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Post by hpdegus on Mar 30, 2022 0:02:48 GMT
I kept the ramp out while I was at work today but put it back in as soon as I got home. Hes been up and down between levels normally since. I've seen him eat and drink as well, which is good. I'll get a better idea for how he's moving soon when he gets play time.
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Post by winic1 on Mar 30, 2022 15:09:00 GMT
I had a degu who had had a stroke, and was a bit "tipped", and at first was okay with his new angle, but then it slowly got worse, I don't know if he was having more little strokes, or if it was maybe a brain tumor, and he got more likely to lose his balance and roll over unexpectedly. Confined him to one level, but he still tried to climb up on everything (he didn't slow his activity at all) including his hut and the bars of the cage. So keeping him on level ground just wasn't working, because he wasn't having any of that, he wanted to be UP on something, anything.
So, I gave him his usual things on his one level, but arranged other things so that there were no drops, just gradients and slopes, so that he couldn't fall OFF of something, he'd roll down a series of somethings, so that there was no fall-impact, just tipping and rolling down things.
So, maybe add other things at points where it would be a high fall, like if he went off the top edge of a ramp, to make it smaller drops or just a long rolling?
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Post by hpdegus on Apr 2, 2022 0:40:33 GMT
Sorry your degu had to deal with that, Winic! That's a good idea on working to eliminate falls from a distance, rather than try to confine him to single level! Im working on a rail for the ramp up, the rest doesn't really allow for falls since the upper floors have decent sized sides.
He's lost a little bit of weight over the past few days, though I haven't seen any more signs of seizures. I'm hoping he hasn't had any since, but its hard to tell since I don't work from home. Other than the lost weight (trying to feed him up a bit), I don't see anything concerning. I can see where the stress of it all could still be affecting him. Or he could just be drinking water after play time, not before it.
His pretty low weight does make me worry since it reminds me of Ollie. But the vet examined him not long ago, said teeth, bowels, and heart all look good.
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Post by hpdegus on Apr 8, 2022 0:31:35 GMT
Its been almost 1.5 weeks since Tom had a seizure (?). Since then, I've seen no additional signs of it happening again. Which is good!
However, his weight dropped the day after (mid 170s to mid 160s). I've been trying to feed him up with a slurry of baby oatmeal+critical care, which he LOVES. He'll eat 10+g of it every night. But none of it seems to stick. Hes back to the same exact weight by the next night. I don't know if this is due to an issue gaining weigh in general (was/is diabetic) or perhaps that he gets so full on this that he doesn't want to eat much else? I do see him actively eating his pellets or hay every day, so not sure about this.
Everyone else seems to also have dropped weight (tis the season apparently), so at least I'm hoping that might be contributing to the difficulty in putting weight back on
Good news is that he looks good though. Fur is not fluffed up and he's active. He continues to enjoy his favorite activity (screaming at his brother at 1935 exactly) as well as running around the play area.
So all in all, I'm not freaking out (very much working on the anxious part of me), but I'm unsure if I should be doing something more. .
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Post by moletteuk on Apr 8, 2022 10:35:46 GMT
I think it's really encouraging that you haven't seen any more signs of it happening again, and that he is looking good You make a really good point that the supplementary feed might not be all that supplementary if it is filling him up and reducing the normal food he eats. Or like you say, his body just may have difficulty putting on weight. I wonder if you could tweak the time of day of the supplementary feed, perhaps so that it is just before he naps or sleeps, rather than before when he normally eats the most for himself?
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Post by winic1 on Apr 9, 2022 7:34:05 GMT
what about upping the calorie content and value of the supplemental feeding, by using ground up nuts and/or seeds instead of baby oatmeal? Oatmeal's main nutritional content is just starch. Nuts and seeds would be adding more protein and oils (fats).
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Post by bouncy on Apr 9, 2022 9:21:57 GMT
I mix ground almonds into cc when I need to fatten up any of mine 1:1 ratio works!
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Post by hpdegus on Apr 11, 2022 0:16:22 GMT
Thanks for the suggestions! And sorry for the delay in responding!
I've broken up the feeding into three smaller portions (morning, afternoon, and night). I won't be able to do that during the week, but I'm really hoping he won't need extra feeding for too long.
I've also edited the 'recipe' to be a majority CC + ground sunflower seeds with some baby oatmeal sprinkled in (he won't eat it otherwise apparently). I do more food wise for them than for me, haha.
His weight has gone up since I started this, but it could just be a timing thing. So we'll see how it works out over the next week or so!
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Post by hpdegus on Apr 11, 2022 23:23:38 GMT
I was supposed to have an appt for Tom on Thursday morning. Or so I thought! Got a reminder email from the vet asking me to confirm my appt for Thursday late afternoon. Glad they sent that email or I would have been 6 hours too early!
I did end up rescheduling since I can't make that time work with my schedule, but they did say that if anything urgent came up they should be able to fit him in next day.
