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Post by mysteryminx on Aug 28, 2015 14:23:20 GMT
Hi there
We need some advice, and rather promptly
Two days ago one of our Degus tail got bitten off quite nastily, in hindsight I wish we took him to the vets there and then, but we cleaned it up, looked up some information online, and he seemed to be doing fine in himself. We had experience of injured Degus in the past and they always bounced back no problem...but not we are getting very worried
Today we noticed he is curled up in the corner, looking all sleepy, and he won't take food from us, even yummy little snacks, and I only managed to get him to drink a few drops of water from the pipet, he is still able to run around, reluctantly mind.
He is about 3-4 months, not entirely sure on his age, as we rescued him
Any advice on what we could do to help him?
Our vets are closed until Tuesday, and (don't judge us too harshly) but we can't afford the prices of the emergency vet
Any advice would be greatly appreciated (and rather quick advice appreciated even more)
Thanks
PS. We have put him in a separate cage, with food and water near by, and a nice little hidey place, would it be beneficial to put a heat mat under the cage?
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Post by yasmin on Aug 28, 2015 15:19:20 GMT
It does seem like you did what you needed to do to take care of the tail injury. However, his behaviour is indicates that he is ailing. Is there any pus/swelling around the injury? Might he be in pain? Do you have any antibiotics or pain killer (Metacam) on hand?
If there is an infection – it needs to be treated ASAP. Therefore, I would think that he needs to be taken to a vet asap. Are there any other degu vets in your area that are open today that can see him on a non-emergency basis?
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Post by moletteuk on Aug 28, 2015 15:32:14 GMT
What happened to cause the tail to come off? Was there a fight? How much tail has come off? Does it look inflamed, red, warm, like it might be infected?
Was he definitely OK before? Can you see any other injuries?
I'm just thinking it's unusual to have a bad reaction to a tail coming off, so I'm wondering if there is more injury, or if there was something wrong with him before that.
Is he definitely more relaxed by himself? I would only separate him if there was a fight, otherwise keep him with his buddies for morale.
You could try a heat mat, but be very careful if he is lethargic, you don't want him overheating if he hasn't the energy or will to move.
Keep trying food and drink.
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Post by mysteryminx on Aug 28, 2015 16:29:05 GMT
Hi there
Firstly, thanks for the fast replies. We have been phoning round, trying to find an open vet that treats degus, but as time goes on, I doubt we will find one open now... We don't have any antibiotics but we do have some metacam that had for our cats, don't know if that is suitable for degus too...
I shall find it and look it up after this.
That is what I find strange, the injury doesn't look infected or inflamed, the bone is exposed at the end, and looks like it is close to dropping off.
He was always the shyest one, but did always seem okay in himself before this.
The bit of bone that is hanging off and exposed, should I leave it? Soak it and try and remove it?
He is up and about again now, but ten minutes ago, he looked awful...
I hope he will be okay
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Post by moletteuk on Aug 28, 2015 16:54:45 GMT
Cat metacam (0.5mg/ml) is the normal type for degus, dose is one drop once a day, it's up to you whether you think it's a good idea to try it, perhaps half a drop would be worth trying first, be careful if he isn't eating and drinking much.
One day seems pretty quick for an infection to develop to the extent it would cause lethargy. If the tail looks dry and clean, leave it alone, he should chew the end off himself when it is ready to come off, or it will fall off. You can take any sandbath out of his cage and try and keep the cage clean.
Was there a big fight? Could he be depressed and upset about the fight?
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Post by deguconvert on Aug 28, 2015 18:22:27 GMT
I have found that the thick fur of degus can very easily hide other wounds. Will he allow you to hold him? Is so, can you push his fur forward and feel for any bumps or open wounds, especially around the neck, belly, and genitals.
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Post by ilikedegus on Aug 28, 2015 19:20:28 GMT
mysteryminxIs there a PDSA anywhere near you? They may be able to help regardless of your financial circumstances. Also, I my area, it is the PDSA which seems to be open 24 hours - my regular vet has some sort of contract with them where they provide his out-of-hours service, presumably for full fees. This has a search based on postcode: www.pdsa.org.uk/vet-services/eligibility
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Post by mysteryminx on Aug 29, 2015 10:22:50 GMT
Just a quick update
He was doing a lot better this morning, managed to get him to eat and drink, so shall see how he goes for the rest of the day.
Thanks for advice.
If in the future something like this happens again, I thought it might be handy to have some antibiotics hanging around, I've been reading up about them, anyone know if you can buy them online anywhere?
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Post by bouncy on Aug 29, 2015 14:23:28 GMT
Personally, I wouldn't buy drugs of any sort online. You don't know who's at the other end, or what they've put in there......
Glad he's perked up!
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Post by moletteuk on Aug 29, 2015 19:39:36 GMT
Antibiotics are prescription only.
Did you check him over for hidden wounds?
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Post by uglibug on Aug 29, 2015 21:36:15 GMT
Depending on how the injury happened, could it be delayed shock? When we first got our girls, one of them got herself stuck. She seemed unhurt but she was catatonic for several hours: she didn't move at all, wouldn't eat or drink anything, just laid there on the bottom of the cage, and then on my lap, breathing quite heavily with a sort of glassy expression. We were worried we might lose her but when she came back to herself she was fine, just a little wary. That was a long night of sitting and worrying.
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Post by deguconvert on Aug 30, 2015 5:34:20 GMT
I wondered that too, Uglibug. Well put!
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