Injured Degu!!

[steffiemac]

Hi - I was just wanting some feed back about my degus!

Two days ago I noticed some blood in the cage with my four degus. All of them were fine though - eating normally, playing and running on their wheels - so I decided that I would just have to keep an eye on them as none of them had any signs of injury.

Today there is more blood in the cage - on their wheels, the floor and splashed on the wall behind the cage. It's not an excessive amount but I'm so worried about my babies!!

I've had them all out and had a good look at them (as best as I can with my nosy and active bunch) but still can't see anything significant. Again they are all running about as normal with no signs of blood. I have their old cage still as well as their nice new big one so I've put 2 in one cage and 2 in the other.
It breaks my heart to do this as they are 4 brothers and have always been together. They do fight from time to time but nothing serious and they have got to the age they are now (18 months) without any upsets.

I'm going to take them to the vet next week but I was just hoping that someone might have some feed back or similar experiences to help or reassure!

Thanks in advance!!

[deguconvert]

Have a good look at all of their feet and see if one of them has an injured toe or something. Foot injuries seem to bleed quite a bit on degus. Also, give them all a really good rub down with your fingers, drawing your finger tips against the lay of their fur. That way you will be able to feel little bumps and crusts that will tell you if there are any scabs hidden under the fur. If you find scabs, then you are finding signs of more intensive fighting. The next thing will be to watch them carefully and see if you can figure out which are the fighters, and if at all possible, what might be setting it all off.

If you find an injured foot, a mild salt water wash, using a little cotton bud, will help to cleanse it.

Let us know what you learn. I hope it will all settle out peacefully for you.

[w8152]

ok, another option is actually that its not blood... i freaked out a while ago thinking they was blood in the urine (possible splash from this?) and it turned out to be dietry as they cannot sweat out toxins so instead their urine changes colour. specifically if they eat dried beetroot or the like.


Just a thought...

[deguconvert]

Ah ha! Good thought, W8152! I forgot about that aspect of things. Yes!! Beetroot can make urine so red it looks like blood. Some foods contain beetroot in their mix, and this is not a problem at all, as beetroot is good for them, and often it is just the pulp that is used, not the full meat of the root. There would be no need to discontinue the use of that food if this was the cause of the red fluids you have observed in your cage and area.

[steffiemac]

Thanks for the help!
The first bit of - what I thought could be blood - did look like it might have been in their urine and I have recently given them different food which includes dried beetroot.
As I said earlier they are all fine and not acting injured so I think this is the most likely cause.
Still they will be off for a check up tomorrow - but I appreciate the reassurance! I think I was more concerned that they could be hurting each other!
Thanks again guys