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Post by teemu on Oct 11, 2022 23:31:17 GMT
Oh dear. It sounds like he might be suffering from a general decline in health. I hope it's just the ear infection getting him down, instead of an ear infection resulting from a lowered immune system.
I think it's a really good idea to get him looked at again if he doesn't start picking up quickly.
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Post by hpdegus on Oct 11, 2022 23:49:31 GMT
Yeah, fingers crossed over here! He's been prone to ear infections (hence vet giving me extra ear drops), so it wouldn't be out of the ordinary. But we'll see.
Glad you agree!
Edit: he's really messing with his ears again! Could be that he hates the ear drops, but it's been over an hour since I put them in his ears.
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Post by moletteuk on Oct 12, 2022 11:12:06 GMT
Nice to see you HP! I hope the eardrops help. Maybe eardrops continue to feel weird for a degu for longer than a human with the ear holes being more vertical I don't suppose the excess can run out very easily.
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Post by deguconvert on Oct 12, 2022 20:17:28 GMT
OH! I'm so sorry, Hpdegus, I know that will have you feeling very worried! I hope the eardrops will make a significant help and improvement for him, very soon.
Welcome to the Forum Helper team! It is so lovely to have you! It is so good to see you again!
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Post by hpdegus on Oct 12, 2022 23:05:39 GMT
Nice to see you both too! And thanks DC I hope I can be helpful! Maybe? That would make sense, Molette. He did itch them three times in 1 minute when I got home just a bit ago though (10 hours after ear drops). Fingers crossed this is still the answer. Thanks DC! He's definitely got me worried, but here's to hoping. His eyes seem a bit more open today, though his breathing still seems heavier than normal. He fought me hard on the ear drops though, which made me feel a tad better, haha. If he's not showing signs of improvement by Friday morning I'll see if the vet can fit me in earlier. I do have an emergency vet near me, but they've never seen Pickett before (not sure of their degu experience, though they were lovely when Tom needed help passing).
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Post by deguconvert on Oct 13, 2022 0:00:38 GMT
If you were able to listen to his chest, that might tell you if there is any lung involvement in whatever is going on. Though there are other things that can cause the symptoms you are seeing.
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Post by hpdegus on Oct 13, 2022 23:18:46 GMT
I'll get a stethoscope tomorrow, but I'm unsure I'll be able to tell if there's an issue unfortunately. I do have several other degus for healthy controls though, haha.
His breathing still doesn't look great. He's been pretty active last night and tonight (running in his wheel a lot yesterday). He's still scratching quite a bit, but I noticed sometimes he is just scratching his chin/sides. Fingers crossed its just irritation from the ear drops that he flings everywhere or normal scratching.
I worry that even if it is an ear infection, am I doing a good enough job getting the drops into his ear canal? He likes to fight me on that and the guard hairs aren't helping. I know how painful ear infections can be, so just hoping all the other symptoms (including heavier breathing) are due to that. Can't give him meloxicam though, since the ear drops contain a steroid.
My normal vet practice doesn't have an exotic vet in until Tuesday, so I guess we'll see how he goes this weekend. If he worsens I'll just take him into the emergency vet.
Sorry for the rambling, just worried and needed to write some of this down!
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Post by savvy on Oct 13, 2022 23:39:12 GMT
If you need to ramble, then ramble.
We all understand how worrying and frustrating it can be to have a sick pet, we all wish that either we understood degu or they understood hooman, especially so they could tell us where it hurts and we could explain why we're giving them horrible meds.
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Post by hpdegus on Oct 13, 2022 23:44:12 GMT
Thanks Savvy, I appreciate that Wouldn't it be easier if they could talk to us? Though I'm sure the demand for treats would be constant, haha.
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Post by deguconvert on Oct 13, 2022 23:47:48 GMT
This is the place to do that, Hpdegus! I'm glad you did! I hope all goes well. Hang in there, Love.
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Post by hpdegus on Oct 14, 2022 20:53:34 GMT
Thanks DC I did grab a stethoscope, unsurprisingly can't hear any differences between Pickett and Newt. I'm impressed that vets can differentiate between all the noises of a small animal body! Pickett was sleeping in the hay box when I got home from work (early, yay for Friday). I know I shouldn't, but there's a large part of me that wants to try the oral antibiotics I have in my fridge, leftover from Tom's procedure. Hoping this is still just a ear infection and ear drops are sufficient.
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Post by hpdegus on Oct 14, 2022 23:27:56 GMT
Called the emergency vets closest to me just to see if they have an exotic vet on hand this weekend. Unfortunately not. But they're happy to check with individual vets, see if they're comfortable seeing Pickett if I do call in again. I don't think we're at that stage yet, but we'll see. There are also a few more places close by I can try.
He's still not wanting to finish his medicated oats, which isn't the best sign. That was the first thing to tip me off on Monday evening. His weight loss seems to have stabilized, which is good. And while his breathing is heavier than his brothers, it really isn't much heavier than several of the others. Hard to tell if his head is slightly more tilted.
He's happily destroying toys in the play pen and was running a bit in the wheel earlier as well. So if this actually is an ear infection, it isn't to the stage where I called in for oral antibiotics last time (thought I was losing him what with the lethargy and unwillingness to eat).
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Post by deguconvert on Oct 15, 2022 0:13:03 GMT
It's frustrating when it's so hard to read what is going on, and degus never make that easy, do they? You are a wonderful owner of degus, Hpdegus, there is no question of that. If it can be figured out, you will do it.
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Post by hpdegus on Oct 15, 2022 11:52:36 GMT
It really can be! And thank you DC, I really appreciate that.
Brief update, just gave Pickett his ear drops. He had quite a few crusties along the other part of his ear. I really should take pictures through different wound/illness healing so I could compare to previous ear infections.
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Post by hpdegus on Oct 15, 2022 16:18:41 GMT
Update: went to clean Picketts ear and it was draining pus. No idea if this is a ear infection healing thing or if I need to get him to the vet for oral antibiotics asap.
Any advice?
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Post by savvy on Oct 15, 2022 18:02:52 GMT
Vet. It may just be an ear infection, but pus is something I wouldn't ignore.
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Post by deguconvert on Oct 15, 2022 20:18:38 GMT
Have you been to the vet, love? Just wondering how it has gone. If it were a dog I'm sure they would try to flush it . . . I have no idea if the tiny ears of a degu can be flushed. I'm thinking of you and Pickett!
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Post by hpdegus on Oct 15, 2022 20:42:17 GMT
I called the emergency vet to see if they could see me/give advice. I'm waiting on a call back since their vet is currently with a patient. I'll let you all know what they say/if they can get me in!
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Post by savvy on Oct 16, 2022 2:15:24 GMT
Any news?
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Post by hpdegus on Oct 16, 2022 2:38:56 GMT
They've been absolutely swamped today. I'm going to try calling again tomorrow morning.
He's still active and I'm not seeing other changes so I'm hoping he'll be ok until then. I saw a little bit of drainage 6 hours ago, but nothing since then.
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