Dental Problems :(

[robin]

Hi, I'd like to get some advice on making my 5yr old degu Pluto comfortable.

On sunday he started showing symptoms of dental issues.
I managed to get him to the vet today and he attacked the poor guy lol so he was put under for an xray and a look around. He said he found a tiny little grey lump next to a top molar and thinks it could be an abscess, but isn't certain. He's been given pain meds and antibiotics.

He is so under the weather and it's breaking my heart. He was eating a little before his appointment if I made it soft, but since I can't convince him to eat anything but small amounts of oats or nuts. Since getting home a few hrs ago he's barely moved from his heat pad and looks so sad

What has helped your degus? I have some critical care arriving tomorrow, but any advice is massively appreciated

[savvy]

Welcome to the forum, I'm sorry to hear that Pluto is a little under the weather.

Its quite normal for degus to take a couple of days to recover from a dental exam. Their mouths have to be opened quite wide and then a scope inserted so the vet can have a good look, all of this can make their mouths and jaws ache a little bit.

Let him rest tonight and try him with some critical care when it arrives, you can also try a little organic sugar free vegetable baby food as its good for short term use to encourage them to eat, carrot, pea or sweet potato are usually good choices.

Please let us know how he is getting on.

[robin]

Thank you so much, I've lurked on and off for way too long lol. I feel so bad for him having such a stressful day.

Hopefully after some rest he'll be more interested in eating. It's so hard to see him feeling awful, but it's reassuring that the way he's feeling rn is pretty normal after the exam.

I'll definitely keep you updated fingers crossed he's feeling much better soon. He's puffed up in his favourite hammock right now glaring at everyone but he has at least perked up a little bit since taking the pain meds

[moletteuk]

Yes, just try and encourage him to eat anything he fancies, you can mix various combinations of baby food, homemade mashed veg, CC, nuts, crushed seeds, oats etc to try and find something he likes.
Were his teeth OK, since the vet only mentioned the grey lump?
I'm sure the heatpad and painkillers will be helping, metacam starts to fully kick in after a few doses.

Welcome to your first thread on the forum!

[robin]

He's managed a little bit to eat before bed bribed him with a few mushed peas

The vet said he can't see anything else wrong, and on the xrays nothing else is unusual that he can tell.

They have another exotics specialist that's more experienced with degus in later in the week that can have another look at them, or a CT scan was mentioned as an option to get a clearer picture of what's going on there. Kind of dread the price of that if it's necessary though lol

[teemu]

Welcome to the forums, and hopefully your boy will feel better soon.

Aside from the pain, there is usually a lot of general distress, especially if vet visits are not common. For the little guys, it's really traumatic (but necessary, of course) to just sometimes be suddenly taken from their home to a weird place and then wake up all groggy and pained! I guess it's kind of like an alien abduction. But my experience is also that they perk up pretty quickly after things go back to normal and they realize that they can get back to things as usual. Usually things are basically back to normal in a couple of days. So be sure to show him a lot of love and make sure that he understands that things are okay and he's safe

On a quick note, take care to measure the metacam to the vet's prescription. It's pretty strong stuff, so an overdose could be dangerous. But given in correct dosage it's safe. Just thought I'd mention it since I've sometimes stressed a bit about measuring it correctly. The amounts are so little for small animals.

[robin]

Yes it's such a little drop haha its kind of cute if not for the bad situation
Luckily I'm familiar with the tiny syringes, the tenths of mls are fine but those tiny doses of like 0.01ml are what concern me I always worry I've mixed the two up lol!

Him and his brother have been (understandably) very skittish yesterday evening but have settled down okay. He's only had to go in a couple of times in his life, and never while feeling so bad, so I'm sure this was a really really scary day for them both.

[robin]

I'm happy to say he's been eating a bit better today he's still glued to the heat pad and sad, but after his meds this morning he did have a few hours of running around.

He is hungry and trying to eat, but if it's not soft he can't manage more than a few bites before he can't continue. The critical care was very very popular (his brother was so jealous lol).

[savvy]

Glad to hear he's improving. It won't hurt to give his brother a tiny bit of critical care if it makes him happy.

[moletteuk]

Good to hear he is feeling a bit better to today and likes the Critical Care.

I think it will be illuminating to see if the antibiotics help. If not, it will also be interesting to see how much the painkillers help.

I would initially push to get the exotics specialist vet to take a look at the xrays, and if they still aren't sure, it is possible to send the xrays to somewhere like Edinburgh University vet hospital, although they do take 2 or 3 weeks to get back you, I think this is free or at least inexpensive. CT scan would be the final thing to try and you need an experienced vet to do the scan and interpret the scan, the odd time people on the forum have had them done, I think cost was around £250, you can always ask for a quote. Another option would be to get another local vet to take a look at the grey lump - but it's either a treatable abscess or most likely something not treatable, I suppose another vet may be willing to try to take a biopsy or try and drain it. Oh, another option would be trying a different or second antibiotic (after you have given the current one a chance) - if it is an abscess they can be quite difficult to clear up, especially without draining.

