|
|
Post by kylveris on Jan 1, 2022 13:57:40 GMT
My friend and I have a very special degu called Bugsy - she is slender, very bendy, has had crossed eyes since we got her, assumed to be mostly blind, and at least has a cataract in her left eye. Despite this, she's lived a very happy life so far and seems unbothered by her health conditions!  This is a picture of her left eye just under a year ago:  You can see the whites of her eyes round the back (towards her ears) which shows just how rotated inwards her eyes are, as well as the little crescent in the dark part of her eye (towards her nose) which we assumed is a cataract. A few days ago, we noticed that her left eye was rotated further inwards (towards her nose), and that the blood vessels in it were more pronounced - likely under strain from the now very extreme over-rotation of her eye. Today, we've noticed there is what seems to be bloody tissue across the surface of her eye? Picture of Bugsy's over-rotated eye (GORE WARNING!)Aside from watching for any signs of infection or trying to find a nearby vet to rush her to, we're not sure what to do. Does anyone have any idea what's going on? Or anything we can do in the meantime whilst searching for a vet? Does anyone have any experience with a degu having their eye removed or any similar sort of surgery? Thank you in advance! |
|
|
|
Post by savvy on Jan 1, 2022 14:28:15 GMT
Welcome to the forum.
Can you please tell us where you are based? We may be able to help you find a degu experienced vet if we know roughly where you are.
Unfortunately I have little experience with degu eye problems, but I do know others on here do and I'm sure they will be able to offer more advice.
|
|
|
|
Post by moletteuk on Jan 1, 2022 16:53:34 GMT
Hi, I would recommend doing all you can to find a vet who could remove the eye asap, although depending on where you are in the world, Tuesday may be the earliest you could even ring to make an appointment. It might be worth seeing an emergency vet to get some painkillers and antibiotic drops to tide her over. I think an injury is very easily done if they don't see well. I suppose there could be some kind of rupture if the muscles have pulled it round too tight. If the issue is just the eyeball itself, I think removal is reasonably straightforward.
|
|
|
|
Post by bouncy on Jan 1, 2022 19:10:35 GMT
I agree the extremely adorable Bugsy needs to see a vet asap. A burst vessel in or around the eye may only affect the eye, or it could indicate something more serious going on within the skull. Continued, significant pressure so close to the brain could cause permanent or fatal damage. As already mentioned, it could just be an eye infection, so no need to panic.
If you have any Metacam to hand, it's worth giving some. As well as being more comfortable for her, it will help reduce inflammation until you can see a vet.
|
|
|
|
Post by deguconvert on Jan 1, 2022 20:26:08 GMT
Hello, Kylveris, and welcome to the forum. She is a LOVELY little goo, and I can tell you both love her dearly.
I think you need to see an emergency vet as soon as you are able. To me it looks like the eyeball has become enlarged, as there seems to be a swelling under the fur all around the eye opening. It looks like there is pressure from inside the eyeball, and I expect that eye will need to be removed.
|
|
|
|
Post by kylveris on Jan 1, 2022 20:34:11 GMT
Hello, Kylveris, and welcome to the forum. She is a LOVELY little goo, and I can tell you both love her dearly. I think you need to see an emergency vet as soon as you are able. To me it looks like the eyeball has become enlarged, as there seems to be a swelling under the fur all around the eye opening. It looks like there is pressure from inside the eyeball, and I expect that eye will need to be removed. Thank you for your advice! We both thought that she needed a vet asap but my friend's dad (who would be giving us a lift to the vet) thinks it better to wait a few days and see what happens. I don't think her eye is swollen, at least - her eyes have always 'bugged-out' of her face a fair bit (hence her name Bugsy!). |
|
|
|
Post by kylveris on Jan 1, 2022 20:48:28 GMT
Thank you so much to everyone that commented with their advice! My friend and I both really appreciate getting such quick responses (we tried searching to information ourselves online but either found webpages about dogs with crossed eyes, or papers about mouse-models for human eye conditions). We suspected her eye should be taken very seriously, but it's good to get assurance that we were thinking right (': We're in Belgium but already know of a vet that specialises in rodents, the main issue is to convince my friend's dad to drive Bugsy to the vets. Hopefully the responses from all of you will help. We also have a friend who has some Metacam that we can give her in the meantime to help with any inflammation she might be having, so thank you bouncy for the suggestion! We've checked on her eye too and it's not seeming any worse than it was when we made the post, so hopefully it stays that way until we can get her to a vet. |
|
|
|
Post by bouncy on Jan 1, 2022 21:14:36 GMT
That's good news! Tell your friend's dad Bugsy has a brain with the same structure as a human, so he can't possibly refuse your child treatment  Check whether you have access to dog or cat Metacam. You will also need a 1ml syringe, rather than the one provided. You can give 0.1ml of dog strength orally every 24hrs. If it's cat strength, you can give 0.3ml. |
|
|
|
Post by kylveris on Jan 3, 2022 11:10:31 GMT
Okay update with good news! Took her to the vets today, the vet was really good and Bugsy behaved well too (aside from yelling and wriggling)! The vet could also immediately tell that she was having too many pellets and not enough hay from how her teeth were growing, which was cool.