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Post by hpdegus on Apr 12, 2022 1:35:07 GMT
Ok, now I'm worried again. I picked Tom up to put him in the cage and felt something a little hard to the right of his cone. He hates being handled (other than a quick pickup) so it was difficult to get a better feel.
It felt maybe tubular? And not hard-hard, but definitely less give than soft tissue. I felt something squishy sort of underneath, which I'm thinking might be testes (similar feel on opposite side). I dont feel anything like this on the other goos, but they all also have more fat on them. But I don't know if this is an infection or normal or a hernia caused by seizing?
Thoughts?
Edit: just got a bit of a better feel (bribed with rice puffs). It sort of reminds me of how the bigger veins near your wrist feel. Tubular, little bit of give, but not too too much.
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Post by deguconvert on Apr 12, 2022 2:01:12 GMT
Hmmm! That is odd alright. I wonder what it is?
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Post by teemu on Apr 12, 2022 9:59:17 GMT
I think those might be the testes. I remember feeling similar things on my boys back when they had theirs. There are also many large veins in the area, and a lot of assorted tissues attached to the testes, so some give and such would be normal.
The area, and the overall description would definitely fit testes at least. If they feel similar on both sides, it's less likely that there's something wrong with them, as opposed to them being noticeable simply because he's skinnier right now. How large did they seem to be? Did it feel like they were right at the surface or deeper?
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Post by teemu on Apr 12, 2022 10:03:39 GMT
I seem to particularly recall feeling these on my boys, since I asked a vet about weird bumps like that, and was flat-out told that it couldn't be the testes, because they are too deep. But there wasn't anything else wrong with them either so I think it must have been them.
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Post by hpdegus on Apr 12, 2022 10:08:57 GMT
Yeah, I would think that's really the only thing in that area that would make sense, Teemu.
So I'm not worried as much about that per se (I do feel the small squishy bumps on other degus) its the tube feeling thing on the right side that has me worried. It could just be normal veins/piping that is more prominent since he lost weight?
I guess the piping down there isn't necessarily symmetrical, so I wouldn't expect to feel the same thing on both sides. I'm having difficulty finding a diagram online though to see if thats the case!
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Post by teemu on Apr 12, 2022 10:51:54 GMT
Does the tubing feel like it's going up into the abdomen, or down? If it's going up, it's likely nothing serious and is probably some sort of a duct. If it's going down, it could be the epididymis, which is essentially a softish mass of tissue attached to the back/lower part of the testes.
I recall that after the castration, Munkki developed a hard lump on the right side of his body that was long and went up from the surgery site to his abdomen. It was determined to be scarification around some type of a deferens duct (these are muscular tubes that go into the testes from the rest of the body). My vet told me that they go quite far up in degus. So it could definitely be something like that.
Provided that this is nothing out of the ordinary, it would definitely make sense that quick loss of weight would make Tom's bits easier to feel out through his belly. It's impossible to say for certain, but the two lumps themselves are almost certainly just his testicles, and it's entirely possible that whatever feels like it's attached to them is supposed to be so, since there are many tubes and tissues that connect there.
Monitor the situation certainly, but it does not sound overly concerning right now, to me. If you start noticing a change in them, then definitely they should be looked at, though.
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Post by bouncy on Apr 12, 2022 13:29:31 GMT
If you're going anyway, I'd definitely get it checked out! Unusual lumps can be nothing much, or something that needs immediate treatment.
This cannot be testes. They are well within, but also larger. It may be there's a blockage or growth.
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Post by hpdegus on Apr 13, 2022 0:35:48 GMT
Just checked him again, he cooperated a bit better today. So I don't think its just a tube/duct actually. Whatever squishy round thing is on the other side (also present in other goos) seems to be swollen. There's an extra protrusion that does feel more tubular right on top of it.
I'll call the vet tomorrow morning. See if they felt anything like this when he was in for surgery. I'm just really worried now that it's a tumor.
I shouldn't do this to myself, but I'm thinking in circles about what it could be. Tumor, maybe a hernia from the seizure? Maybe a bladder infection? I don't know.
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Post by hpdegus on Apr 13, 2022 1:17:46 GMT
Ok. I've taken a minute to breathe and check a few more of the goos. I made sure they were all in a similar position, which wasn't the case yesterday. In a more stretched, stressed pose, whatever the squishy part is, is a lot more solid. So now it almost feels like what is abnormal is the prominent tube thing. I did feel several deeper tubes in a different goo, but not nearly as prominent (that was Pads though, who is my heaviest by far).
I'll call the vet tomorrow still, see if they noticed anything previously. I'll also see if I can get an early appointment, since the one they could get me in for is almost three weeks away.
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Post by savvy on Apr 13, 2022 1:59:34 GMT
What's his poo like? I'm just wondering if he could be a bit backed up.
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Post by hpdegus on Apr 13, 2022 2:03:55 GMT
Maybe slightly smaller than normal? I'll admit I haven't been paying as much attention to that, but I can give him playtime tomorrow without his brother to see what his poo is like.
That is a good point though, since he was on antibiotics for about a month and I've now got him on CC that he isn't used to either.
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