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Post by zo on Mar 16, 2021 12:52:14 GMT
Hi all does anyone know what this is on my degus face it’s dry and a scab lump she keeps scratching it then it bleeds and getting worse
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Post by savvy on Mar 16, 2021 13:02:54 GMT
I think she needs to be seen by a vet, especially if she keeps scratching it as it's clearly worrying her.
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Post by zo on Mar 16, 2021 13:45:30 GMT
Yes it is do you have any idea what it could be thanks for the reply I was thinking of giving her antibiotics but then I think I don’t know what it is so will have to take her vets
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Post by savvy on Mar 16, 2021 14:05:09 GMT
It's best a vet looks at it, whatever it is, it looks quite worrying, but I'm not a vet so I wouldn't like to speculate as to what it could be.
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Post by moletteuk on Mar 16, 2021 15:57:41 GMT
Could be a wound and/or abscess or something else. Do get a vet to take a look.
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Post by zo on Mar 16, 2021 16:26:51 GMT
I will as I’m not sure what it is and it’s bothering her as she keeps scratching at it the only thing is will my vet know what it is as he is not a specialist degu vet so he doesn’t know about degus saying that I had to take my 8 year old boy in for dental treatment and he had to be sedated and have his front teeth trimmed down his back of his mouth is really bad and is full of lumps he thinks it’s his root in his gums or could be arthritis I’ve just ordered some cc for him and he has antibiotics and painkillers I have to give them him in a syringe 2 times a day which is 4 times it’s so hard to try and give him the syringe I feel so bad for him he has lost loads of weight my poor little goos it’s horrible not having a proper degu vet what knows about them
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Post by bouncy on Mar 16, 2021 20:52:36 GMT
Whereabouts are you in the world?
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Post by zo on Mar 16, 2021 21:04:17 GMT
Uk in Leicester
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Post by deguconvert on Mar 16, 2021 21:20:17 GMT
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Post by moletteuk on Mar 17, 2021 11:50:06 GMT
I'm sorry you are having health problems with your degus at the moment, it can be very stressful and upsetting, especially if you feel your vet isn't an expert. I would say that any half decent vet should be able to deal with the face wound, they won't especially need much degu experience for it. Dental issues are very common in degus, we have an article about it here that should help you with your second degu deguworld.proboards.com/thread/21967/guide-degu-dental-health It is very likely that the teeth are overgrowing into the mouth and also from the roots. If it is quite advanced it is usually best to put the degu on long term pain killer meloxicam, many degus will take the Metacam brand willingly. The CC should help him feel stronger. You may like to try oil seeds, different forage, nuts, dandelion roots to tempt him to eat a bit more. Do make sure he gets plenty of calcium and vitamin d too.
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Post by zo on Mar 17, 2021 15:02:36 GMT
Thanks for your reply I have her booked in the vets at 6:15 today so I will keep you all updated I wonder if it could be her teeth what’s causing the lump on her check but it’s near the ear I’m not sure the other degu is not really doing much at all he is trying to eat but keeps dropping it I gave watered and broke his pellets up for him he don’t like it to sloppy it’s hard to get him to eat I gave him porridge oats he loved them dry but don’t eat them drops them back out and doesn’t like them wet neither I’m waiting for his cc to arrive I wonder if he will eat that he won’t let me syringe him his antibiotics and painkillers now he won’t open his mouth pushes me away and even tried to bite me which is the first time so he is obviously getting sick of me with the syringe I don’t know what to do about him as he is 8 years old and don’t want him to suffer how long does recovery take he went vets on Saturday it’s now Wednesday how do I give him vitamin D and how else do you give degus antibiotics and painkillers without a syringe
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Post by moletteuk on Mar 17, 2021 19:25:40 GMT
How did it go?
It can sometimes take a little while for them to get eating again after dental work, but I would hope he would be eating something for himself by now. The CC should help. You could try veg only baby food, or mixing up a concoction yourself of soft food, any combination of softened pellet, mashed veg, plain peanut butter, crushed nuts and seeds, ground up forage, porridge (oats and water). Have you tried grinding up pellets and oats small for him?
Do have a look through our vet list or consider ringing round other vets if you aren't satisfied with your current one. Local rodent rescue places can sometimes advise on the best choice of vet.
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Post by deguconvert on Mar 17, 2021 22:14:38 GMT
I am wondering how things went for you as well. Looking forward to an update.
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Post by zo on Mar 17, 2021 22:29:03 GMT
Things didn’t go to well they think it’s a tumour I did think that myself she also now has a small ball growth on her foot too the vet gave me some anti flammatory with a syringe to give her for ten days to see if it goes down as might be abscesses if they don’t go down she will have to go under anaesthetic and have it cut off and sent to the lab to see if it’s cancer tumour she didn’t have a clue really she didn’t know what she was doing she was scared to even go near her what kind of vet is that she is so tame as well never bites good as gold bless her I don’t know what else to say or do now I just really hope they do down but I doubt it
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Post by zo on Mar 17, 2021 22:44:07 GMT
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Post by deguconvert on Mar 17, 2021 22:49:52 GMT
I am so sorry! I would be feeling dubious as well, if my vet was terrified to actually hold my animal in order to examine it. Did you look through the list of vets link? Was there no one near you?
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Post by savvy on Mar 17, 2021 22:52:13 GMT
I am so sorry to hear this.
You can switch vets if you are not happy with your current one, and sometimes it is worth travelling further than you normally would to see a vet you can trust.
As long as you let your new vet know you have been seen elsewhere so records of treatment can be transferred.
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Post by savvy on Mar 17, 2021 23:03:21 GMT
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Post by zo on Mar 18, 2021 8:34:48 GMT
Thank you so much savvy that’s much appreciated I wish I knew of them before I went to this one I think I will try them and get a second opinion I will give her the medication for 10 days see if that helps then if no change I will give them a call this forum is so good it’s full of so many nice kind degu lovers that understand thanks everyone for the advice given on here do you know how I can give them vitamin D and also my boy seems loads better today but he is not taking his antibiotics or painkillers out of the syringe he just won’t let me give it him think he has had enough so don’t know how to give him that
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Post by moletteuk on Mar 18, 2021 11:25:30 GMT
Vitamin d supplementation depends what diet they are on. If they mainly eat pellets and hay then it would just be a little top up that might be useful. See this post deguworld.proboards.com/post/195158/thread You could buy a bottle of the baby vitamin d and then get back to us to check that the dosing is the same as last time I looked. ( bouncy what are you using these days?) As is also mentioned in that post, check there is plenty of calcium in your pellets and consider adding some forage and high calcium seeds. Don't worry too much about getting bogged down in any of this for now, you can think about it when you have a bit of headspace free! Good to hear your boy is starting to improve It's worth experimenting putting medications on items of favourite food or things that might disguise the taste. Tiny pieces of sugar and salt free shredded wheat, slices of nuts, pieces of dried veg, Herb Crocks (bought treats), Critical Care, peanut butter etc. If you need to force syringe feed the meds, most people find it easier to restrain the degu by wrapping them in a cloth. Nearly everyone finds it quite difficult. If the new vet thinks that long term pain killers are worthwhile it's definitely worth trying to get honey flavoured Metacam brand as many degus will take this voluntarily with no restraint.
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