Degu after surgery not eating, very thin!

[kn12]

I have a 7 year old girl called Daisy who’s just undergone dental surgery for overgrown teeth and roots
The vet also found a middle ear infection in her as well
My worry is she is just not eating! We’ve been given critical care and she had a few drops of that last night but she’s refusing it now and she’s weak and cold and all she wants is her warm water bottle that I’ve kept in there with her
I’ve tried feeding her cc with peanut butter and different consistencies
Porridge oats with water
Oats with peanut butter
Her nuggets softened and she picked one up but left it

I don’t know what else to do! She’s super thin and weak and I’m so worried about her!
I’ve emailed the vets and told them
But any ideas on how to get a degu to eat after dental surgery? I will try anything!

[moletteuk]

It sounds like you may need to syringe feed her with some critical care asap. Do you have any old syringes? Make the CC quite wet so it flows ok.
If she is struggling so much I would also guess she needs some pain relief.
You are doing the right thing keeping her warm.

...just seen other thread. To syringe feed most people find it easiest to wrap in a cloth and hold the degu against your chest while you restrict them moving forwards with forefinger and thumb around the shoulders.

[kn12]

Nov 9, 2022 10:42:06 GMT moletteuk said:

It sounds like you may need to syringe feed her with some critical care asap. Do you have any old syringes? Make the CC quite wet so it flows ok.
If she is struggling so much I would also guess she needs some pain relief.
You are doing the right thing keeping her warm.

...just seen other thread. To syringe feed most people find it easiest to wrap in a cloth and hold the degu against your chest while you restrict them moving forwards with forefinger and thumb around the shoulders.

So I managed to force feed her and get a little bit of cc in like 0.5ml of it
She’s on 0.1 ml of sulfatrim and 0.05ml of metacam twice a day
The issue is I squirt some cc in her mouth but she just leaves it there

I think we have a vet appt booked in for tomorrow so hopefully she perks up by then

[kn12]

Ok so update!

I force fed her about 1ml of cc
I offered her favourite treat and she went for it but couldn’t bite it so I softened it for her as well as her pellets and she’s been on and off nibbling on them
I went to give her some cucumber and she was browsing her bowl of soft food and treats so that’s good!

As soon as I put the cucumber in there she went straight for it and is chomping on it as I’m typing this

Hopefully she’s on the mend now!

[moletteuk]

Well done for getting a little CC into her. It's good that she is trying to eat for herself now, even if it's not much, hopefully she will come round a bit more tomorrow, the metacam should be working better by tomorrow. It may be that it is just taking a while for the anaesthetic to leave her system.

If you check our vegetables nuts and seeds nutrition charts in the diet section you can soften or mash and mix any safe foods together that you think she might like. deguworld.proboards.com/thread/15602/vegetable-seed-nut-nutrition-charts

[savvy]

Keep up the good work! I know its hard but sometimes you have to employ tough love.

As soon as she begins to realise that eating doesn't hurt anymore they'll be no stopping her and she should soon put the weight back on. I'd keep up with the CC for a while even after she starts to eat normally as she needs the extra calories.

[kn12]

Nov 9, 2022 16:38:35 GMT moletteuk said:

Well done for getting a little CC into her. It's good that she is trying to eat for herself now, even if it's not much, hopefully she will come round a bit more tomorrow, the metacam should be working better by tomorrow. It may be that it is just taking a while for the anaesthetic to leave her system.

If you check our vegetables nuts and seeds nutrition charts in the diet section you can soften or mash and mix any safe foods together that you think she might like. deguworld.proboards.com/thread/15602/vegetable-seed-nut-nutrition-charts

Yeah I have a feeling it might have been the anaesthetic too! She’s perked up a little and she’s been munching on cucumber and tomatoes
I’m gonna keep force feeding the cc as well

Thank you all for your help, I’ve been so worried and I know it’s not over yet but I’m glad she’s at least eating something

[kn12]

Nov 9, 2022 18:09:02 GMT savvy said:

Keep up the good work! I know its hard but sometimes you have to employ tough love.

