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Post by hpdegus on Apr 8, 2023 21:06:55 GMT
Yep, I was really happy with this vet. Very glad that my preferred practice now has three exotics vets, all of which are good options! Now they just need to move closer haha. And yes, I wonder how long he's had it since his gait has been a bit funky for a long time.
Ah, maybe not? I almost asked if she could check the other Marauders, but they were pretty scared so didn't think it was worth the stress. I'm glad you were able to figure out Molly's issue! I'll definitely be keeping an eye out on him (and everyone else) for pain responses.
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Post by hpdegus on Apr 29, 2023 0:08:20 GMT
I know it's weird, I've said it before without concrete evidence, but Tom loses weight while on metacam. Or at least that's what I'm betting on right now.
I started giving metacam after the vet visit (April 7th) and that continued until two days ago (the 26th). He held weight for a bit, but he's start to lose more weight. Slowly at first, then a bit more rapidly the past week.
The metacam should be out of his system sometime tonight (if it takes 48 hours). Hoping he starts gaining weight again or I'm not sure what to do. The other thought is that it could be the prolonged critical care (he has cataracts, but no signs of glucose/ketones on urinalysis 2 weeks ago).
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Post by moletteuk on Apr 29, 2023 22:26:03 GMT
I think it's perfectly possible that his gut is sensitive to the metacam and it builds up to cause stomach pain, or even affect digestion, it certainly happens in humans anyway with NSAIs. It has cropped up on the forum before, but I could be just remembering you mentioning this quite some time ago?
I would go ahead with the metacam hunch before trying eliminating the CC instead. Fingers crossed it works.
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Post by hpdegus on Apr 29, 2023 22:29:21 GMT
Ah, I forgot that NSAIDs can do that! Thats a really good point. It may have been me? I've know I've brought it up previously for Tom specifically.
Yeah, I don't want to stop CC prematurely, especially if the metacam was doing funky things to his stomach. And he was on CC for much longer without any weight loss.
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Post by hpdegus on Apr 30, 2023 23:43:25 GMT
4th day not giving metacam, no weight loss (+1g actually)! I know it's not much, but he doesn't have much weight to lose. And he had been losing 2g every day for the past 5 days.
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Post by hpdegus on May 2, 2023 0:08:32 GMT
Gained 3g more today
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Post by moletteuk on May 2, 2023 17:57:21 GMT
Fantastic!
It's quite a fast turnaround, really makes you think it is the metacam.
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Post by hpdegus on May 3, 2023 0:21:54 GMT
I really do think it's the metacam. I need to listen to my gut more often!
He's back down a gram, but ate a ton of CC! And honestly the error in my scale alone is probably a gram, not counting that he could have peed or what not. Still absolutely taking this as a win.
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Post by hpdegus on May 30, 2023 0:44:37 GMT
Well, it may have been the metacam. But now I think he's either having teeth issues or age-related decline.
His weight started dropping slightly about a week ago. He's been holding steadyish withing 136-140g since, which is obviously pretty low. He eats 5-10g of CC each night, which he seems to enjoy! Per the vet, I did try to start him on gabapentin as well, thinking maybe the spondylosis is bothering him more. Concurrently, his right eye was squinty and had some white liquid. I've also been noticing that the hay pile isn't nearly as disturbed as it would normally be. He's currently eating dried forage, but definitely lots of teeth grinding noise (while eating CC as well).
The vet did use an otoscope to look at his molars on 4/7, but that seems like a long time ago in goo-teeth-time. I'll call tomorrow to see if they can squeeze him in when I go in for Mooneys appt. I'm really really hoping this is something fixable. His fur is more puffy than I'd like, but he's active and really happy.
Edit: it could be a myriad of other factors. I changed bags of hay, it feels more firm than normal? I opened a new, new bag just in case. It could be allergies, it's been much windier than normal and I've had the windows open.
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Post by moletteuk on May 30, 2023 22:13:33 GMT
Again, difficult to figure out. Did the vet agree to squeeze him in?
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Post by hpdegus on May 30, 2023 22:52:49 GMT
Unfortunately, I'll have to take him in separately on Friday. Apparently, they classify dental work as surgical, so that limits appointment times. So that's not ideal. But really hoping this is something fixable!
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Post by hpdegus on Jun 2, 2023 21:16:28 GMT
Poor Tom had a fairly pointy tooth! They ground it down and gave me antibiotics for the next two weeks.
I hope he's able to start putting weight back on now.
He apparently struggled a bit waking up, they said he was pretty cold afterwards. They monitored a lot longer than normal because of that (goos spent 5.5 hours with the vets...)
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Post by hpdegus on Jun 4, 2023 0:21:17 GMT
He's still pretty sore from the dental work I think. He's eaten a bit of sweet potato baby food and CC, so thats a win. Weight is definitely down, but I've seen him pee and poop.
He's actually walking a bit different. Before yesterday he had been walking with his hind end really high in the air. It's quite a bit lower now, though his footfalls are still fairly heavy. Could be the gabapentin kicking in? Or something from the sedation/dental work? His fur does seem to be flatter, which is good.
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Post by moletteuk on Jun 4, 2023 8:58:14 GMT
Could be the gabapentin.
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Post by hpdegus on Jun 5, 2023 0:14:13 GMT
Still doesn't seem to eating much. Weight is down 1g from yesterday (which I realize isn't significant), so 6g from before the dental on Friday. I'm really hoping this is just soreness?
How long do degus usually take to bounce from dental work? He's wandering around during playtime and has sort of jogged on the wheel a bit. He did have a mostly lazy day today.
Edit: offered some oats and rice puffs after writing this (I know they aren't nutritious, but I need to make sure his gut keeps moving at least). He's a very happy camper!
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Post by moletteuk on Jun 5, 2023 8:50:40 GMT
It can take a few days. Definitely just give him anything he wants to eat.
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Post by hpdegus on Jun 6, 2023 23:57:42 GMT
Well, Tom lost 2g today. Again, I know that could literally just be my scale/him peeing, but it does worry me.
He's acting pretty normal, running around the play area at the moment. Maybe the antibiotics or the gabapentin are causing stomach issues? I know antibiotics absolutely can mess with you.
Edit: started eating sweet potato baby food, then oats, about 20 minutes after pain meds. Clearly some pain remaining.
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Post by deguconvert on Jun 24, 2023 1:00:48 GMT
I'm glad you've been able to see such clear evidence of pain. That's very helpful to you and to him. It's good that he started to eat once the pain relief kicked in!!
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Post by hpdegus on Jun 24, 2023 14:44:37 GMT
So I actually think it may have been distraction! If I gave him meds in the cage, he'd eat immediately! I think he needed 29 minutes to settle into play time.
He's been off the antibiotics for a week now and his weight isn't improving at all. I dont know if I should keep supplementing with CC or not. I worry that if he eats too much CC, it's a lot of sugar and he won't eat enough harder food (leading to teeth issues).
Maybe I'll offer him smaller amounts of CC? Or look into the one without added sugar?
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Post by moletteuk on Jun 24, 2023 18:07:37 GMT
Savvy recently pointed out that Supreme Recovery and Recovery Plus (has added probiotics I think) don't have added sugar, so you could try either of those if you can get them.
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