Handling Advice for Health stuff for 3 Adopted Degus

[macactus]

Hi again
so I am into week 2 of caring for our 3 adopted degus, all boys.  They were rescued from a place where there were 150 of them eating pellets and the rescue woman said that at least one of them has white teeth.  We have no idea how old any of them are, although one seems a bit older than the others.  
They are all very sweet and I have been working on training them to step into my hand for treats, which they will do for short periods.  I have felt that they are beginning to trust me and come over when I open the cage, but they are also still skittish and vanish at even not-so-sudden movements such as when I reach down for another treat etc.    
Now Nando, one of the younger seeming ones, seems to have a sort of pouch under his chin, that I do not think was there a few days ago, although we are all so new to each other that I cannot be sure.  It looks like a double chin but as he always seemed smallest before, I think it might be new.  How the heck do I pick him up to try to get a better look at it?  Or should I just take him to the vet? They all have a 'well-visit' next week, but I don't know if I should let it go that long.  Of course, since I am not 100% sure it wasn't there all the time and he isn't just sitting differently making it look weird, I feel stupid dragging him off to the vet!  
Any words of wisdom would be much appreciated. 

Also, I have begun to feel anxious to start weighing them since I have begun introducing leaves and such to begin the move towards an SAB diet, but I don't know how to go about it without freaking them out. Could you old pros give me some stratagems?
Thanks!

[bouncy]

Weighing your goos is a very sensible way to go. Make sure you have digital scales, as the spring scales are too general. Unless you have specific health concerns, once a month should do, at a similar time of day. I do mine when they're having their evening run. They come to me for a treat when I tap on the ground, so I lure them on one at a time. Consistency is key, unless they're under a year.

Goos do sometimes have a double chin. Just like humans, it depends on how they sit. If you want to make sure, try luring the goo in question into a tube. You can then remove the tube with your hand over the end to get a better look.

How are your fellas' teeth?

And SAB approach needs to be gradual, and you need to consider vitamin D. This is often supplemented in store foods. With a SAB diet, you need to provide this by supplement or UV lighting so they can produce their own.

[macactus]

I have no idea how his teeth are because I don't know how to handle him to get a good look without freaking him out. Even if I get him out of the cage in the tube, how do I hold him and examine his teeth? When I was moving them from the travel cage to the home cage, they all squirmed like crazy. It seems like I would really have to completely immobilize him to get a good look. Won't he want to bite me if I am restraining him and sticking my fingers in his face and around his neck? Should one wear a glove or something or am I being paranoid? Will he be pissed? I am so torn between feeling like I am going to undo all the progress we have made in trust building which will be utterly pointless if it turns out to be nothing, but even worse if I don't look and he turns out to have a real problem. I did 'cop a feel' under his chin while giving him a treat and it just feels soft and he didn't freak that I touched it.
Behaviour wise, he is eating, drinking, running on the saucer, taking treats etc. with no noticeable changes.


As for SAB, I have been going very gradually, just offering a one leaf each the first day and gradually increasing, while still providing them with their ration of pellets and always hay. They seem to love the leaves and petals (dandelion, plantain, hibiscus, apple, raspberry, strawberry, grass, and various kitchen herbs so far) and eat them immediately. I have been using the degus international boards for safe forage ideas. I have had a future post (or search, as it must have come up in the past) in mind regarding the vit D, as it says you should not supplement them while they are on pellets but should supplement them when they are off pellets, leaving me a bit unsure at what point I should supplement, as I am not sure we will ever be 100% off pellets. But that's not a concern for a while I think since their main diet has not changed much yet.

[Deleted]

Hi!

To pick him up tempt him into a tube of some kind. They will always usually crawl into a tube.. something like a Pringle tube with the end cut off, the shop bought rodent tubes... anything!

Then once he's in that, block the one end and he should crawl onto you, then you can hold him whilst someone else looks, or wrap him in a towel firmly now he's on you with little chance of escape and look at his chin that way.. they aren't made of glass so as long as you aren't too rough they will be fine! ☺️ I think waiting for the well-visit won't hurt, doesn't sound like he needs to rush off to the vets.

To weigh them, use kitchen scales in some sort of bowl and put a pinch of oats there. They'll sit still long enough for you to get a decent reading. I'll be honest and say I don't weigh mine unless anyone looks particularly different or is acting up. Then I'll weigh them for a few weeks to see if there's any loss, if not then I leave them to it! My one suddenly looked really thin (he's had dental issues) and I was a bit alarmed, but the next day he suddenly looked really normal and chunky, so who knows.. lol! As long as they're eating and drinking fine, with no signs of discomfort or any other issues (like not actually eating and burying anything high calorie etc) then I wouldn't worry too much if you find it really difficult to weigh them. It's a good thing to get into however, if you can master it, especially when you don't know them well enough to know their "usual" self.