As soon as she begins to realise that eating doesn't hurt anymore they'll be no stopping her and she should soon put the weight back on. I'd keep up with the CC for a while even after she starts to eat normally as she needs the extra calories.

It’s so hard employing it because I feel like she hates me! But yeah when she realises eating is good for her and she needs it, she’ll probably hate me less!

Yeah I will keep up the cc for a while!
Thank you for your help!

[kn12]

Update!
She is doing better! She weighs in at 137g and we’re keeping an eye on it to make sure she’s eating enough
She had about 5ml of cc this morning willingly! She also is eating soft treats and nuggets (she tried hard treats but can’t quite manage it just yet but she’s nibbling on it)
She’s taking her medications like a pro twice a day as well!
I felt so bad leaving her this morning to go to work but I’m sure she’ll be fine! She’s was in her little fleece hammock when I left this morning cuddled up with her sister

[teemu]

That's great! I'm sure she'll be fine with her sister until you come home.

Generally speaking, degus are quite smart about medication. They'll start being more cooperative about it over time and I have not seen them carrying any real grudges about having to be medicated or fed when things are tough. When everything gets better again and the situation normalises, they're generally just happy about that.

[moletteuk]

So glad to hear she is doing better

[deguconvert]

OH YAY!! This is GOOD NEWS!! Well done!

[kn12]

So Daisy is eating critical care about 15ml a day, she’s having her medications twice a day and she’s drinking water too
She’s also eating treats and nuggets but I weighed her and she isn’t putting on any weight!
Does anyone know how long it’ll take for her to put on weight?
She’s more active than she was but still quite weak and very thin

[savvy]

It may take time for her to start gaining weight, but as long as it isn't dropping, its a positive sign. Try increasing the amount of CC she has, and try mixing it with organic veg baby food and/or peanut butter. At the moment she needs the calories.

If its easier, try segregating her so she, and offering a small dish or saucer of thicker CC so she can eat at leisure and as much as she wants. If its too thin, she'll be getting full on her liquid, but not the food.

But you're doing great.

[kn12]

Nov 13, 2022 10:38:08 GMT savvy said:

It may take time for her to start gaining weight, but as long as it isn't dropping, its a positive sign. Try increasing the amount of CC she has, and try mixing it with organic veg baby food and/or peanut butter. At the moment she needs the calories.

If its easier, try segregating her so she, and offering a small dish or saucer of thicker CC so she can eat at leisure and as much as she wants. If its too thin, she'll be getting full on her liquid, but not the food.

But you're doing great.

I’ve tried mixing it with peanut butter and organic veg baby food but she’s picky and doesn’t really like it!
I have been making it thicker so she can eat it easier
I attach a picture of her eating by herself from the bowl!
Turns out she’s lost about 9g of weight but I’m hopeful she’ll put it back on if she continues the way she is- I’ve also updated the vets on her weight too so we’ll see what they say

i.postimg.cc/05GcR2ZC/2-B7-D92-D7-2352-4-C0-E-AFC3-76-BABD5-C8-FEA.jpg

[savvy]

Oh she is thin isn't she.

If she prefers just the CC keep it to that, but try offering the baby food and peanut butter separately after she's had the CC. Have you tried putting the CC on the saucer so its easier for her to access?

[kn12]

Nov 13, 2022 11:16:42 GMT savvy said:

Oh she is thin isn't she.

If she prefers just the CC keep it to that, but try offering the baby food and peanut butter separately after she's had the CC. Have you tried putting the CC on the saucer so its easier for her to access?

I know! My poor baby!

Ok I’ll try that thank you!

[moletteuk]

You could try offering crushed nuts or seeds, they are good for calories.

[kn12]

So I made some treat balls for her with oats, peanut butter, sesame seeds and parsley and some sunflower oil to bind and popped them in the oven and she’s already eaten two! She loves them thank god!

[savvy]

Half the battle is finding something gummy that they like.