the others. Do you know exactly how the others died?

It's probably a good idea to keep her warm and she would probably appreciate a heatpad and maybe even a stuffed animal or extra bedding now she is on her own. I'm sorry for your recent losses.

[deguconvert]

Hello, Pippathedegu, and welcome to the forum! Lovely that you've decided to "reveal" your presence with us. I hope Pippa recovers for you quickly. I echo what Moletteuk said.

[pippathedegu]

Thanks for replying it seems to just be one leg that’s causing the problem. We’d noticed that all of them were a bit clumsier when jumping around which we just attributed to old age so maybe she has had a fall and sprained it.

Last week another of our degus, Rio, was fine and eating one day and then lethargic and not eating the next morning and then died a couple of hours later. The same thing then happened to Mia a few days later which made me think maybe it was a bug going round or an infection but they showed no other symptoms and we haven’t had an autopsy done so can’t know for certain what the cause was.

We’ve already got a heat pad which she uses a lot and we’ve given her a small stuffed toy but she doesn’t seem very interested in it.

We have some Metacam left over from another of our degus from a few months ago, do you think it’s a good idea to give her a very small dose of that in case her leg is hurting her?

[moletteuk]

Gosh, that is scary fast for Rio and Mia to go downhill, I wonder if that would indicate something like meningitis, I don't know. I would hope that the main infection risk for Pippa (is it Pippa?) is past now, but a spray of some of the difficult to clean cage items with some F10 disinfectant solution might be worthwhile, it's good stuff to have on hand anyway.

Since she is still using the leg a bit and is still mobile I wouldn't offer metacam at this stage as it can discourage them to rest the injury. If she becomes less active or mopey then I might offer some. Also look for some improvement within a week.

[pippathedegu]

I know, I was away as well so it was a lot for my little sister to deal with on her own. We’ve given the whole cage a good clean with ‘Clean and Safe’ disinfectant.

Yes her name is Pippa We’ve noticed she’s now also lost the fluffy tip of her tail which I know sometimes degus can knaw as a sign of stress. It could be that she’s lonely or due to the injury. She was always the least ‘cuddly’ of our 5, she doesn’t mind being picked up but prefers to run around and won’t sit on your lap or anything like that. We aren’t really sure how best to help her now she’s on her own.

[bouncy]

Oooh! A lurker!

Try a cuddly toy for a surrogate degu in the cage. There are some good degu sized ones for dogs, so won't contain (relatively) toxic materials.

[moletteuk]

I'm in the same boat, I have one remaining girl who is 7. I think I want to get her a friend, but I'm nervous of rocking her world and causing a lot of upset when she seems kind of OK as she is. Generally on the forum we would advise getting a friend for a fit and active 6-7yr old degu, if that helps you see the way forward.

[pippathedegu]

We got her a little dog toy and she’s dragged it into her house so I think she must like it. He leg still isn’t right so I think we’ll give her a bit of time for that to recover before we look at getting her a friend. We have a large cafe we can split into two. Do you know if it’s easier/harder to introduce older degus than young ones?

[bouncy]

Tbh, unless you're looking at pups, I'd say older ones don't have the hormone issues. Look for a goo that is the opposite temperament. If yours was the alpha, look for a more submissive character, or vice versa.

Glad she likes her new bud

[moletteuk]

I'm looking for another girl of a similar age for my lone girl. If you get younger ones they can run ragged older degus who normally like to rest more, so probably look for 5yrs plus.

[pippathedegu]

Her leg is starting to look a lot better! She jumped on top of her house today and climbed the log in her cage which she hasn’t done in a while.

She’s quite timid so would probably be more submissive with a new degu.

Whereabouts are you in the UK, molletteuk? We are in Leeds. If we are unable to find her a friend we are thinking it might be kinder to give her to someone else with degus, so she’s not alone.

[moletteuk]

I'm in north Cumbria. I could certainly offer her a home if that is what you would like, she is just what I am looking for.

[pippathedegu]

Thanks for the offer I’ll speak to my sister and have a think. We want to make sure her leg is completely better before introducing a new degu/ giving her away so i’ll Get back to you. Don’t feel obligated to wait if you find another degu that needs adopting though!

[moletteuk]

OK, take as much time as you need, I'm not in any particular hurry at the moment.

[pippathedegu]

Hi,
Sorry it’s taken me so long to reply. Thought I’d best give an update.

Pippa started deteriorating again and lost the proper use of both of her back legs. The vet said it was some sort of neurological problem and her legs weren’t getting signals from her brain properly but there was nothing they could really do to help. She was still eating and drinking and going to the toilet fine and still managed to run around the room super quickly and was still enjoying treats and head scratches so hopefully I don’t think she was in pain.

Unfortunately, she then started shaking her head a lot and having tremors so we decided it was kindest to put her to sleep.

Thank you for all of your advice before and sorry it doesn’t have a happier ending.

[savvy]

I am so very sorry, but I think you made the right decision at the right time for her.

[blossombrooks]

So sorry for your loss, it sounds like you did your absolute best for her x