What is happening t him/is he doing? Please Help!

[beardedjqb]

He just randomly started doing that, it kinda sounds like burping but he is also shaking his head,

Did anyone experience that and knows what that means/is?
imgur.com/a/PaFXio1

[beardedjqb]

He seems to have calmed down, breathes normally and even warbles happily. Before it happened he was breathing thru his mouth quite a lot because we are battling a RI right now. Could it be connected to it?

[savvy]

The video is a little difficult to view properly as it keeps stalling on my tablet, but from what I can see, he's chittering, which is basically telling you to get the camera 'outta his face,'

Its a sound degus make when they are getting a bit annoyed.

[beardedjqb]

So this little bugger was annoyed at something and almost made me he almost have a heart attack.

[savvy]

May 10, 2023 14:39:21 GMT beardedjqb said:

So this little bugger was annoyed at something and almost made me he almost have a heart attack.

Yep!  Sounds like your typical degu.

[moletteuk]

He does look a bit fluffed up which would indicate he is feeling unwell, there could be an element of him being annoyed that he is unwell and can't breathe properly, or the bigger squeaks could be directly related to the mouth breathing, I can see him breathing through his mouth between squeaks, and head shaking would indicated him trying to clear something.

[beardedjqb]

From what i've noticed, he starts making wet sounds from nose when he gets tired/heated up after running or cuddling. He then breathes through his mouth and gets puffed up. I've been giving him simethicone drops but i don't know how fast do they start working because quite many times right after being given the drops and being calmed down by hugging he gets "thinner" as if he farted the gassiness away.

[beardedjqb]

The problem is, he started doing that head movement and squeaks after running a bit and then sitting down. And it's not like he was really tired or heated up, because we've been cuddling 5 minutes before that. He just sat down, started doing that, scared me shitless, got given the simethicone and then calmed down in my arms and went back running in his wheel.

[moletteuk]

Google says simethicone takes about half an hour to start working, I've used it myself and I think it starts doing something after 10 mins or so, but it takes a while to properly work and clear the gas, like an hour or so, I would say.

I think you are right that anything that heats him up or any activity disturbs the mucus, it doesn't have to be much of either, it might just be that he is uncomfortable for a few minutes while the mucus shifts and hopefully reforms a passageway through his nose for him to breathe properly again.

I think it's good that you are able to tell so well when he is mouth breathing, you will be able to spot if he gets into more difficulty and needs some steam from the bathroom to try to help clear it.

[beardedjqb]

Do you know what dose of simethicone is recommended/u use? I have one that is for infants with 40mg/ml of simethicone and i've been giving him 0,05ml because I have 1ml syringes for meds and most of them are in 0,05 to 0,1ml range. Also, i've been giving him it every 8h just to be safe because my vet doesn't really have an experience with giving simethicone do degus.

[beardedjqb]

Don't want to create another thread for that but i have an idea. Considering that i'm an asthmatic i have an inhaler/nebuliser at home. Would putting some saline and arranging my bean's transport box as a sort of inhalation chamber work on degu? It worked wonders for me but i'm not sure about degus.

[moletteuk]

Your simethicone dose sounds fine, you could probably increase the frequency if you needed to, but there's no need to give it if he isn't bloated, just adjust as required. It's not supposed to be absorbed into the body, just acts directly on the gas in the gut.

Yes to the nebuliser with saline in the travel box, it's ideal!

[beardedjqb]

How long do you recommend to keep him in there? I've been thinking about 5 minutes maybe.

[moletteuk]

Use your judgement on how he responds.

[beardedjqb]

Would just tap water inhalation do anything? Because i won't have saline until tomorrow and i don't know if i should even try it.

[moletteuk]

I suppose you could do boiled and cooled tap water, or you could add some natural salt yourself. Saline is better for the body and for keeping your nebuliser clean.

[beardedjqb]

An update. Don't know if anyone has experienced it with their degus, but Iwan after getting his 5 mins of pure saline inhalation with nebuliser gets absolutely methed up. He just runs in his wheel, jumps out, runs laps around his cage on all floors all while chirping happily. He just gets soo much energy. As for breathing, I'm not sure if marbocyl is helping him at all because he still gets tired easily in the evening and breathes thru his mouth requiring some simethicone. After the inhalation, his breathing sounds much wetter and "moving/fluid" but still no boogers or anything and goes back to normal stuffed up levels couple hours after the saline.

[moletteuk]

My girl just used to sulk after nebulising. Sounds tricky to tell if it's helping Iwan.

[beardedjqb]

After i pulled him out he did sulk, whining with breaks for whistling while breathing. But it honestly doesn't feel like marbocyl is helping him, but I guess the inhalation does considering that he has one 100% confirmed way of showing happiness and it's that chirping kinda like water droplets sound he does.