sioa
Warbling Degu
Posts: 47
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Post by sioa on Oct 19, 2021 16:27:40 GMT
Hello,
We have our degu now for several months.
Yestersay we noticed that toffee has a limp leg. She doesnt use it when she is walking. She only use the other three legs.
She doesnt Show any pain, is walking normal ( on the three legs), is eating and drinking normal.
Today we had an appointment at the vet. She said, that the leg ( or the hip) could been broken or the hip could be luxated. She wasnt Sure.
Toffee Was moving all the time, because of that she said we wont make an x Ray.
She also said, When it realy would ne broken or luxated, she wouldnt do anything, aslong as toffee behaviour is normal.
Should be there an infection because toffee is sliding the leg, ehe should Think about an Amputation of the leg °_°
Is that realy how this is bern threated?
Sorry for my english, i am from Germany
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Post by teemu on Oct 19, 2021 16:40:31 GMT
Hello, no worries about the English.
The vet's comments sound strange. Do you know if this vet has experience with degus or other rodents, or if she is just a general vet? A broken or luxated (dislocated, for those who are not familiar with the term) hip does not sound like something that should just be left alone. The comment about being unable to take an X-ray because she was moving also sounds like she did not have experience with small rodents. She should be sedated and inspected more carefully.
About Toffee, does she express pain about the leg if it is touched? Is it limp, or is she holding it up so that it does not touch the ground at all? Can you hold her and carefully feel out the leg, and if you do, does it seem to cause her pain? Have you seen her using the leg at all, even just touching the ground with it, or is it completely limp?
My first thought is that you should get a second opinion from another vet, hopefully one that is specialized in small animals like this, because the vet you visited sounds like someone who just wanted to get Toffee out of her hands as quickly as possible...
My second thought is that before you can find another doctor, try to carefully inspect her to as well as you can (but without forcing her) to see the state of the leg. Specifically, it's important to know whether she is actually holding it off the ground or if it is totally limp, and if there is pain when it is (carefully!) handled.
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sioa
Warbling Degu
Posts: 47
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Post by sioa on Oct 19, 2021 16:54:26 GMT
Thanks for your answer.
So.. Toffee can move her leg, When. She is sitting she sometimes hold it up, but its some Kind of rotated. When she is walking the leg is sliding.
Yesterday i examined it by myself. I Was able to Touch it. I didnt think it was painful for her.
I dont know if the vet Was a generell vet
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Post by teemu on Oct 19, 2021 17:04:11 GMT
Okay, if you can touch it without her expressing pain or trying to get her foot away from you as quickly as possible, I don't think it's likely that there is a bad break. It's hard to say for sure, but those hurt a lot, and a degu would not want to put up with it. And if she can move her leg at all, then her hip is at least connected.
When you say that her leg is rotated, do you mean that she is holding it weirdly, or that it seems like it's twisted in a way that it should not bend normally? Or do you mean that it's dragging behind her when she moves around? Would it be possible for you to get a picture of it?
Is she able to get around her cage normally? For immediate concern, making sure she can eat and drink and won't fall is important. Getting her to a vet who's willing/able to do an actual inspection is also important.
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sioa
Warbling Degu
Posts: 47
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Post by sioa on Oct 19, 2021 17:20:30 GMT
She Switches between all of the layers of the cages and i take out the Wheel.
When she is sliding it it seems to be behind her.
When she is sitting she open her legs. I dont know how to describe it. Now she is hiding, since we are back from the vet. When she ia showing again i try to take a pic.
And tommorrow i will Phone Another vet... For small animals
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Post by moletteuk on Oct 19, 2021 18:16:41 GMT
I think the minimum information that you want from the vet is whether the leg is dislocated or broken or just strained. A dislocation would need putting back into place promptly, it shouldn't be left. A break may heal on it's own or may not, but you would need vet guidance. So I agree that you need a second opinion from a small animal vet. I will say that when they strain a leg, when sitting they do sometimes hold the leg in flopped outwards position that can make it look like something isn't in the right place, when really everything is in the right place, from memory it looks like the leg is rotated out at the hip. We are very happy to have you on this forum, but if you are in Germany I'm just wondering if you might find a vet recommendation on www.deguhilfe-sued.de/forum/index.php?sid=c279b816e0344e203467515d6a45c78b
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sioa
Warbling Degu
Posts: 47
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Post by sioa on Oct 20, 2021 13:27:09 GMT
So, tommorrow i can go to an open consulation hour at a vet, specialized on small animals and rodents.
As i told my experience from Yesterday on Phone, she was a little shocked.
Thanks that you told me to See Another vet đ
One question... How Do i give toffee the medicine. Out of the syringe she dont eat it, When i put it on a sunflower seed she dont eat it đ
i just put it on a pea flake and for All of the 0,3ml it took me nearly have an hour đ
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Post by teemu on Oct 20, 2021 15:04:05 GMT
That sounds good, hopefully this vet will have a better idea about things.