[robin]

Thank you so much for the advice, I'll ring up again in the morning to see what the specialist thinks of the xrays and take it from there.

I know it's part of having a pet but when they're ill it's so hard..I can't relax knowing he's hurting and there's not much else I can do right now. I've had one with dental issues before (years ago now) and it's not any easier this time

He did have a few hours earlier where he seemed a little better (played for a while, not as puffed up, and managed a nugget or two) but now is feeling sorry for himself in his hammock again. He is eating well with the critical care and keeps demanding more, so I guess at least he has a good appetite atm lol.

[moletteuk]

We understand how stressful it is.

It's really good that he has a good appetite for the CC, it'll keep his strength up, but also shows a positive attitude.

[robin]

I rang up and she's away today, at the zoo tomorrow, then not in again until monday..

But he is doing a bit better this morning, really trying to eat their usual food and begging for snacks every time someone looks at him. He wants to eat, but once it's in his mouth he kind of remembers it hurts and just hides it for later.

He managed most of a hay loop treat he'd hidden and a fair amount of nuggets after his meds today. If he bites down 'wrong' he flinches and drops the food but does try again. He's still most interested in the CC and goes a bit crazy when he smells it (might have to stage an intervention if he does get over this, I think I might lose a finger if he gets any more excited lol)

He's still a little slow and sad, and seems to be finding the water bottle difficult. He has gone up to it a couple times but changed his mind. I suppose he'll be getting a fair amount from the CC anyways though.

[savvy]

Try giving him water from a syringe if he'll take it. That was he's staying hydrated. If it helps, try adding a flavour of CC so its tempting for him. Personally, I'd let him have as much CC as he wants at the moment, he'll soon let you know when he's full.

[robin]

I tried him with the syringe and he looked really offended haha. Very runny CC in a spoon did convince him eventually but wow it was messy

Today he had a grumpy morning and he's got a bit sick of the critical care, but is trying to eat solid food a LOT more than yesterday. He's managing the bottle mostly alright again.
I'm not sure how much he's finishing, but yesterday it was mostly buried or dropped so just convincing him to eat anything he will try when I see him.

I checked again today and Pluto has luckily not lost any weight since showing symptoms he's a few grams lighter than his average but this has not gone down since last weekend.

Overall he seems less painful and says hi to everyone passing again. And gets very excited when he sees me with snacks lol. He is a little stumbly when he tries to move too fast, and still resting and grumping most of the day though.


Hopefully things stay pretty stable until Monday when I can speak to the specialist.
I did receive a copy of the xrays, it's so cool to see his tiny bones! I love that little guy so much.

[teemu]

Sounds like he's gaining his pep back. That's great

If he's eating more solids again, encourage him to keep at it by giving him seeds and some peanut. That should improve his mood as well!

[moletteuk]

Great to hear he seems to be improving and that his weight is more or less stable.

[deguconvert]

This is GREAT news!!

[robin]

Hi everyone, I spoke to the specialist today and she says he's too small to really get good details on the xray, and to really 100% know what's going on for sure a CT scan is needed.

Right now he's MUCH happier than last week, eating solid food again, kind of looking offended if I offer anything soft lol. He's running around and playing again, bullying his brother over stupid things, basically he is managing significantly better with whatever is wrong. He's still looking sad when he's overdone it though, he manages a short burst of craziness and then has a rest a few times a day. At this moment he's swearing at his brother about who owns the wheel which is much more like him.

As far as I am aware (and pls correct me if I am wrong) a CT scan would lead to two options - either it's treatable, but really tricky to get right bc of the placement of the Lump, or it probably isn't and he'd be on the same meds he's on now in an effort to make him more comfortable for as long as possible.

The specialist said he can go in for a scan on wednesday, but honestly I'm not sure what's best. For now I said I'd see how the next days go, and continue with the meds while I have a think about it.

[teemu]

Good to hear that he's getting back to normal!

The CT scan is a tricky question. There's not much to lose by doing it (at least if the sedation and scan itself does not prove too stressful for him), but it is true that it might also not result in anything actionable. If it's treatable, I do think that a good specialist would probably be able to remove it (in case it needs to be removed), but it might also be something that cannot be operated on.

Do the vets think that it's something acute that is progressing quickly? If not, I think it might be good to give Pluto some time to recover. The sedation and the recovery from it can take a toll, and it can be increasingly harder if they have to go through it multiple times in a short span. But on the other hand, whatever the lump is, if it's treatable it's likely better if it's seen to as soon as possible.

It's a hard question. I can only recommend thinking it over carefully and judging based on how you feel and how he seems like and if you think he's up for another vet visit so soon.