Possible Degu seizures

[newbymum]

Hello! I have these two bb that are about eight months old. About half a month ago i went to the vet because one of them wasn’t eating, running, spontaneously rolling then not moving as much as the other or as before. After the X-rays (beware Little Rock’s that he said she’d pass but that were from the dirt n overall can be dangerous) she was DISTRAUGHT the vets or the pressure gave her a seizure, where half her body was shut down, then when placed back her sister freaked out, he guessed it was a birth defect or very possible dink.. ah after that and the medicine (antibiotics) I didn’t take her back. After nursing , and making her go on the wheel and ecourging it -she got better! I moved spots and it’s cooler as well which I concluded was the cause or of the rolling?? or and getting into cardboard with ink and plastic - now she’s so much better, full body, weigh more but MY PROBLEM IS - they both look a little swollen , how would I know if it’s the normal weight they needed or betes.. one is smaller n i saw some blood on a beach. So it’s hard to tell from the pictures they both eat, drink and run on the wheel but both roll and that one now has mini seizures similar to the rolling, how can I make her cage safer with things she can or won’t eat? (It’s already been handicapped ) but maybe so there’s no extra damage / something soft for the sides?? PLEASE LET ME KNOW

[moletteuk]

Welcome to the forum.

I'm afraid I'm not confident that I have understood everything you are saying, I'm not sure if it is slang or typos, but I'd be grateful if you would look back through what you have written and edit to make it clearer for an old person like me!

Degus vary in size and weight a lot so you would be best to post some photographs so we can see if they look underweight. You can also weigh them in kitchen scales and tell us the weight. What do you mean by swollen? Fat or swollen up with gas, or something else?

Do you mean they both have episodes of uncontrolled movement rolling on their backs? And seizures in addition to this? Have they done this since you got them?

Do you keep them in high temperatures? And you think that is contributing to the problems? Degus are usually OK up to about 25C and I think you would need to go quite a bit higher than that for it to cause seizures, but very high humidity might make a difference.

Basically if they are having ongoing repeated seizures then you would need to go back to the vet for advice on that.

Making the cage safer usually involves making sure there aren't any long drops, using shallow ramps instead of jumps, having all equipment with rounded edges, deep substrate. If the seizures are so bad that you need padded sides then you really need to get them back to the vet, this is very concerning. I can only suggest something like coco matting or other similar matting attached to hard surfaces to soften them a bit.

[deguconvert]

Do you give them bathing sand to roll in? Degus use very fine sand to roll in, which helps to keep their coat healthy and clean. I often saw my degus have a spontaneous roll on the floors when we had them out for free time. Can you tell us how the seizures look, following a roll on the floor? If you could capture it in a video, that would be even better. Also, just wondering how long you have had them in your home? Have they been with you from a young age . . . like 7 weeks old?


I agree with all that Moletteuk says and suggests, and would very much appreciate photos to see the swollen appearance.