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Post by moletteuk on Feb 9, 2022 19:24:07 GMT
I would investigate other vet options because I would think there is a chance your appointment might get put back again if they have a covid +ve vet with the risk that means other staff may have/get covid.
I would think a child's marker pen would be non toxic, I think that's a good idea if the measuring is not practical.
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Post by hpdegus on Feb 10, 2022 1:46:59 GMT
That's a really good idea Savvy. I've had to do something similar for myself, would make sense to do that for a degu. I'll pick up some non-toxic markers tomorrow--thanks for the suggestion Molette!
I'll call the emergency vet near me (they also do regular things and are one of the practices recommended by my current vet). It's probably a good idea to build a relationship with a closer vet anyway. They were really great when Ollie needed to be put to rest as well.
I'm probably reading too much into this and it may just be his natural weight cycle, but he's gained two grams since I stopped using the cream.
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Post by hpdegus on Feb 11, 2022 1:42:06 GMT
More pictures from yesterday and today. Picked up non toxic markers! So if you see green marks in some of the pictures, that's the reason, not something more serious! photos.app.goo.gl/jiDuTiV6PkvK4fEf8
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Post by bouncy on Feb 11, 2022 10:23:07 GMT
This looks very much like Spidey's tail a year ago, including the mottled skin. It, and most of his other bald patches, are caused by Silly. When there's something that's causing Spidey problems, his worry causes him to overgroom. When he had his chest lump, he killed his tail. His bottom lump left him with a very bald bum, and his prolapse has resulted in a fetching head stripe.
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Post by hpdegus on Feb 11, 2022 12:55:14 GMT
Oh my, Bouncy! At least you can clearly tell when something is wrong?
I just called the vet nearest to me (also doubles as emergency vet). The soonest they could get him in is a week from today. That's only a day sooner than his usual vet. They did say exotics is in house at least through next Wednesday, so if I wanted to, I could bring him in through emergency and they can have exotics consult. Exotics usually only works 8-5 on weekdays though.
Thoughts? Sorry, I have no idea whether I should bring him in immediately or just wait. I'm currently not dealing well with my anxiety, sorry for being a so wishy washy.
Edit: ouch, just saw that the emergency vet fee is $195, no treatment included. I can handle it, but I'd obviously rather not bring him in through emergency unless it seems necessary (vets aren't as familiar with degus, so not sure about level of care either).
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Post by teemu on Feb 11, 2022 16:07:02 GMT
Looking at the pictures from the start and now, there does not seem to be a drastic change. There's a bigger scab at the end, potentially since he's been hassling it, but the area surrounding it and all that looks quite similar to what it was earlier. Is there an abnormal smell or discharge of any kind? If not, I don't think there's a huge amount of worry yet. It looks to me like the exposed end and descaled area surrounding it have just started scabbing over. Rodent tails can develop some really dramatic scabbing since the skin gets irritated and rashy if descaling happens, but it's not dangerous in itself.
I'm rather colorblind when it comes to green (and red), so sadly I'm not sure I can see the marker. Has his tail gotten shorter after you put the marker on?
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Post by hpdegus on Feb 11, 2022 16:58:23 GMT
Thank you for taking a look, Teemu! I think that could also be irritation from the cream I was using (sounds like that's not an uncommon reaction unfortunately). No, no smell or discharge at all. That's good to know, I had no idea! Also, how fast did your rat's tail progress when it became necrotic? I looked back over my pictures and the first time I saw the scab (now accidentally removed) was around January 5th. So it's been a while.
Can the tails re scale? I honestly didn't even know that anything quite like this could happen in the first place.
Ah, I didnt even think of that! I just put a few dots (didn't want to cover up much skin in case something changed). I just added it last night, but there wasn't any change as of this morning.
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Post by teemu on Feb 11, 2022 18:02:34 GMT
I'm not totally sure on whether tails rescale, it likely depends on how much damage has occurred, but generally speaking rash and scabs do go away. The tail might look more mottled than before, depending on whether there's scar tissue, but there should be no actual health problems in the long term (Rats are actually really terrible with their tails, since they drag them all over everything and can be really messy with their droppings too, so tail issues can be more of a concern with them definitely) As for the necrotic tail, the process was a lot more dramatic and drastic than what seems to be going on here. There had been multiple pus-filled boils on the tail before it happened (I was unable to empty some of them before it became really problematic), and the tail actually started to notably blacken from the tip downward in the final days before he chewed off half of it. So it certainly wasn't easy to miss that something drastic was happening! In that sense, what's going on with Tom looks a lot less worrisome, so I would not be overly concerned unless there are clear signs that something awful is happening there. Signs of infection and pus-like discharge, mostly, or if he keeps shortening it.
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Post by hpdegus on Feb 13, 2022 2:06:20 GMT
Interesting, that is really good to know! Fingers crossed it was just an injury that I've aggravated by using that cream. But I'll see what the vet has to say in a week.
Oh wow, I had no idea. Are rat droppings that different from degu droppings? Sorry for all the questions, I'm just intrigued!
Ok, yeah, that definitely sounds much more dramatic than what I'm seeing. I hope I wouldn't miss something quite like that. I'll continue keeping an eye out for any concerning signs, but I'm not seeing anything that drastic. His breathing rate is maybe slightly elevated from his brothers, which is concerning to me, but I dont know if its always been like that and I'm now hyper aware. He's currently humping his brother, so at least he's feeling hyper at the moment!