[bouncy]

You can get a good look at their incisors when they're at the bars. You're looking for a top and bottom set of two teeth, nice and yellow, together, and not too long. Molars are a vet thing

[macactus]

So I caught him in the tube and tried to wrap him in a towel to get a good look but he squirmed so much I couldn't get any sort of a proper look. I am going to have to enlist my husband to hold him so I can get a look. He was indeed pissed at me immediately after, but when I got home after some errands he had forgiven me enough to take treats again.
Our cage doesn't have bars unfortunately. It is a homemade affair. It has mesh for ventilation but the parts where they can access it are on the back side of the cage. So no easy outs there.

[deguconvert]

You know . . . for the time being, I'm going to suggest you just continue working on building trust with him, and giving him treats. Then watch him as he takes the treats and look for the front upper and lower teeth. They are remarkably visible, once you understand what you've been seeing. When I first got degus, I was in a perfect terror to learn if their teeth were the right colour, and I couldn't find them! I kept looking, people here kept telling me where they should be . . . and then all of a sudden I realized that the two carrot orange things angled straight now from their noses were TEETH. LOL I couldn't believe how hard I thought they were to see after I recognized them for what they are. I don't think it is worth the trouble you will cause yourself and him by bundling him up to try and see. I think as he grows in trust and comes for treats, you will get better and better opportunities to see and have a good look. Also, as he trusts you, he will begin to feel bold enough to walk onto your hand, and then eventually up to your elbow, and before you know it he will be sitting on your shoulder. Once he gets there, just letting him sit on your hand while you move your hand gently about will also give you good opportunity to examine him.

[bouncy]

Regarding your earlier point, mine were off of all pellets/muesli after the first year. It takes time, but I don't think I could ever go back.

[macactus]

Thanks all. The more I watch him the more I think I am just being paranoid. I did so much research before getting them I really was not expecting to feel like such a greenhorn! Handling is the one thing you really can't learn from reading however. I am in horror of having any of them suffer because of my ignorance, but at least I can be pretty sure that however slow on the uptake I am, they will likely get a quicker response with me than in their rescue home with 70ish brothers.
I definitely do not have the teeth figured yet. I think since these guy's teeth are not properly orange they might not stand out as much either.

[bouncy]

As they were part of a large rescue, I suspect any teeth issues are likely to be diet-related. Give it a couple of weeks, when they're more comfortable with you, and you may find that any problems will resolve themselves.

Not all goos appreciate handling, which is why they're not recommended for smaller children, so please don't get offended if you don't reach that point. I have two of six that will use me as their lift in and out of the cage in the evening. This is partly because they're too impatient for the tube, one lived alone for a year and adopted me as his temporary goo, and one was a very open young pup when I first got him. The others take A LOT of encouragement, which is great when you're trying to put ointment in eyes.

A brilliant way of bonding with them is giving them free-range time outside of the cage. You need to have a goo-proofed area or play pen, bravery, and sit in there with them. If you sit on the floor with them whilst they're running around, they will become more familiar with you. They will likely start off skittish, but will eventually start to climb all over you. My most timid (had from a pup and has NEVER let me handle him) took a massive step yesterday by climbing on to me to help himself to dandelion root! It's taken him a couple of weeks short of a year to get that far

[randomname]

I seem to spend a lot of time reminding people that in general, all prey animals are going to be scared when picked up or petted. You're having to work against evolution to tame them, it's a huge ask of them. Sometimes it can be done, other times it's less successful. It depends on a lot of variable factors such as past human interaction, whether their parents/grandparents were tame, whether the methods used are working for this particular animal etc etc. The only way is to get to know the individual animal, learn to read it's body language, build trust & be consistent. & overall, be grateful for what interaction they choose to have with you, don't expect them to conform to your ideas of what you think they should behave like & cherish any bond or communication you do achieve. It's a magical thing when they decide you're ok, especially when it takes a long time like with your little guy bouncy. It took my PTSD bunny about 8 years to show me anything other than fear aggression or ignoring me. The day he licked my hand I cried like a baby. He is not what most people think of as a "good" bunny, but to me, he's the best bunny! It's not his fault trauma made him savage (he likes to pretend, it's all show)

Sorry, not really relevant to the original poster, but I notice there's a lot of worry online that people's degus/chins/rabbits/whatevers aren't as tame as they'd like, maybe something's wrong? Nope, just biology Look at it from their point of view, not your own.

[Bexi87]

Aug 20, 2017 5:23:36 GMT randomname said:

Sorry, not really relevant to the original poster, but I notice there's a lot of worry online that people's degus/chins/rabbits/whatevers aren't as tame as they'd like, maybe something's wrong? Nope, just biology Look at it from their point of view, not your own.

i had this very conversation earlier this week with my 2 god kids (5 and 6). I had my hand hovering over Flo as she is the most confident and asked the kids what Flo might think I was. Fox, cat and dog were all the answers; so I asked what about a bird, like an owl? They weren't accepting it lol

We also had a 30 minute discussion that my name isn't Rebeca because I'm called Beci, or that pictures of me from my childhood to about a year ago aren't me because my hair is different colours and I was small! Love kids.