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Post by claire on Sept 3, 2015 22:59:22 GMT
Is there anything that us owners need to do regulary for our degus, I know there is the usual, check for cuts, shiney eyes, yellow teeth ect, but what about things like parasite wipes, ive seen them in pets at home, should I be using these once in a while or only if I see and signs of mites ect?
Also grooming, must do or nice to do?
I try to look at their teeth but its pretty hard to do and they do not like being firmly held so I can look, I don't like to stress them out.
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Post by yasmin on Sept 4, 2015 1:44:27 GMT
• Haven't encountered very many parasite issues with degus. I wouldn't bother with the parasite wipes.
• Degus are pretty good at grooming themselves and each other, and most degus don't like being held or fussed over, so there's no need to groom them as far as I know. However, if your goos enjoy being groomed by you, it would be a nice bonding experience I would think.
• Teeth can be an issue. It is easy to check if they are orange (when they look up, you can easily see their front teeth), but spurs on molars require a vet with a scope and sometimes mild sedation depending on how hyper the degu is.
Degus with sore mouths might stop eating or selectively eat. Checking their weight every so often and careful observation can give you an idea whether or not they are eating enough.
Also, watch for drooling (wetness around the mouth and chin), laboured breathing, sitting puffed up in a corner and not coming up for treats – all signs that there is likely something wrong. A trip to a vet with degu experience is warranted then. It is very important that you find a good vet in your area. Eventually, most degus will need one.
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Post by moletteuk on Sept 4, 2015 16:20:50 GMT
There aren't many regular specific checks, it's more a case of knowing your degus and keeping an eye out for any changes. Weighing them regularly can help show up any problems, keep a record for reference. Just looking them over can give an indication, but how fluffed up the fur is can be deceptive. Watch them move and jump, notice if they are using the wheel as usual.
Teeth issues are always something to be aware of. You may be able to get a glimpse of front teeth if you offer very small seeds between your finger and thumb and hold them slightly above the degu with the degu teeth at your eye level. Check they are wearing evenly and meet properly.
Parasites aren't that common in UK.
It's always worth finding and registering with an experienced vet before you need them.
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Post by claire on Sept 8, 2015 9:49:27 GMT
well that put my mind at rest, I have ahorse and he needs regular, gromming worming tetnus injections ect ect the list goes on, feel odd no doing things for them but I guess they are easier to look after in that respect lol.
s there a lin anywhere of what weight a degu should be at what age, ie 6months, 1yr ect, ilierally have no clue how much these guys are ment to weigh
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Post by Maravilla on Sept 8, 2015 11:43:18 GMT
I fully agree with moletteuk, there isn't much that can be done. At least here in my country, there are guinea pig owners thinking that they have to check their animals at least once a week. Well, I have no idea of those animals so I am not sure if this is necessary. Thinks can change quickly so one day everything is okay and the next day there is a problem. In degus it is more observing and comparing. How do the eyes look like, what about the fur? Is the animals active as always? Eating as usual? Scratching a lot? Diarrhoea or a lot of soft droppings in the cage? Amount of water missing in the bowl/bottle? For those things it is not necessary to stress the animals by taking them out. Degus are great in hiding health problems, so they might be ill but we don't see it until very late. Therefore it is important to have some kind of routine as often it is in those moments when you notice deviations.
Some people think that they do something great by taking their degus to the vet every couple of months. But what for? It is a lot of stress, for animals and owners. It is impossible to take blood samples so a lot of general checks cannot be done. From my point of view, an owner who knows his animals and can describe what is unusual is very important and helps the vet to find a possible treatment.
You are asking about weights as well. This is difficult to answer. I have adult degus that weigh around 250 g, but had others that never weighed more than 180g. And I know about degus weighing more than 300g. There are big degus, small degus, thin degus, not so thin degus. So it is more a question of (if possible) weighing them regularly (to have a general trend) and checking if they look skinny.
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Post by moletteuk on Sept 9, 2015 13:15:26 GMT
Weight varies so much between degus you just need to weight them every fortnight or month or so and check their progression. They are will be getting on for around 2/3 to 3/4 grown at 6 months and approaching full grown at 10 months. Mine tend to put on weight in the autumn and then they are erratic and tend to gradually lose weight over the winter with each fertility cycle and then they eat less generally and stabiise over the summer.
If you can train them to walk onto your hand this is quite a good way to get a feel of their condition, if you do it regularly you can feel weight gain or loss.
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