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Post by niki003 on Aug 5, 2011 9:32:16 GMT
Hi
I came down this morning to see my little fellas and noticed a puddle of urine on one of the shelves in my goos cage it looked a bit red so dabbed it with tissue and it was a watered down bloody colour. I'm not sure which goo it is from but the urine was fine all yesterday just this one patch this morning.
Any idea what it could be should i be worried yet or wait and see if any other patches appear?
Thanks Niki
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Post by nuttz on Aug 5, 2011 9:53:36 GMT
i have heard, although this i believe is uncommon, that females can sometimes bleed during pregnancy but by you saying "fellas" im presuming you have male goos?
oh and another thing i have heard is that sometimes they produce reddish colour urine if theyve eaten something such as beetroot.. maybe its worth checking the packet of food to see if this is included, sometimes beetroot can be added to treats "i believe" but im not totally sure.
im sure somebody with more knowledge will be able to advice more, in the meantime i wouldnt worry too much if they are both running around normally but if you feel its necessary, it might be worth a trip to your vets just to rest your mind!
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Post by Ady on Aug 5, 2011 9:57:09 GMT
Hi,
u probably already checked but to be sure, have a look at the colour again once it's dried. If it dried red it's not blood but most likely something in their food (beetroot etc.) if it dried brown it would be blood. Sorry can't give u any advice about that.
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Post by w8152 on Aug 5, 2011 10:14:02 GMT
beetroot, carrot, anything with a reddish colour to it will if ingested enough cause a reddish hue to their urine.
Degu's do not sweat so cannot dispose of toxins any other way than through their urine/faeces(sp?) so you see these little puddles and completely freak out like i did when i first saw them.
Like Ady said if the colour stays red when dry its not blood.
It is more likely than not nothing to worry about, try removing those things from the diet for a week or so and see how you get on. if it continues after a few days without this then you might want to explore other alternatives (potentially a vet but thats a judgement call only you can make).
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Post by malteser60 on Aug 5, 2011 10:21:18 GMT
99% of the time it's the food. A very common one is beetroot, found in lots of herbal treat mixes such as the P@H woodlands herbal delight. Carrots can also produce tinted pee. Otherwise if it's not the food then it could be a bladder infection (i.e. cystitis), in which case they'll need antibiotics from the vet. Have a look at the ingredients in the food you give them first to see if it's that. You can also confirm this by process of elimination with the food. If you're fairly positive it's not the food (e.g. you only feed them P@H nuggets, hay and nothing else) then best to take them to the vets. If this is the case I would also purchase urine dipsticks and test their pee - i.e. the sticks to test for sugar levels, blood, etc. You can get them either online or from pharmacies I believe. Then pop a degu into a clean travel cage, and normally one of the first things they do is pee in it to mark the cage. And voila, pee for the stick! However it's most likely the food. Edit: w8152 beat me to it  |
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Post by niki003 on Aug 5, 2011 11:05:43 GMT
The love the pets at home herbal delight so that is probably what it is. I will keep an eye on it and stop feeding them it for a while
Thanks
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Post by malteser60 on Aug 5, 2011 14:50:16 GMT
Have a look in the P@H herbal delight bag and you will see red oval(y) shaped biscuit type things. That's the beetroot. Used to be actual dried pieces of beetroot but they've recently changed it to that biscuity type thing.
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Post by niki003 on Aug 5, 2011 19:50:03 GMT
When I got home tonight I had a look where the puddle was and its dried white so I think i was being over worried thanks all
Niki
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Post by malteser60 on Aug 6, 2011 21:39:06 GMT
I panicked so much when I first saw the patch of wee with red in it! So, I know exactlly how you felt!
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Post by niki003 on Aug 7, 2011 21:06:54 GMT
They are good at making you have panic attacks but wouldn't change them for the world
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Post by yasmin on Aug 7, 2011 23:18:07 GMT
Keep an eye on your degus. I was finding blood on the cage litter, on the toys, etc. At first, it didn't happen everyday; more like once a week. Then it increased in frequency. I figured out which degu was having the problem (saw blood on her foot and then noticed goop on her chin) and took her to a vet. The vet first thought she was pregnant (not likely, she lives with only sisters) so he took a couple of x-rays. Diagnosed her as having a bladder infection. Spent two weeks giving her Baytril and so far, no more blood.
If you find more blood, figure out who's having the problem and take him to a vet.
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