Elderly Degu Unsteady on her feet

[samtate]

I got 2 rescue Degus in 2014, a mama and baby. We sadly lost the baby (Bubble) in February at 8 years old. Mama (Squeak) is still going at about 9.5 years old (we roughly knew her age when we got her). 

She is getting more and more unsteady on her feet, falling over, falling off the edge of her food bowl and sand bath. she will sometimes over balance when we open her cage and almost fall out. 

She definitely sleeps a lot more, and is slow moving everywhere. 

She is also biting us now. She has never done this before but now constantly bites when we go near her. Its like she thinks you are food. She isn't knawing on wood much but her teeth seem OK for now. She does now turn all her food to a big pile of dust before she will eat it. 

My concern is with such a big cage, she can fall off her ramp too easily, and I cant find a metal one with side to protect her going up and down. I am considering taking out the ramps and confining her to 1 level for her own safety, and maybe taking out all shelves and pegs so just leaving floor toys. I want her to have a good quality of life though so I am not sure what to do for the best. Vets around here dont deal with degus so I can ask for advice. 

Thanks in advance for any advice. 

[savvy]

Welcome to the forum, I'm sorry to hear about your elderly degu.  First of all none of us are vets and can only offer advice based on our experiences.

First of all, where are you based? We have a list of vets, recommended by forum members, who do treat degus. deguworld.proboards.com/thread/15521/vet-guide

Biting, stumbling etc sounds like she may be in a little pain. Just like us, elderly degus can get arthritis and joint problems. Your vet needs to prescribe dog strength metacam, also called meloxidyl, meloxicom or loxicom, f she is experiencing pain, as this should help improve her quality of life.

Also, as you are already doing, limit her access to areas where she can get injured.

Let us know how you get on.

[samtate]

I am based in Leeds England. There is a vet about 40 mins from me, but they will only give advice / medication if they can see her, and she was abused before I got her, despite her letting us stroke her, she panics every time I put her in the carry case, and at her age I worry about the stress on her (she also cant be fully handled).

It all so rubbish. I've had her since she was 1.

[savvy]

Do they do video consults at all?

I'm really sorry you're going through this.

[winic1]

At 9.5 years old, she is very, very old. I hate to say it, and I know you don't want to hear it, but she probably doesn't have much time left, as you can see by how her body is now failing her.

Make her cage safe for her. If that means removing the ramps and shelves and places she can fall from, then do so. You might be able to make a wall for the ramp from cardboard, but what would keep her from accidentally falling down the hole to the ramp if she approaches from another side, or from falling off shelves?

You can leave her low things to climb on, but then arrange other things near them so that instead of a drop down all the way to the floor if she falls, these other things are there so she rolls down (from thing to thing) or drops only a small step to the next thing. Did I explain that so you understand? Like, if she likes to go on top of her hut, put another, lower, hut or box or stone or something next to it so she doesn't drop the full distance, and then maybe something else next to that, to break up the distance of any drop so it becomes more like she's just stumbled than fallen any significant distance.

Could it also be that maybe her eyesight isn't as good as it used to be, so that she's not quite seeing where she's going, and that's also contributing to her falling from things?

If her food bowl is high enough for her to fall off of, perhaps switch to a very low one, or a small plate? Can you make a ramp or a set of stairs from the sandbath to make it easier to get in and out?

If she is chewing her food to powder before eating it, then she may well have teeth problems, but at 9.5 years old, having dental work done on her is probably more than she could handle. Maybe try crushing up her pellets/food and adding a little water to make it more like mush or pudding, and see if she prefers to have something she can lick up instead of chew? Try different thicknesses. If she does like it, that might get some more food into her and give her a little more strength and energy.

Mostly, just love her for the time she has left. It's very sad to realize that your beloved pet is fading away, and even knowing you gave them the best life they could have had is small comfort.

[moletteuk]

You may be able to use wood or carboard and cableties or wire or whatever you think may work for you to make certain parts of the cage safer. Depending on the layout it may be best to restrict her to certain areas that can be made safe. I would recommend watching her go about her business to check everything that she may struggle with, for example mine struggled with getting in and out of the sand bath, as well as making ramps a gentler angle, checking the water bottle is still a convenient height and so on.

I would also recommend a heatpad or some other way or making sure she is warm as this is usually a great comfort to an ailing degu.

[deguconvert]

Hello, Samtate, and welcome to the forum! I am so sorry for the loss of Bubble back in February, and to hear that Squeak is now showing signs of age or not being well. I know this is very distressing!

Like Winic, I think there is a strong potential that she has some dental issues with her molars. One of the key indicators is food falling out the sides of the mouth when trying to eat. This often looks like piles of dust. (Other indications that can be seen are slow chewing, drooling, pawing at mouth, losing interest in favorite treats) However, when this is happening, it is possible that the dental issues may have been present for quite a while. Have you ever weighed her? I'm wondering if she is losing weight? If she has trouble eating and is losing weight, her increasing weakness is probably a result. Are you able to weigh her?

[samtate]

I am unable to weigh her unfortunately. We have changed the cage to make it 1 level for her. She was in a massive 4 level cage that was about 5' tall and 3' wide.

She isnt showing signs of problems with her teeth, no drooling or food falling out her mouth. Bowl is on the ground but she perches on the side of it and falls off. She will put the food in her mouth and then spit out the powder to lick up later. We will look to do that bit for her and try the water in it.

I have added extra care fresh to be thicker for when she falls over so it is nice and soft.