As for medicine, I'm afraid that it's often not very easy to do. Do you have Critical Care or a similar product available? Sometimes degus like it and will eat the medicine mixed in with CC (though some degus don't really like CC). If hiding the medicine in a treat doesn't work, often the only real choice is to push it into the mouth with a syringe, but it's not easy to do.
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Post by deguconvert on Oct 20, 2021 21:56:35 GMT
There is a juice . . . possibly black currant in flavour . . . that I have heard some members mention mixing a small amount of it with the medicine, which seems to make it more palatable for the degu. I think it is Ribena Black Currant?
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sioa
Warbling Degu
Posts: 47
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Post by sioa on Oct 21, 2021 17:32:43 GMT
So.. Toffee is tonight at the vet, with her sister, so that she can have a xray tommorrow.
The vet said that toffee has a broken thigh. As she could feel, there are bone splinters. She said, When the bone ends are good, we can tape it and it will growth back together but she wont believe that.
The most probably result will be that the bone cant growth together an we May have to amputate the leg đđâšī¸
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Post by deguconvert on Oct 21, 2021 18:22:27 GMT
OH MY GOODNESS!! I am SO glad, as I expect you are, that you went for a second opinion!! I'm so sorry for the fears and worries you must have right now. I hope and pray that all will go very well for Toffee!
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sioa
Warbling Degu
Posts: 47
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Post by sioa on Oct 21, 2021 18:30:29 GMT
Thanks a lot. I hope that All will be good and that When we really have to amputate the leg, that she will get used to it very fast.
I mean, she is Only 9 months old
And i am very glad that you all told me to get a second opinion
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Post by moletteuk on Oct 21, 2021 18:43:54 GMT
I'm glad you took her to another vet! Actual breaks aren't all that common, but we have had reports of breaks mending OK, so fingers crossed this happens for your girl. It's good that you have a vet that can do the amputation if it doesn't heal by itself.
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Post by teemu on Oct 21, 2021 18:47:01 GMT
Dang, that is not great news, but it's good that the second vet was on top of things! I hope the break will heal, but I can understand why the vet doesn't believe it will. You can't really operate on a degu's leg and you can't get her to just rest for months...
It's not optimal, but at least it's something she can survive without. Even dogs and cats can do pretty will three-legged, and I know some cases where a rat has gotten a leg amputated and has been fine without it. A small rodent like this is light enough that they can move well with just three.
Is there any estimate how long the vet will want to monitor Toffee before deciding whether to amputate or not?
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sioa
Warbling Degu
Posts: 47
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Post by sioa on Oct 21, 2021 18:55:38 GMT
She will call me Tommorrow and than we will talk about it. I will keep you up to date
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Post by teemu on Oct 21, 2021 19:41:43 GMT
Alright, hopefully things will be sorted. Hang in there, I know that things like this are always nasty to deal with, but it will be solved one way or the other! Wishing you well!
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sioa
Warbling Degu
Posts: 47
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Post by sioa on Oct 21, 2021 19:47:41 GMT
Thanks I just hope that toffee, wether we have to amputate it or Not, will get good and that she can have a good life
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Post by teemu on Oct 21, 2021 23:52:28 GMT
I'm sure that after this thing gets sorted, she will have a good life. Like I said, even if amputation is needed, it's not the end of the world for small animals such as this. The operation can be stressful, of course, and she will need a lot of care in recovery, but animals are incredibly adaptive about things like this. She might need her cage arranged in a way that helps her get around and such, but with care and love, she can have a full life.
Have you thought about what might have caused this to happen? Is it possible that she might have fallen from somewhere in a bad way, or injured herself in her wheel or something else? Not that it changes anything now, but it would be good to figure out whether it was a freak accident or caused by something in her cage, so you can make sure it won't happen again.
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sioa
Warbling Degu
Posts: 47
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Post by sioa on Oct 22, 2021 12:47:57 GMT
So.. The bones are laying next to each other, so that it wont growth together probably.
On monday is the appointment đâšī¸
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Post by teemu on Oct 22, 2021 14:22:52 GMT
Will they be doing the amputation then? It does sound like it's the only way forward, sadly. Hopefully the operation goes well. The vet will no doubt give you care instructions and all, but the main things after an operation will be to keep her environment clean (so that the healing wound site will not get bacteria in it), to watch the wound site for signs of infection or other issues, and to see that they won't start worrying at the wound. As well as giving painkillers and other medications to begin with. I know this all must feel very stressful right now, but I actually found a case study done on a degu whose leg had to be amputated (at a much younger age even), and I think it's rather encouraging: www.degutopia.co.uk/casestudyhopper.pdfThe wound healed quickly and the degu learned to cope with the amputated foot very well. So I think that as long as you can help her get over the recovery, things will genuinely turn out well for her. Have courage and strength!
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