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Post by degunewbie on Mar 27, 2021 21:22:36 GMT
Hi everyone,
Some of you might remember, several weeks ago I was worried about a sneeze or cough (still can't tell what it is) Sarah had a few weeks ago. I booked a vets appointment, but it disappeared in Sarah, so I cancelled it again. I had changed the substrate back to carefresh and it stopped, so I thought I had confirmed the problem. There has been no problem with Sarah since.
So it cleared up I think about 2 weeks (maybe a bit less) before Mary arrived. Mary has now been with me almost 2 weeks, but now she has this cough or sneeze. She has done it for a second a couple of times over the past 2-3 days, but I thought don't be paranoid, it wasn't anything significant. But about 5 minutes ago she had a coughing fit, where she was coughing (or sneezing) repeatedly over about 30 seconds, with a couple of pauses in between, after waking from a nap. And just now she did a few more cough/sneezes.
I have just for the first time brought her face-to-face, not through the bars, with Sarah today, so I'm a bit fed-up right now. It was going well, and now what's happening? She doesn't have any wetness, or have any other signs of being ill. I don't understand what has gone on, and why now? Could it be a cold that she caught from Sarah who was contagious still? There were several weeks from when Sarah started coughing, until she met Mary, so that can't be right? Is it potentially another irritant in the bottom part of the cage, where Mary is now? I really don't want to take her to the vets right now, she has enough going on.
Sigh
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Post by deguconvert on Mar 27, 2021 23:35:35 GMT
Hmmm! Well, I might not hurt to have a look under the cage, or at the area around the cage to see if there is any sign of moisture or mold, or a bit of a breeze, or something that might be contributing. How difficult would it be to relocate the cage . . . up off the floor, or to another location in the room? Just to see if it has anything to do with environmental things.
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Post by moletteuk on Mar 28, 2021 12:49:36 GMT
An infection would need a certain amount of time to incubate, usually a couple of days at least, so I don't think an infection could have been passed at their meeting the same day. I honestly don't know if they would have been close enough within their own cages before that, it seems fairly unlikely but not impossible.
The signs of most concern for an infection are noisy breathing and thicker mucus coming from the nose. Without those and some lethargy the balance of probability is more towards irritation of some kind. Perhaps see if you can get right up close and have a listen to her breathing.
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Post by degunewbie on Mar 28, 2021 13:39:05 GMT
I can't hear anything, but I can't say for certain. There's no other signs I can spot. And unfortunately, no there really isn't any place I can move it. But I might have found a potential culprit: www.amazon.co.uk/Boredom-Breaker-Animal-Flinging-Small/dp/B0072ZXULCThis was in the cage since Sarah had that floor. Sarah only ever used it the first few days she had it and then left it. Mary has been boxing and scratching it though, almost every day recently. Today I noticed loads of dust clumps (proper large clumps, that I could peel off) pulled down to the bottom of the green petals. It could be that it had built a layer of dust while Sarah had it, that I didn't notice and Mary has been by this, playing with it loads. The timeline kind of adds up, since she has been playing with it. But is that enough to cause it? I have taken it out now. I went ahead with their second intro today (15 minutes). It went well again I think, they ignored each other, sniffed each others bums when they were running past each other. Mary followed Sarah briefly once, and vice versa, but I don't think it was aggressive, they weren't running. They had 1 incident when Sarah jumped on the platform and landed on Mary which startled them both, but I think this was an accident, I don't think Sarah realised Mary was standing right there. Again, I think I was the biggest inconvenience. Mary boxed my hand a couple of times, because smart little Mary realised the one potential escape route, so I was trying to distract her from it. She knew what I was doing, so wasn't too happy about it. The other thing I've noticed is Mary is beginning to nibble the bars a lot past few days. I think she is getting really irritated with her smaller space. I know it is just temporary, but I know I need to find something else for her to entertain herself. She has tunnels, a couple wooden toys, a box with hay, platforms to jump a rounda wheel, forage. Not sure what else I can do. I was thinking about propping up the hamster cage by her doors and making a cardboard frame to block off exit points, so she has that extra access point. But is that too risky in terms of her escaping?
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Post by deguconvert on Mar 29, 2021 5:50:14 GMT
Definitely risky! Degus are smart little characters . . . in my early cage, one had figured out how to open the doors and I had to buy clips to keep them from being opened. Cardboard would offer no challenge at all.
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Post by teemu on Mar 29, 2021 8:16:58 GMT
Yeah, degus go right through cardboard very quickly, and they also often LIKE going through it. They're also smart enough to realize that doing so might get them into somewhere they're not supposed to be, which they love. Would it be possible for you to take Mary out of the cage and let her get some exercise and play time in a larger room? I had a situation where I had to break up my degus and one of them was definitely unhappy with a smaller cage, but increasing his free ranging time in the kitchen helped a lot.
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Post by moletteuk on Mar 29, 2021 10:13:31 GMT
Let's hope that's the culprit for the sneezing.
You would need to attach the hamster cage on with something quite securely like wire or bulldog clips.
Keep going with the intros...that's probably your best solution to the space problem!
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Post by degunewbie on Mar 29, 2021 15:54:16 GMT
No way! Opening doors! They are smart...
I am nervous about letting them in other rooms, I dont want them eating stuff of the floor they shouldnt, and I must admit we have plenty of clutter everywhere so I'm sure they could find something inedible to eat. My housemate just had a great idea though. Our corridor is actually really secure, with full visibility and lots of space. I think I'll use that for intros going forward, as well as I can let Mary spend much more time there, safely, with no worries of her making a clever escape.
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Post by degunewbie on Mar 29, 2021 19:41:47 GMT
Day 3, real big success! No problems at all wih each other again. They even went in hidey holes together. Mostly ignoring each other again. Literally so lovely. Spent 40 minutes together. I did it in the corridor, so they loved the space. Really pleased. They are so ready for each other, but I'll still be patient. After that time, Mary was quite happy to get back to her home as well, and hasnt nibbled the bars once. Was great
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Post by deguconvert on Mar 29, 2021 23:27:25 GMT
Such GOOD news!! Well done!!
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