The issue with her eyes (content warning for weird body stuff, surgery mention, etc. kinda thing):
She has a condition the vet has only ever seen in guinea pigs before where the eyelid tissue grows over the eyes (so she's not actually cross-eyed! That's just the extra eyelid tissue). She's had a scratch done to her eye which has gotten infected, and that's also caused the extra tissue to grow further over her eye.
(End content warning)
Her treatment is a cream to take care of the infection and some painkiller, and we'll be taking her back to the vet to check up on her progress in 10 days!
|
|
|
|
Post by savvy on Jan 3, 2022 11:58:49 GMT
Excellent news! How does she like the medication?
|
|
|
|
Post by bouncy on Jan 3, 2022 12:57:25 GMT
That's brilliant! I'm so glad Bugsy is going to be alright  |
|
|
|
Post by moletteuk on Jan 3, 2022 18:25:18 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by deguconvert on Jan 3, 2022 21:06:24 GMT
AWESOME NEWS! I'm so glad for you and for Bugsy!
|
|
|
|
Post by olliethehorse on Jan 7, 2022 18:55:14 GMT
Hi everyone, I am Bugsy's other owner! I am pleased to report her eye is already looking better after a few days of medication. She'll go back to the vets on the 13th to see if she'll need surgery or not. I'll keep you all updated! I have just had a look at the guide and I can see loads I want to get them already! I am glad there's so much information on this forum, hopefully the degus will be even happier now (plus they are moving into what we have termed "the Degu Skyscraper" tank/terrarium, so that'll be a big bonus as well for height exploration!) |
|
|
|
Post by savvy on Jan 7, 2022 19:29:49 GMT
Welcome to the forum! I'm glad to hear Bugsy is doing better.
You will find they'll love the variety the new diet will give them. Please be advised though that if you're moving them to anything with glass or plexiglass panels that there is plenty of ventilation, tanks and terrariums can not only get very hot, but also very damp, neither of which is good for degus.
|
|
|
|
Post by olliethehorse on Feb 9, 2022 12:19:43 GMT
Hello everyone, apologies for my long absence.
Unfortunately Bugsy's eye continued to get worse after the initial improvement and she had surgery to remove it. She didn't make it through the night after her surgery. I'm absolutely heartbroken but I've consoled myself with the fact I did my best to get her through it 😓
My two remaining degus moved into their tall glass cage after I checked the ventilation and they are absolutely loving it. I've also changed their diet up loads and it's way more natural now, and they're also so much happier for it! I went wild and spent about 100€ on my first forage order (I also have 6 chinchillas so it was for them also) and now need to do another just a month later 😂 thank you all for the advice - I've been reading the guides and improving everything I can for Artemis and Moose.
|
|
|
|
Post by olliethehorse on Feb 9, 2022 12:21:05 GMT
I should also add they live in a room with strong Air Conditioning for when the weather warms up (it's for the chins but benefits them also!) and I've been clearing the pee patches out every 2 days to prevent the terrarium from getting damp
|
|
|
|
Post by deguconvert on Feb 9, 2022 17:33:35 GMT
I am so sorry for your loss, Olliethehorse! It's heartbreaking that she is now gone. I am truly sorry. You did do your best for her, all her life, and she had the blessing of an owner that loved her very much!
I'm so glad to hear of all the new things you have been doing, putting into practice the new dietary things you have been learning, and seeing all your fur babies be stronger, healthier, and happier for it! That is wonderful news!!
Is the new glass cage ALL glass?
|
|
|
|
Post by moletteuk on Feb 9, 2022 19:25:56 GMT
I'm really sorry for your loss. RIP Bugsy x
|
|
|
|
Post by olliethehorse on Feb 10, 2022 17:43:58 GMT
Thank you both for the kind words. She is definitely missed by us all.
The new cage is mainly glass - but there is ventilation points all around and at the top. I was very careful to ensure that the airflow was adequate. We've had them in wire cages before and no matter how much entertainment we provided, they would sit and chew the bars until their noses were basically raw, so this was the best course of action for them (I wouldn't normally use a glass cage for degus!). Hope that makes sense - I really was careful about the ventilation etc. This change along with the diet changes seems to have made the world of difference to them, so I think it's turned out well ☺️
|
|
