Clicking/Wheezing

[andrew6666]

Hi all,

I have 3 degu's and have recently noticed that 1 of them has started clicking and wheezing, it seems like he has a cold. I have taken him to the vets twice and he has had Baytril (injected) in 2 day spaces.
The ill degu (Pedro) doesnt seem to be any different to how he has always been, he is eating drinking and running in his wheel. He even took walnuts off his cage mates and guarded them. He seems to wheeze more when huddled with the other 2 degu when they are sat on him. The clicking seems to be more constant. I havent split the cage mates as I think this would make him suffer due to no socialisation, I have constantly been checking all 3 and Pedro doesnt seem to have passed anything on.

I have read on this forum other peoples stories with Wheezing and respiratory problems and have taken note regarding allergies or new items in the cage:

We have used Megazorb since we rehomed the degu (2 years ago).
We use tea bag material as bedding (purchased from a local pet store), we have used this for at least a year.
The degu are fed JR Farm Special and Premium degu food, I have now started adding Gerty Guinea Pig after reading on Degutopia that Gerty Guinea Pig food is better for Degu (I am slowly changing this), Pedro was ill before I started this change.
I had left a window slighty ajar a couple of nights prior to Pedro being ill as the room was geting quite hot.
The treats that the degu get are shredded wheat, walnuts and monkey nuts. There fresh veg is curly kale, pak choi, carrot and greens.

Hopefully someone can offer some advice for me to follow, I will do anything for Pedro to beat this so all advice will be appreciated.

[andrew6666]

Hi,

Thanks for taking the time to read my problem.

We change their water daily both morning and evening in order to keep it fresh.

The clicking started about a week ago, at first I just thought he was gnawing on a piece of food. Then there was a snuffling/wheezing with his breathing and the occasional sneeze/cough (the sneeze/cough has only happened on a couple of times that I have noticed).

Pedro and Raul were housed 2 years ago from being pups (so are still young - only 2 years old), they were housed to socialise with Diego a rescue degu who is older (the RSPCA had no knowledge of his age, although he is bigger than the other 2).

Diego (rescued goo) is slightly bigger than the other 2, so Pedro (ill goo) isnt even the largest in the cage, if anything I would say he was the smallest (although the difference is minimal).

A couple of other things to note:

I do let the degu run around the room (outside of their cage) so many times a week, not sure if he had picked some dust or fluff from the floor (laminate floor so it isnt carpet). Would this cause a problem?

I do feed the degu with fresh veg daily (I know that some users dont like this, the degu basically eat what they want and then leave the rest - most days only a small amount of fresh veg has been touched - I do only putr small amounts in for them).


Should I continue with the Baytril injections in order to get antibiotics into him or stop?
I dont like having to give any small animal injections as the needle must seem so large, however I would rather continue this than syringe feed as I know the antibiotic is getting into his system.

Again, any help is much appreciated.

[andrew6666]

Came in tonight to find Pedro and his cage mates all just playing about, couldnt actually tell which was him at first (him and his brother are very alike), there was no clicking and no wheezing. I contacted the vet to see whether or not I should take him round to continue the antibiotic course. The vet recommended that I go back round for another injection as most people dont continue the antibiotic course in full. As soon as Pedro was plucked from his cage he started to wheeze, I put this down to being seperated and he probably knew what was coming. He has had the injection and does seem to be still wheezing slightly. I have pencilled in an appointment at the vet for Thursday and the following Monday to see how he is getting on, we are trying to get him to a stage where he can come off the Baytril and can continue as he was prior to his illness.

Fingers crossed that he will not require anymore injections.

[andrew6666]

Hi,

Thanks again smux for the reply.

I think that you are right that he is the runt of the litter, had him out last night and he runs, jumps, plays and is as inquisitive as the other 2 goo's.

Since Pedro has been ill I have watched with the eating times and habits of all 3 degu, basically just to make sure Pedro was actually eating. I have seen him get his fair share and none seem to show aggression towards the others, he seems to be perfectly normal other than the wheezing. Also when he is eating the wheezing tends to stop (probably because his mouth is full!!!).

After thinking about the 'inbreeding' comment you made, this could be right. We adopted the 2 little degu from a user on this site (really nice lady), however, she thought that she had 4 males and actually had 2 of each (whoops!!!), she came back to a little degu creche full. So we cant be sure that Pedro and his brother are not inbred. He is smaller than the rest and sometimes can be the loner of the 3 - although this is not often.

