Degu probably getting depressed after visit at vet's

[beardedjqb]

Hello, on thursday i had to go and take my 3 year old degu Iwan to a vet because I've noticed that he has problems with breathing and was slightly less active and also was making a wet "clicking" sound when breathing.
So, we have been at the vets for about 4 hours, during which he was put in oxygen "tank" and had ultrasound done. After we came back home all he wanted to do was cuddle, and since that day that's all what he have been mostly doing.
Ever since I got him, he was a single Degu because he just did not get along with any degu and was really aggressive towards them. All this time he's been acting normally as any other degu would but after that visit, he simply became much less "active". He still eats, runs away with a treat like a little maniac when I give it to him, still runs in his wheel but besides that, he mostly sits on a sock he uses as his bed that is closest to my desk chair and me.
Is there any way i could make my little bean happier? It really pains me when he just sits on the sock and looks at me waiting for me to take him and hug him. Before he would demand some scratching and run off to his wheel which he would run in almost all day with breaks for eating and time we play outside.

[teemu]

A vet visit can take a lot out of a degu, and can make them feel very spooked and insecure if it's the first time it happens. Unfortunately, there is no real helping with that other than time, rest and loving care. If it's just the visit that's got him down, he should bounce back after some time. Basically, make sure that he knows that he's safe and loved and that nothing bad is going to happen to him.

What did the vets say about his issues? Was he given a prescription for antibiotics or anything else? It might be both medicine and his illness that's also making him feel poorly.

[beardedjqb]

At the visit he was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy and prescribed those meds:
Veraflox 0,05ml 1xday
Meloxoral 0,03ml 2xday
Cardisure oral (1:1) 0,02ml 1xd
Prilium 0,03ml 1xday
Other that than they also noticed that he has moderate shortness of breath when stressed but normally none.
At house before I took him to the vets, he would breathe in a way that made those wet clicking sounds and later sometimes he would breathe through his mouth and as I've heard that is a bad thing for a degu to do.
Granted He's been taking those meds for only 2 days as of the time of writing.

[savvy]

The middle two drugs can cause lethargy, so he could just be getting used to them.

He's on a lot of meds and that too can make them a bit cautious if they aren't used to being medicated. But they do get used to it when they realise its making them better and the side effects abate a little.

As teemu says, vet visits do stress them out if its a rare thing, and he really won't want to give you the opportunity of taking him again.

[beardedjqb]

Well, He is supposed to take them until the checkup visit that is on 13th of March and when I contacted the vet, she said that the side effects should relax before the visit.
I just hope that happens because it would mean that the lethargy of the lil' bean is caused by meds and not the sickness.

[teemu]

The most important thing is to make sure that he is eating and drinking, since stress and weird situations can cause animals to shirk those, issues with that will very quickly make things go very bad. Offer him some extra treats, like peanut or some seeds. That should both make him feel better and make sure that he's getting the energy he needs.

As long as he is eating and drinking sufficiently and does not seem to be getting worse, for now the best thing to do is to make sure that he feels as safe and secure as possible.