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Post by andit543 on May 14, 2012 16:07:43 GMT
Hi, need some help. I had 5 male degas, unfortunately i had one put to sleep last week due to an injury. i assumed the other 4 would be ok as they still had each other but one of them is wasting away. He won't eat and has pulled all the hair off his stomach. when i hold him he is freezing and he grinds his teeth.
what can i do??
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abirose
Burrowing Degu
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Posts: 276
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Post by abirose on May 14, 2012 16:27:54 GMT
It sounds to me like he might have some issues with his teeth and the lack of food has left him a bit weak. You need to see the vets and in the meantime keep him nice and warm with a hot water bottle (with a cover) or a snugglesafe heat pad. Try and tempt him to eat something like some oats. Was the degu you sadly had to get put down ill?
Is his breathing ok? Is he being bullied at all by the other boys?
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Post by andit543 on May 14, 2012 16:32:37 GMT
the one we lost was through injury not illness. his breathing is fine and the others seem fine around him. his mouth isn't wet but he is booked in the vets for tomorrow morning. he is currently living in my top to keep warm.
is it just dry oats i should try.
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abirose
Burrowing Degu
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Posts: 276
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Post by abirose on May 14, 2012 16:38:56 GMT
Aww bless him yeh degu's love porridge oats it might give him a bit more energy. I hope everything goes well at the vets, keep us updated.
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Post by andit543 on May 14, 2012 19:45:47 GMT
he is on his hot water bottle with oats now. he seems to be able to chew but not swallow anything, hope he makes it to tomorrow. x
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Post by moletteuk on May 15, 2012 9:00:01 GMT
Hope everything goes OK at the vets today. You can make porridge with the oats using water, and feed it once it has cooled, if you think mushy food would go down better.
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Post by andit543 on May 15, 2012 12:42:53 GMT
Ok, am back from the vets. He had a dental because some of his back teeth had overgrown. He's had fluids, baytril and metacam. I have been given baytril liquid and metacam liquid to give to him. The vet also recommended oxbro citical care but it had sugar in so i declined. What else could I give him thats soft to fatten him up. Have tried the cool porridge but he doesn't seem fussed.
Fingers crossed the will start eating for himself soon.
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Post by moletteuk on May 15, 2012 12:56:24 GMT
That's good it was something treatable. The Critical Care can be quite useful for short term use in cases like this, it helps to get the gut functioning again. What weight is he? It might take him a couple of days or more for him to start using his teeth and mouth normally. You can offer anything ground up with or without water added, whatever he will take. You can mix up grains and seeds with peanut or peanut butter (no sugar type) or other nuts, or add herbs or oil seeds to any type of gruel type mix to make it tempting for him. Have you seen our food charts which are full of ideas you could use? Once he is eating normally, you might like to consider offering herb mixes and a variety of different hays, to try to increase teeth wear. |
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Post by andit543 on May 15, 2012 13:03:24 GMT
ur food chart is fantastic. will get to work making him a paste of some sort.
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abirose
Burrowing Degu
Forum Helper
Posts: 276
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Post by abirose on May 15, 2012 13:10:30 GMT
I'm glad you've managed to get some treatment I think you should try out the ideas Moletteuk has suggested and then if you find that hes not taking them I would suggest you try the critical care. It is designed to be used in these situations and if he doesn't start eating and is weak he could be susceptible to other infections. You only need to use a small amount of critical care and its high calorific content so can be really helpful.
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