The Baytril is being injected so that we can be sure that the antibiotic is going into his system. The vet mentioned putting it in the water, but after trying this previously with guinea pigs, we cant be sure that the degu would be drinking sufficient to get a good doseage of antibiotic. I have tried feeding Pedro his favourite treats and normal food with the baytril on it and he seems to get a smell and the scarpers really fast. I have also watched him rub the baytril from a nut and then bite round where the baytril was and leave the rest of the nut. Syringe feeding was a problem as he seemed to become more stressed when held and again did not like the baytril anywhere near his face. I am becoming concerned that Pedro is now becoming stressed on each visit to the vets as he knows what is coming, I am monitoring him closely this week (before Thursday - next vet check up), if the wheezing has calmed down I will ask the vet if we can pass on the injection as I dont want to stress or make him uncomfortable, as I would rather him be happy than continue to put him through the injections. I was hoping someone would have been on these message boards that had gone through something similar and could tell me how long to keep the antibiotic going for as I am unsure.

I will make sure that he has plenty of playtime each night and ensure that he is monitored closely at all times.

Sorry to ask but how long would you continue with the Baytril? How long is a normal course/dose? I arent bothered about the vets costs, I just dont want to have to keep stressing Pedro by taking him to the vets all of the time.

Thank you for your help and advice, it is much appreciated. .
I am tending to think that as you say, he is 90% instead of 100%, this is the first illness either degu has suffered and I am panicing as I dont want it to lead to anything really serious if it is not already.

I will make a further post tonight after watching him at playtime.

Again many thanks.

[andrew6666]

Thanks again smux.

I will give it a try tonight, the vet gave me some Baytril with Abidec (vitamin C suppliment) to try and give Pedro if I could manage to catch and syringe feed him. I really dont want to keep taking him to the vets as the injection must be hurting him due to the size of him vs the needle.

Thanks for all the help and advice, keep you posted. I will take Pedro for a walk tonight in his carry case (being outside wont affect him at all will it with the colder air?).

Thanks again.

[andrew6666]

I have come home and let all 3 degu out to play in the room they are in. Pedro was first out, sniffling a bit but not too loud. I put the dust bath in the middle of the room and some food in my hand which they all came over and sniffed at, but their nosiness gripped them more than the food and they were off. Each of them were going under a low shelf and behind the bookcase, Pedro even appeared on one of the shelves with some books (god knows how he got there!!!). I then noticed when he jumped down after several minutes that his sniffling started getting worse. He was still charging around and was darting back and forth eating the food and being nosy. I looked at some of the shelves on the bookcase and behind the bookcase and there was quite a lot of dust, especially on some old books and binders that he had his head in. I have read that degu can pick up allergies, could this be a dust allergy?
If it was a dust allergy, would the others get it the same or are degu like people (some prone to allergy whereas others arent)?
I listened closely to the sniffling when Pedro was finally bribed back in his cage and he sounds like me when I have a bad hayfever day. The noise does sound like his nasal cavity is a bit blocked, the clicking noise has stopped.
Havent managed to get him outside in the carry case due to rain but I am a bit more optimistic that this is just an allergy. I have read on Degutopia that allergies can be easily overcome, some mass spring cleaning is to be done tonight and tomorrow.

[woodchip]

Jul 5, 2011 22:39:07 GMT smux said:

... Same goes if he ISN'T in your bedroom and the room they are in has carpet or mats...a thorough vacuuming is going to turn him around fairly quickly, and a proper shampooing (or wash in the washing machine if it's a mat that's small enough) will do wonders for him....

I first read that as putting the goo in the washing machine. I don't think that would do him wonders at all.


Some great advice there Smux.

[andrew6666]

Thanks for all the help.

The degu are situated in the smallest bedroom, where we have a desk. I have kept the (visible aspects) of the room really clean as I need it to be for my allergies, however as we all know degu are probably the nosiest little things on the planet and they disappeared behind a bookcase that we have in the corner with files on. When moved recently to check for reasons into Pedros illness (after the degu were back in their cage) there is a lot of dust that is evident behind the bookcase, some of the binders that they had managed to get into aswell were dusty. I will get rid of everything that I have and replace with new whilst cleaning the room top to toe.

Would this explain why Pedro is being his usual self (eating, running and playing) but then having sniffles and wheezing?
I know when I get my hayfever I can still do most things but sniffle all the time.

I picked some dandelions last night for them out of a neighbours garden rinsed them for ages and then put in for the degu and guinea pigs. There were none left after a couple of minutes.

You have been a great help smux, thank you very much.
Would you continue with the Baytril, obviously whilst and after cleaning the room thoroughly.

Thank you very much.

[andrew6666]

Thanks smux,

My partner and I have cleaned the room tonight and then moved the 3 goos back into the room, we actually managed to move the bookcase to get behind it where there was a lot of dust. We then let all 3 out after they had settled, all 3 were darting around, I asked my partner to block her ears and try and see which one Pedro was (to see if he was acting different), she couldnt tell which one he was as each acted normally. Pedro did still have a sniffle but hopefully the antibiotic will cure this. We also managed to syringe feed him the antibiotic so another trip to the vets for the injection is not needed. We are taking him back next Monday for a discussion with the vet.

Thanks for all your help.