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Post by ceelq001 on Jan 15, 2018 9:58:01 GMT
Good day all, I am new to the forum and keeping of degus. My fiance went to the petshop and bought us two degus. When he got home from the petshop he sent me this picture and asked me what he should do as it appears that the tail of the degu has been degloved, I think this might have happened when the guy at the petshop placed them into one box as he caught them and gave the box to my fiance already closed and my fiance didn't check and only took the box. I am looking for some advise as to how to handle to ensure that the tail does not become infected and to ensure that the little one is in no discomfort. Thank you  Attachments:
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Post by bouncy on Jan 15, 2018 13:27:05 GMT
Ouch! If there's no sign of the tail in the box, then the degloving was definitely in the shop. Very naughty of the shop staff!
I'm assuming you love him already, and don't mind the missing tail. Truly, he'll be absolutely fine. If the bleeding doesn't stop, you can get first aid powder that helps with clotting, or cornflour will do the same. If you want to bathe it, use cooled, boiled, salt water. Now for the icky bit. The goos will take care of it themselves. They will gnaw the protruding bone off, and it'll heal over the end. The only thing you'll need to do (apart from lecture the pet store) is to keep an eye out for any infection.
Given the store was so reckless, I'd also double check the sexes yourself!
Oh, and please take a good look through the stickies on the boards - a wealth of information!
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Post by moletteuk on Jan 15, 2018 17:03:33 GMT
Very, very naughty by the petshop!  You should certainly complain. We normally recommend that you leave a degloved tail to heal by itself, obviously being vigilant for any signs of infection (redness,swelling,heat) or degus fussing at it and stopping it healing. If you wanted to get it checked by a vet or it doesn't look right or there is a lot of bone sticking out, then the pet shop should cover the cost of this since it seems it was their fault. You could dab some F10 antiseptic ointment on it or spray with an F10 solution, you can get these on ebay or amazon and they are quite good to have on hand. You should try to avoid oral antibiotics in a degu so young, so I think some topical antiseptic is a good idea. Is it me or does he look tiny? Make sure to feed them plenty of food, youngsters can eat more than adults, and I would make sure to include plenty of forage and oil seeds and high calcium oil seeds because good nutrition early on is important, particularly if they have left mum quite early. Take a look at our beginner's guide to help get you started and feeling confident: deguworld.proboards.com/thread/19754/beginners-guide-degu-keeping |
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Post by deguconvert on Jan 15, 2018 19:43:32 GMT
Hello Ceelq001, and welcome to the forum!!
How awfully distressing to discover such an injury as soon as you have him home! I also am disgusted with the pet shop!! The poor little love, what a lot of fright it has already experienced today.
As already suggested, do have a look through our threads that are stickied (or pinned) as they are all information that is important for housing, feeding, accessorizing, taming, and keeping your degus. Every "board" or section with a different title will have stickies at the topmost of the first page. Under those you will see the most recent and active threads.
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Post by bouncy on Jan 15, 2018 20:13:09 GMT
He does look tiny moletteuk. How old are the little dudes? They're adorable! |
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Post by ceelq001 on Jan 16, 2018 10:48:18 GMT
Hey all, thank you soooo much for the replies, only saw them now due to the time difference. I forgot to mention being from South Africa we do not have a lot of experienced exotic pet vets available and the closest one is like almost 2 hours drive from us. I had a look at goggas last night and the one with the degloved tail had a lot to say to me. Barking at me just for looking at them. I haven't had a change to look at their sexes as the petshop also said they do not know the sexes and my fiance just took two as we unfortunately lost ours on Sunday due to unknown causes and with my heart being so sad and hurt he decided to drive to all the petshops far and wide looking for the goos. They are still tiny yes and not sure of the age but I did buy them Chincilla food as per the instruction of the petshop and of much reading that the food is good for them and did compile my spreadsheet with do's and dont's when it comes to their food. |
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Post by bouncy on Jan 16, 2018 10:58:19 GMT
Your degus are likely fertile, so it's very important to take a look asap! You're looking at the cone and anus. Both need to look the same. Either the cone and anus need to be next to each other, or have a gap.
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Post by ceelq001 on Jan 16, 2018 12:03:57 GMT
Luckily I learned how to check with the previous one, will have a look as soon as I can Thank you! |
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Post by bouncy on Jan 22, 2018 9:12:14 GMT
Hey, how's the little one doing? Has he sorted himself out? Did you read the riot act to the store?
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Post by deguconvert on Jan 22, 2018 17:03:12 GMT
Me too, me too!!
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You should certainly complain. 