Degu dying, how do I help?

[bm]

This might be a weird post but I just needed to
confide in someone for this.

So the context for this: My degu's whole right leg almost overnight expanded to a very very concerning size, we went to the vet and the vet explained that it was not abcess or some kind of bone related issue, and that it might just be a cancerous tumor. They told us that there's nothing they can do (he is quite old now and there's no telling he's gonna survive amputation or that he will get use to the gait) and that we just have to wait and see how he does, and keep him eating and drinking until he can't anymore.

I'm here to ask if there's anything I can do to help him relieve his discomfort or aid him in any way? I've already adjusted the cage so it's 1 story and gotten softer ground but honestly I'm at a loss on what to do.

[savvy]

I'm sorry to hear about his leg.

You say he's quite old, but how old is he? Degus can live quite a long time.

In terms of quality of life, has the vet given you any pain relief for him?

Also, does your vet have experience in treating degus?

[teemu]

Also sorry to hear that you and your boy are going through a very bad time.

Additionally to just how old he is in years, what is his general health and fitness like? For example, has he been active, mobile, and in good weight (not skinny, eating well etc)? Degus sometimes age at very different speeds, and some degus will seem old at 5 while others are still active and going rather strong at something like 8 years old. If your boy is still in good condition and has not grown infirm, then I would at least consider other options than just leaving things be.

As a whole, degus react to amputations rather well, and amputations of a portion of a limb are not a very complex operation for a vet experienced with degus, and the recovery is often very good. This isn't universal of course, so it is not possible to say how your boy would react to it if it was attempted, but without knowing the exact details of this situation, I would not reject the idea immediately.

When you say that his entire leg swelled up, do you mean up to the hip, or just the lower portion of it? This is also something that will affect the prognosis. Is he able to move the leg, and does it seem to be bothering him? I agree with Savvy that if there is nothing else to be done, pain medication should at least be considered if he seems to be in any discomfort.

Do you know what kind of methods the vet used to inspect him? If the vet was not very experienced with degus, they might be operating under very mistaken premises about them (and I know for a fact that vets with just general background often reject any sizeable operation for a smaller rodent like this without even considering the idea). If you did not bring him to a vet with experience in exotics, you should definitely see if there are any vets who specialize in exotic pets that you could reach. People here will be able to help you see if one might be found in your area, in case you are unsure.

[bm]

Hello! Thank you for your responses! And to answer some of your questions:

1. Yes I do have some pain medication and it does seem to help, but recently he is starting to lose his apetite and they gave us some medication to put on his food but I don't know how to give it to Jim if he doesn't want to eat
2. In my country, vets who specialize in small rodents are very rare here. But fortunately degus are quite a popular pet choice here, so the vet I went to has dealt with them a lot it seemed. The method they used to check him was to first check if the area was abscess with a needle, and then x-ray it to see if it was anything bone related. When none of these showed results they told us that it's a tumor-like thing thats likley canerous.
3. He is about 7 to 8 years old (I don't know exactly because the place we got him at wasn't reliable) and he was very active before this, though I think he was just a tiny bit fat, I didn't seem like it affected him a lot since he was still very much active and always jumping and running around
4. The entire leg (including the hip) is very big, and the first thing that the vet told us that it was very risky going into amputation, and now that he is in quite some pain and is visibly weaker, I don't know what is the right choice.

I will continue to give him some medicine, and try to get him to eat more, thank you for all of the support!

[teemu]

Alright, thank you for the explanation, I have a much clearer idea of the situation now.

Unfortunately, it does sound like the assessment is very reasonable, and done by an experienced vet. If it has spread up to the hip already, it is unlikely that an amputation would resolve it, even if he did survive it (and I agree that such a dramatic amputation would be much more dangerous than a more limited one). Cancerous growth basically needs to be excised completely, often with a margin to spare, because any remaining cells will often cause it to spread and appear elsewhere. I agree that it does not sound like something that should be attempted.

Now, what you will need to consider is the quality of his life, and how well you can manage his condition. It sounds like this is affecting him quite badly already. While it's often hard to be calm and clear-headed when something this distressing is happening, try to assess his condition over the near future, and whether or not he seems to be suffering greatly, even with the medication. In addition, if it seems like he will have great trouble moving at all, there may sadly not be much that can be done to help him at this point.

If he is growing weak quickly and suffering greatly, I would (even if it is very unpleasant) consider whether his quality of life is such that euthanasia would be more humane - especially if the pain medication will not start to have an effect. This is something you will have to assess, even if it is very distressing to think about. But do not feel pressured to make any snap decisions. Take your time and assess the situation as calmly as you can, over the coming days and going forward.

About the food and the medication, are you able to acquire syringe fed solutions like Critical Care or Science Selective Recovery, or other food mixes intended to help a recovering animal? These are dry mixtures that are mixed into water to make gruel, and then fed to the animal with a syringe.

If you can't acquire these (or can't acquire them quickly), you can try to feed him (either if he just takes it himself, or with a syringe) things such as baby food (no meat products and preferably no fruit, things such as sweet potato and other vegetables have been used by people here), peanut butter (unsugary and without xylitol or other sweeteners, you can try to make it yourself if there is no other brand available), or even very thin oatmeal. The important thing is that he gets something to eat, even if it is not optimal. If he wants to, also allow him to eat more things like seeds, nuts or other energy-rich treats, as those will give him strength. If he stops eating, his condition will worsen very quickly in this state.

If you do try to syringe feed him, it will likely not be easy, as degus can resist it very much. If you need it, I can give you further advice on how to do it. For this reason, try to see if he eats some of these more enticing foods by himself first.

One important thing to note is that he may not be able to lift himself up at all to drink from a bottle that is higher up, so be sure to check if he can get water. For this reason also, gruely foods like above will be good for him.

Please ask if there's anything else you're wondering about or need help with. If you can, spend a lot of time with him. Right now he is in distress, and knowing that you are there to help him will be very important to him.

[bm]

Thank you so much for your answer this is exactly the kind of advice i was looking for. I'll make sure to monitor him closely to see how well he's doing. I have a syringe i use for his medicine and he takes it pretty well, so we will have to see. Thank you for your support and I will try to update this thread in case of any major updates.

[teemu]

Do feel free to update us anyway, if you wish! It can help to order your thoughts, and it is always good to hear how things are going in any case.

[bouncy]

Hi,

The only thing you can do with confidence is to make him comfortable. You'll know when the time is right to say goodbye.

However, I had a goo who had a swollen rear leg. Rather than a tumour, he had wounded his leg and became infected with the equivalent of MRSA. He was fit and healthy otherwise, so we amputated. He was up and about from day one. The only thing he had to be aware of was that his brother figured out he could shove him over towards his missing leg to get his treats. Other than that, he only lost traction running along my kitchen tiles. Spud was 6-7yrs when this happened.