Nerys Going to the Vet

[carissa]

Nerys is my eldest degu. At least 2 years old, could be older. Got up. She was in the corner on her side. Tapped the glass, nothing. Tapped again nothing. Lifted the lid, head lifted. Picked her up and put her on top of the cage. Moving like drunk. Tried to syringe feed her wet pellets. She took a bit. Very very skinny though.

Found a vet who knows about them.

We took her there. She apparently has a 50/50 chance. They have her in an incubator and are giving her fluids and antibiotics by injection.

[carissa]

Update at 16:11 PDT. Vet called and she didn't make it. They suspect liver or pancreas failure. Was undigested food in her intestines.

Checked the other two to make sure they weren't getting dehydrated. Added a second water bottle, which they immediately fought over.

And know I feel like I should give up on pets ... all I do is kill them...

[ra]

OH Carissa no.... You didn't kill Nery's. How could you know she was in failure like that? Years ago my 7yo Old English Sheepdog went into kidney failure. I didn't know... he started getting snappish and was never ever like that before. Took him to the vets - was too far gone and had to be euthenized. I felt awful. I've always been a fanatic when it comes to my pets and their health.

I do worry about my Degus. There's so many things that could go wrong. They go down hill so quickly. By the time we see symptoms it's almost too late.

I'm guessing you've never let your Degus go without water so how would you know Nerys in particular was not getting enough water.

I'm so sorry for your loss. Hang in there.

[carissa]

Well I had been planning on getting a new degu all this week as a cagemate for the other 2 girls. She came yesterday, 5 months old. She seems so scared in the new cage, not moving much. The other two degus are trying to engage her though. How many days should I give her to get used to the new home before I start getting worried?

Not sure if she's been eating or drinking as I haven't been able to watch her all the time.

[carissa]

I've had this new baby degu for 3 days now. For the first two days she wasn't moving much and just sitting in a section of her cage. Today I noticed she was playing around with Tweety (my other girl). I went over to see which was which there and then noticed blood on a degu foot. Sure enough it's the new baby degu. So after spending a few minutes chasing her around the cage with a washcloth, I finally pick her up, take her over to the bathroom and get her foot washed off. There I notice that one of her claws was basically ripped out by the base. Had to call the Emergency Animal Clinic for assistance. They told me to put on coarse ground black pepper or corn starch on it. By the time I got the black pepper on her foot it appeared to have stopped bleeding on its own. I put her in my backup tank (no metal in it at all, except the wheel) and put some food and water in there with her. Then I had to clean the blood off the wire floor (it's an aquarium with a metal cage topper -- so they can go elsewhere to get off metal if it hurts their feet).

*Sigh* So just as soon as I get that baby socializing with the others, I have to separate her. This is so back asswards.

[Sunshinemeg]

how long did you have the baby seperated before the introduction? it sounds to me like an injury through getting aquainted. They will need time together but seperated by wire, so they can smell each other but not touch each other. this will give them time to become familiar and happy with each other without fear of further injury.

[carissa]

I'm not sure it was an introduction issue. I saw Tweety and baby grooming each other today gently. And they had been degu piling on each other. It looks more like the nail got caught somewhere and she pulled it free and at the same time removed the nail from the nail bed.

Cuddles, the male degu, also quite liked her.

With the scents into the dust bath, do you have any recommendations on what to put in the dust bath and how much? Thanks