Degu drinking a LOT!

[kyri]

Hi, just a little concerned over one of my degus.
Reno's about 6 months old and in the last week or so he's suddenly started drinking a lot!
I fill his water bottle daily and it's nearly all gone by the next morning. When I get him out he's weeing nearly constantly on the floor, and there's a lot of it too.
He's still very active, and still eating his food, (we started giving him a few more veggies and dandelion leaves a few months back, in place of treats). He still gets the occasional treat of a few oats or a bit of ryvita.
It says on the internet that it's a sign of liver disease or diabetes, just wondering if there are any other symptoms.

[blossombrooks]

Hi kyri,
Drinking lots is a sign of diabetes as are cataracts, are his eyes nice and clear? If they seem cloudy at all or have little White spots in it could be another indicator. If you have a vet nearby they can do test the urine for you to see if it is diabetes. You can buy human test kits from the chemist which will also work, just make sure you test after he's eaten. Chloe from Degutopia gave me a good tip, put him into an empty plastic travel case and he'll scent Mark it within a few mins, voila your urine sample! :-) if you don't mind me asking what other food does he eat?

[kyri]

His eyes are clear, and his behaviour hasn't changed at all.
We feed him the P@H pellets and occasionally grass, oats, ryvita, dandelion leaves, cucumber and carrots.
It could be the diet because my other degu Jean, doesn't like eating veggies, and he seems fine.

I'm going to try the chemist urine test since I've just moved and not managed to get the little guys registered at the vet yet.

[blossombrooks]

What you're feeding him sounds fine, carrot occasionally is ok. You're doing well getting him to eat veg, my little monsters won't touch it! Some degus just get diabetes, it can be hereditary. Just remember to test after feeding :-)

[kyri]

Thanks,
I really hope it's not hereditary (or diabetes at all!) but it might be, I got them at the same time but their fur colours are completely different (Jean is light grey and Reno is dark brown) so I don't think they're related.

It's funny trying to give them new veg, Jean just turns his nose up at everything whereas Reno is dead eager, he's so outgoing xD

[kyri]

Just an update -

As well as drinking a lot, Reno is now struggling with his food. It's not a noticeable problem unless he's being fed alongside Jean when he gets very agitated and stuffs the pellets into his mouth to eat them and then starts choking.

I started feeding them seperately and it's quite obvious that Reno just can't eat as fast as Jean. I suspect he has problems with his back teeth, (and drinking the cool water soothes it) but want to know if anyone else has experienced this with their degus.

I've been ringing vets all morning but of all of them, they either don't treat degus or are charging a LOT of money which I can barely afford at this time. It's very distressing because I want to get him looked at, but other than feeding times he's not showing any discomfort and he's playing around just as much as he always has.

[fred]

I don't have personal experience but know that teeth problems occur mostly in somewhat older degus. You didn't mention hay in your earlier post, how much of that do they eat? Do you monitor his weight?

[sonicback]

sorry for hijacking the post but i think one of my degus might have diabetes due to the reply blossom gave she has cloudy eyes were my other three have clear eyes and she also seems bigger then the other three aswell

[blossombrooks]

@ Sonicback,
Does she drink a lot of water also? As above if you're unsure a urine test will confirm any suspicions.
kyri where abouts are you based? Maybe someone can suggest a vet for you. Hope Reno will be ok, how does his face look compared to jean's?

[deguconvert]

Sometimes people are recommended to the RSPCA to have veterinary treatment at a more reasonable price, so perhaps this is a direction you can look?

[sonicback]

@blossom she seem to be drinking normal amount of water

[Maravilla]

Sept 27, 2011 20:42:05 GMT sonicback said:

sorry for hijacking the post but i think one of my degus might have diabetes due to the reply blossom gave she has cloudy eyes were my other three have clear eyes and she also seems bigger then the other three aswell

Well, cloudy eyes or cataracts do not necessarily have to do with diabetes. There are a couple of other reasons, have a look HERE.
The difference in size... is it that big? Have you ever tried to weigh them? From my own experiences I know that size alone can be misleading.

@ Kyri,
what about weighing your degus? In your case it would really help to see if Reno is losing weight, especially now that you noticed problems with his eating behaviour. I know that vets are expensive, but in so small animals you can easily miss the point where help is real help. A loss of weight is always an alarm signal.
Degu owners often only consider diabetes as a reason for a high water consumption. But also renal problems or problems with the urinary bladder can lead to a high consumption of water.

BTW, I remember one case in a German degu forum where a degu owner as well reported a high water consumption and high amount of urine. This was a very interesting case as it turned out to be that the degus were playing with their water bottle (a very big one) and drank all the water coming out. They were just overcharged with this situation.
I am telling this to show that also such weird things can happen.

[kyri]

Hi,
Thanks for your responses. I've got Reno booked into a vets for Saturday because it looks like he's lost some weight. (I don't have any working kitchen scales :s) Peace of mind is worth a lot more than £30.

He eats a lot of hay, although I've noticed he prefers the fluffy bits (not sure what they're called). I put a fresh batch in every day.
His cheeks are a lot puffier than Jeans, but his have been like that for a while.

I'll let you know how he gets on.

[kyri]

Sorry for the double post but,
I was feeding Reno (I've been soaking the pellets to make them easier for him to eat) and when I put him back in the pen I hadn't realised Jean hadn't finished eating (you know how hard it is to hold a degu when he doesn't want to be held) and Reno got hold of a dry pellet.

He started choking. He wouldn't stop for about twenty minutes. I tried offering him water in a bowl, in his bottle, and he wouldn't take any. He became really distressed. I tried gently patting him on the back. I tried rubbing him gently and he threw up half the pellet. Then kept choking.
Jean eventually came over and starting nuzzling him, and Reno managed to get rid of the rest of the pellet. He's been drinking since and seems okay.

The vet visit is on Saturday (earliest possible time I can take him) but I'm really scared this will happen again. Is there anything I could do to make it easier on him if he does start choking again?

[fred]

Can you soak the pellets for both your boys for the next two days? Hopefully the vet will be able to find out what may be wrong, so it's just minimising the risk of him choking on anything until then.

I would also suggest to look out for one of these cheap small digital scales. Regular weighing is so much better than going with the appearance.

[kyri]

I took Reno to the vets this afternoon, and I'm absolutely furious.

He had no clue what he was doing. He chased Reno around the box for a while, then asked me to pick him up. I handed Reno to him and he held him so awkwardly, with his feet dangling out and him squirming terribly.

I explained what was happening with Reno and he got out a book and started having a look through it, then said he didn't know, and suggested that I book Reno in for the morning after so he could knock him out and take some blood. He didn't even look at his teeth or face.
I asked if he had any scales so we could weigh Reno, and he went into the back, and I'm not kidding, came back with some forceps and a file and stuck them in his own mouth, saying that's how they file teeth.

I'm really very disappointed. Reno is still struggling with his food and I just want to get him help.

I'm in the Blackburn area if anyone could recommend a vet that knows what they're doing.

[fred]

What a shame to come across such a fine specimen of vet Another member from Blackburn, dingle87, recently mentioned these vets www.baxtermarwoodandbrownvets.co.uk in a very positive way. I am sure she will tell you more, but for now you can at least check whether this may be an alternative for you. Good luck and keep us updated.