My degu Bubi is in serious need of help

[nikolapopche]

Hello i am new to this forum, i stumbled upon this topic via google search in desperate need of advice.

My pet degu Bubi is in serious pain she has a lump on her nose and is looking very bloated, but when i touch him i can feel all of his bones. He is barely eating and in my country we do not have good vets. They are not educated and will probabbly put her down. I have attached videos to see how he is doing, if anyone knows what should i do please help...
He has been feeling like this for a week and is not getting better, he is only a year and a half old.

streamable.com/n249t3
Update:
He is starting to move but is very bloated and cramped. When slightly pushed he falls down easily and he is breathing via his mouth very poorly here is a video to see him better.

streamable.com/cyu6gm

[savvy]

Welcome to the forum.

You need to get him to a vet as soon as possible. Where are you based?

[teemu]

It looks like there might be some serious infection going on there. You need to get him looked at by a vet, and on antibiotics.

If he is not able to eat or drink well, that will also make him a lot weaker and is very dangerous. Are you able to get some sort of a baby food (one without any meat of course, preferrably something like sweet potato or other vegetables), or make a very thin porridge that could be fed to him through a syringe? Getting something in him and getting him to ingest some fluid is very important right now.

[nikolapopche]

Apr 5, 2022 15:30:59 GMT savvy said:

Welcome to the forum.

You need to get him to a vet as soon as possible. Where are you based?

I am based in Kumanovo which is located in North Macedonia, our vets here are not skilled and lack experience, i have to put him on home medicine...

[nikolapopche]

Apr 5, 2022 15:55:48 GMT teemu said:

It looks like there might be some serious infection going on there. You need to get him looked at by a vet, and on antibiotics.

If he is not able to eat or drink well, that will also make him a lot weaker and is very dangerous. Are you able to get some sort of a baby food (one without any meat of course, preferrably something like sweet potato or other vegetables), or make a very thin porridge that could be fed to him through a syringe? Getting something in him and getting him to ingest some fluid is very important right now.

Yes i know and i am fearing that he might die, going to the vet is not an option i was thinking of putting B-complex in baby food and feeding it to him

[teemu]

Giving him vitamins like that might not be a good idea, and I'm afraid it would not help in the current situation. An infection like that requires acute aid in the form of antibiotics. The antibiotics needed would be of the same kind that are given to dogs and cats, just in much smaller doses.

Are you certain that you could not talk to a vet about it? Telling them that you are receiving advice and that you need antibiotics, instead of letting them decide what to do, could help.

I am sorry to say this, but as is, there is a high chance that he will not make it if he does not receive proper medication. He looks to be really badly off right now. Try to get him to eat something, for example the baby food (but do not put any extra vitamins in, they can be dangerous if used improperly), and try to contact a vet willing to help.

[nikolapopche]

Apr 5, 2022 16:09:52 GMT teemu said:

Giving him vitamins like that might not be a good idea, and I'm afraid it would not help in the current situation. An infection like that requires acute aid in the form of antibiotics. The antibiotics needed would be of the same kind that are given to dogs and cats, just in much smaller doses.

Are you certain that you could not talk to a vet about it? Telling them that you are receiving advice and that you need antibiotics, instead of letting them decide what to do, could help.

I am sorry to say this, but as is, there is a high chance that he will not make it if he does not receive proper medication. He looks to be really badly off right now. Try to get him to eat something, for example the baby food (but do not put any extra vitamins in, they can be dangerous if used improperly), and try to contact a vet willing to help.

The vet in my town said he doesnt treat degus, and thats why i am left here in the forums. I have no where to go

[teemu]

I'm very sorry to hear that. Would it be possible to consult a vet elsewhere? I know that most of them don't prescribe medication without seeing the animal, but explaining that you have a pet in a really poor health and that there is an obvious infection that requires antibiotics might get someone to help.

Getting him to eat and drink will help him hang in there.

[nikolapopche]

Apr 5, 2022 16:16:14 GMT teemu said:

I'm very sorry to hear that. Would it be possible to consult a vet elsewhere? I know that most of them don't prescribe medication without seeing the animal, but explaining that you have a pet in a really poor health and that there is an obvious infection that requires antibiotics might get someone to help.

Getting him to eat and drink will help him hang in there.

Do you know any vet that would like to help me in the state that i am currently in via contacting him online?

[teemu]

Sorry, I'm afraid I can't really help you with that, I am not familiar with the situation there. But try to search for vets that treat exotic pets, as they should be fine with degus.

[savvy]

I've found one in Macedonia

www.aashneanimalhospital.com/macedonia/veterinarian-clinic-macedonia-oh/

[nikolapopche]

I had no other choice and i took him to the vet, they have given him antibiotics and told me to leave him separated from the other one and give him his regular food and water before going to the wet he was moving and eating but after the antibiotics he was in a shock and couldnt move and now after three hours he had died. I am very sorry that i bothered you all but i must say that my heart rips and is in deep sadness that i couldn’t help him in anyway possible. The other one is now sad as he has no other companion. I didn’t inow that such a small creature can make my heart cry that much… But however thank you any way good people, may the god bless you for your kindness!

[teemu]

I'm so sorry to hear this! It sounds like something either went wrong or he was already in a critical state and simply could not hang on any more. It won't do any good here any more, but could you tell us what kind of an antibiotic they gave him, and how much? Did the vets give it, or did they give medicine for you to give to him? Since it happened so suddenly, it sounds like something might have gone wrong with it.

But in any case, this was certainly not a bother. Degus are wonderful pets, and it's very painful to lose them. If you want any support with your remaining degu, or advice about handling this situation, or just wish to discuss it in general, you are very welcome to do so on this forum.


