|
Post by michaela on Mar 16, 2006 16:46:18 GMT
Hi All! I'm at a real loss with my Gu, Nelson, and I was wondering if anyone can help me out . He's lost about half of his fur - he looks like a little man who's lost his trousers but kept his socks and shirt on. He hasn't lost the fur off his belly though and he's eating well, and behaving completely normally. I haven't even noticed him scratching much. I have treated him for mites and fungal infections with something the man who runs our local pet shop gave me (he tends to know a lot more about my little furries than my vet who I no longer trust to treat anything smaller than a cat) but I dont think its anything like that. He lives with my chinchilla, Tatty, and she hasn't been affected by it at all. I know its not her pulling his fur out as they've been living together for a long while now and they are the bezt of friends. They sit curled up all day and look like one animal so my dad has nicknamed the a "Chi-gu" ;D. Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone had any ideas as I dont like to think of him getting cold! I've got some pictures which I shall try to post when I get them onto my computer. Thankyou!
|
|
|
Post by ra on Mar 16, 2006 19:05:06 GMT
I have no idea! Good thing Tatty allows him to snuggle up. She should keep him from getting too cold.
Wonder if it's a vitamin deficiency? Boy we need a resident small animal/exotic pet vet on here. Anyone have a good relationship with one? One of the horse boards I visit has a resident equine vet who tries to answer questions, obviously telling people she can't diagnos situations over the internet but offering help and suggests you call your vet when it's indicated.
|
|
|
Post by Aimeelou on Mar 17, 2006 8:12:43 GMT
Try and get some pics on so we can see what you mean, but to be on the safe side i would recomend taking him to the vet.
|
|
|
Post by michaela on Mar 17, 2006 13:24:13 GMT
Hey! Thanks for your comments! I will try to get the pictures up tomorrow when I get home to my pc. Nelson hasn't lost any more hair since I used the treatments (althought it fell out really fast at first) and the petshop man said it would take 3 weeks to grow back. I'm just really untrusting of the vet - I've been keeping degus for quite a while now and the others have all been vet victims I take them to the vet for something, the vet gives them an antibiotic injection and they deteriorate and die withing days. I'm beginning to think its the shock of the injection or something as its happened 3 times now. Couldn't bear to loose Nelson as he's such a tame little thing.
|
|
Hanlou
Burrowing Degu
Basil
Posts: 284
|
Post by Hanlou on Mar 17, 2006 22:58:59 GMT
Hi there. It's also worth checking that the treatment you used contained ivermectin. Ivermectin is the only thing that is effective against mites/lice that you can buy over-the-counter. Most shop bought treatments don't work, they will simply not get rid of the mites/lice, though they may kill some. The only treatment I've seen that contains ivermectin is the Beaphar treatment which I've only seen for sale at Pets At Home.
I would mention though, that ivermectin needs care when giving to animals (usually via drops on the back of the neck, three treatments, each 1 week apart - all three treatments are needed). Ivermectin can have nasty side-effects and can even cause paralysis or death if not dosed accurately, which is why it may be safest to go to the vet and have them dose your degu with it.
Just thought I'd mention this. Hope he gets his fur back soon, poor little thing xx
|
|
|
Post by michaela on Mar 18, 2006 19:49:38 GMT
Hey! Thanks for all the advice! My lovely boyfriend has up loaded my piccy now The medicine I've been using is made by Bephar and contains Ivermectin, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. He hasn't lost any more fun since the picture was taken nearly a week ago, so I'm taking that as a good sign. Thanks again!
|
|
|
Post by divegirl on Mar 18, 2006 22:34:12 GMT
Awww...poor Nelson... In my humble opinion....I'd say on the good side, it doesn't look like an infestation[the pic looks quite bright, but doesn't seem to show any redness] ,there doesn't seem to be any sign of irritation. I am going to see some friends tomorrow who know far more than I do about these things and shall ask their advice. I'll let you know if I find anything out.
|
|
Hanlou
Burrowing Degu
Basil
Posts: 284
|
Post by Hanlou on Mar 19, 2006 18:33:04 GMT
Hi again. Wow, poor little guy! It doesn't look scabby as you'd expect with normal mites..... I guess it could be mange mites?! I don't know to be honest.
I think that with mange mites, they burrow so you sometimes need to inject the ivermectin for it to be totally effective, but that is really just a stab in the dark, in all honesty.
Hope you find an answer. A vet would be able to do skin scrapings and confirm as to whether it's an infestation problem or something else. Poor little thing, glad it's not getting any worse though.
|
|
|
Post by flibble on Mar 19, 2006 18:56:21 GMT
Hey,
Not sure how helpful this is in relation to degu's but I had a g.pig that lost patches of fur due to a hormone imbalance. Maybe it's the same thing? just a thought.
Naomi x
|
|
|
Post by rhydowenrodentrefuge on Mar 21, 2006 15:21:03 GMT
Hi Michaela, I have a degu that has lost a patch of fur and has flakey skin so I think it may be a fungal infection. She doesn't scratch a lot and there are no signs of mites. My vet knows nothing of degus and I am on the look out for another more knowledgable vet. So I was wondering what the fungal treatment you used was? Hope your little man gets better soon Clare
|
|
annelise
Newborn Degu
Resident Veterinarian
Posts: 16
|
Post by annelise on Mar 30, 2006 10:27:35 GMT
It is hard to tell with only one picture but at first sight it doesn't look like any kind of parasital infestation: neither lice nor fleas nor mange nor mites would make it look like that, and the most frequent fungal infection in degus is ringworm, wich doesn't look like that either. I see at first two possibilities: either he himself is pulling his hair out by boredom (in that case if you tug on the hair just next to the bald spot it will not come out easily, and you might see hairs wich are cut near their base) or, as someone suggested, a hormone imbalance, in which case you should really go see a vet (and if you tug on the hair just next to the bald spot it will come out very easily).
|
|
|
Post by michaela on Apr 9, 2006 16:25:00 GMT
Hi! Thankyou all so much for all your suggestions and advice! I still have no idea what it was but Nelson's fur has nearly all grown back now i used Beaphar anti parasite spot on nad it has Ivermectin in as suggested. He doesn't like it but it seems to have done the trick! The fur isn't full length yet so feels like he's been upholstered in fine velvet but at least he isn't bald anymore! I shall try to post a new piccy up when he's all better. Thanks again! Mx
|
|
Hanlou
Burrowing Degu
Basil
Posts: 284
|
Post by Hanlou on Apr 12, 2006 11:44:07 GMT
Aw Michaela, am so pleased to hear that. Bless him! Look forward to seeing pics of him with his new fur.
|
|