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Post by teemu on Feb 14, 2022 10:03:42 GMT
It sounds like Tom might be agitated or abnormally active due to some reason? That would explain why he's pruned his tail too. Has there been some change in the cage, or something else like that? It might be a a behavioral thing that's causing this. As for rat droppings, yeah, they can definitely be a lot messier. Rats are omnivorous and quite like humans in many ways, so especially if they eat a lot of animal protein, it can be really messy. Degus deginitely have an advantage over them in that their droppings are neat and tidy little pellets instead of... well, what you'd get if you had very small humans or dogs. They *can* still be solid and mostly nonmessy, and they dry quickly since they're so small, but they won't always be like that. So you can imagine how badly that combines with a heavy, long tail that drags behind them... But in any case, it sounds like you're keeping a very close eye on things. Unless there's some sort of a drastic change or it starts to look infected, or if something is making him keep doing this, it'll probably get sorted out after the scabs heal
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Post by hpdegus on Feb 15, 2022 0:50:16 GMT
Maybe agitated? I wouldn't say he's been more active than normal. He's been a bit fluffy too. Hm. It's been cold here. I keep the house pretty warm, but the weather could be something? I used a different cage cleaner last week, but this has been going on longer than that. I've also been handling his tail more, which could be irritating, haha. We lost his brother Ollie in November, but its been a while since then. Someone new moved in next door in mid December and they've been kinda loud sometimes. They have a dog I hear yipping sometimes. Sorry, thats all the things I would really think of! Ahhh, yeah, I forgot their diet can be much closer to that of humans! Haha, I'm happy that degus just have discrete poops, since they get everywhere! Can definitely see how the heavy tails could contribute to the mess. Fingers crossed! And thank you again Teemu I've been really anxious since Ollie passed and you've been a huge help.
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Post by hpdegus on Feb 19, 2022 18:57:50 GMT
Just got done at the vet's. Tom's heart, lung, and bowels all sound/feel good. She gave me oral and topical antibiotics for his tail, as well as some metacam.
Vet did say that the tail doesn't look great, but it is good that it doesn't really look any worse. She is obviously concerned that it isn't healing. I've scheduled an appt 2 weeks from now just in case we do need to proceed with amputation, but she wants to give it 7 days to see if the antibiotics help.
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Post by deguconvert on Feb 19, 2022 21:45:11 GMT
Overall I would say that is a great report! I hope that with the assistance of the antibiotics and the metacam you will see a dramatic improvement before the week is out! Well done, Hpdegus!!
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Post by hpdegus on Feb 20, 2022 0:18:09 GMT
I was happy! And I really do like this vet, we had a conversation and she really heard my concerns and treated them very seriously. And what with several of my goos being terminally ill recently, I'm glad she took the time to check Tom over thoroughly, not just focus on his tail. Fingers crossed this all helps!
The new (to me) tech was super nice as well. She apparently misread the sheet before entering the room and was expecting tegus! She has chinchillas and gerbils, so that was cool. She also took a ton of time to walk through the meds and check in with Tom, writing down a detailed profile including his torn ear and cataracts.
Both remarked upon how gorgeous Q's coat is! I felt like a proud parent, bragging that his fur is definitely the softest, most luxurious of all my degus!
Sorry for the long post, apparently I have a lot of words now that I have the relief of having seen the vet! I'll keep everyone updated.
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Post by hpdegus on Feb 20, 2022 2:10:54 GMT
Suggestions on hiding antibiotics? They gave me sulfatrim, which Ollie hated. I was able to get the first dose into Tom on oats, and most of the second dose on a crock. But he clearly does not like sulfatrim. At all. I'll try calling on Monday to see if we can switch to Orbax, since I still have that in my fridge. Ollie was absolutely fine with that one.
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Post by hpdegus on Feb 21, 2022 1:28:10 GMT
I'm hoping this is just due to the excitement of going to the vet, but I'm not sure. Tom was down to 176g yesterday evening and was the same tonight. I might offer some critical care, see if he'll take it. Now I'm worried he has teeth issues.
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Post by moletteuk on Feb 21, 2022 14:42:59 GMT
Could be stress from the vet appointment, just keep an eye on it.
I don't imagine I have any fresh ideas for hiding antibiotics, just bits of nuts, dried veg, nut butter, baby food, larger seeds.
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Post by yasmin on Feb 22, 2022 1:24:33 GMT
Flavoured Baytril would probably be better.
Other than putting it into a Crock or on a thawed pea, I've mixed antibiotics with unsweetened baby food (sweet potato seems to mask the flavour), with almond flour mixed with warm water to a paste, and with oatmeal (ground oats with hot water added then cooled). Each degu has his/her own preference.
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Post by hpdegus on Feb 22, 2022 1:38:27 GMT
Weight was the same tonight. I may just be looking for something to go right, but his coat looks a bit better, he doesn't seem as poofy.
He apparently doesn't care for metacam either, which I don't think I've ever had a goo turn away.
Thank you for the suggestions! Ive tried crocks, they're not large enough to hold the meds and still over power the flavor apparently. I just got some sweet potato baby food at the store today Yasmin! He used to steal Ollie's, so thought it would be worth a try. He was not really interested until I mixed it with the baby oatmeal. Then he ate over half of it in one go. I'll try again in a bit.
Update: tried again 20 minutes later and he finished off the meds+sweet potato baby food+baby cereal mix!
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Post by deguconvert on Feb 22, 2022 8:00:30 GMT
SCOOOORE!!! IT'S A WIN!!!
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