I know this is a very hard time right now, but could I ask if the terrarium in the videos is how you keep the degus regularly? I don't want to cause any stress, and it might not be the best time to say this, but in case you don't wish to keep visiting here, I'd like to give you some advice for your remaining degu, since there are some issues visible that can actually greatly shorten a degu's lifespan.

Firstly, the food and water. Do they normally eat lettuce and corn, which I think I can see in the video? The lettuce is not such a big worry (though they can't really subsist on it), but improper feeding in general can be really dangerous to degus. Their body cannot handle things like corn very well at all. Generally, they should mainly be eating dry hay and food pellets meant for guinea pigs, mixed with chinchilla food pellets. For treats, they can have some seeds or nuts. Corn and things like that should not be given to them.
I also noticed that you have a water bowl, but it looks rather dirty. Dirty water can cause illnesses, so the water should be swapped at least daily. A water bottle could be easier in general, since your degu can't mess it up and it's easier to change.

Secondly, a terrarium like that is not very good for degus. They are generally much better off in a cage (this allows for better airflow, since a terrarium can have a poor air quality and that can also be detrimental), and they require a lot of space, and they should have things to climb on. They require both running space and climbing space.

(Please understand that I'm not trying to judge you in any way. Degus are pretty specialised pets, so there's often bad information about them and it can be hard to find info on proper care. I'm simply hoping to help with some obvious issues that were visible, since it will tremendously affect how long a degu will live, and how good their life in general will be. There's a lot of info on the forum, in sticky topics, about cages and feeding, and I invite you to take a look at them.)

In any case, I'm really sorry that things went as they did!

[nikolapopche]

I give them the food that os typicly for them it’s a mix of seeds and hays that are for guinea pigs and other rodents and it includes some corn in it too, the lettuce is from today i was about to change the water and put some food in it when i noticed Bubi was ill. They do had a cage but they chewed on it rhey didn’t run at all so we changed to this, they also had a eater bottle but they chewed it all the way through. The other degu is now not sleeping at all he is shaking, ussualy the two of them would cudle up and go to sleep now the remaining on is just running around, squiling and shaking and its breaking my heart i don’t know what to do and it’s 02:00am..

[nikolapopche]

Also for the vet they took a needle amd put it in him and said it was antibiotic but i think it was just a powerful one and paralized him then killed him.

[teemu]

Okay, I see. In the future, I would recommend looking for a food mix that does not have things like that in it, or possibly using food pellets (small, brown, even pellets that have all the basic nutrients crushed into them). Degus that are fed on a general rodent mix instead of a food that suits them well can live much shorter lives, since they will often get diabetes, which cannot really be treated.

Things like this are very stressful and hard on degus as well. He must have realised that something is wrong and is feeling very spooked. When possible, try to console him, make certain that he knows that he's not in any danger, and just generally be very gentle and patient with him for now. Unfortunately, only time can really make things better now, just make sure that he's as comfortable as possible and let him and yourself grieve.

I would advise that you monitor his behavior for now (not right now, but for the immediate future), in case he starts to look like he's actually ill as well. Clean his terrarium in the near future, preferrably as soon as possible, and switch out the food and the water and the rest of the stuff. It's entirely possible that it was nothing contagious, but cleaning the cage soon is still a good idea.

[teemu]

Apr 5, 2022 23:57:29 GMT nikolapopche said:

Also for the vet they took a needle amd put it in him and said it was antibiotic but i think it was just a powerful one and paralized him then killed him.

Yes, I was afraid of something like that. It's impossible to say for certain what happened, and I don't know what they did, but if the dosage was too strong, it could cause something like this. It's impossible to say now, I'm afraid...

That does not sound like the vet knew what they were doing. A serious infection would require a steady course of antibiotics, likely something oral that you'd have to give him for a long period of time. One injection couldn't possibly take care of all that, even if it was given correctly...

I'm really sorry that you've had to go through this! It's awful when things go badly like this.

[deguconvert]

Hello, Nikolapopche.

You have had a very traumatic time, and I am so very sorry for your loss!! I am so sorry that I am late to your thread. No . . . I couldn't have helped to change the course of events, but I would still have wanted to offer you what understanding and strength I could. My heart grieves with you for the loss of this sweet little life, and for the one that remains and is deeply troubled and grieving as well.

For your remaining degu . . . sit beside your cage and be with him/her. If they will come to your hands, comfort him as much as you can with your touch and your voice. Comfort each other. You can help him and he can help you. Grieving is hard, not just for us, but for the animal as well. Don't be afraid to share your grief here. We understand loss and grief, for many of us have lost degus as well.

I would like to direct you to some of our dietary threads that could be of help to you for feeding your degu. Feeding degus is not easy, and in some countries it is very challenging indeed. Reading through this information may help you to better know the dietary needs of your degu and help you to form a plan on how to gather items that will improve nutritional content and health. In my country, many foods are listed as safe for degus to eat, but when I look at the ingredients, I often have found that they really were not. Here are some links.
deguworld.proboards.com/thread/16425/degu-feeding-guide
deguworld.proboards.com/thread/15795/links-interesting-food-threads
deguworld.proboards.com/thread/15602/vegetable-seed-nut-nutrition-charts

There is a great deal more that can be found here deguworld.proboards.com/board/24/diet-nutrition and the ones we rely on the most are the ones with an icon of a red pin stuck in a folder. When any of the information in these . . . please do not be afraid to ask questions. We are here to help.

With any questions you have for your remaining degu, please ask. We want the two of you to thrive and if we can help you, we most certainly will.

Again . . . my heart grieves with you. Sending you hugs. God bless you.