Degu help

[texteo]

Okay I have a male degu which is almost 5 years old and a female which is almost 2 years old. Now I was away for like a week and my mom and my brother took care of this furry guys for me. When I came back I noticed that my male keeps his head sideways. Now I know they usually live upto 4-6 years depending on how good care you take of them but I don't know if he could be cured from this and I feel sad when I see him this way. I have a feeling the vet. will say I should put him to ''sleep'' if you get what I mean :'(
Any suggestions on what should I do?

[Sasami]

That sounds like an ear infection and is totally treatable as long as he gets vet care asap. Get him to a vet experienced with small rodents such as degus.

[texteo]

thx. I thought he feel and twisted his neck or something. But how could he have gotten the ear infection? Is it random or does something trigger that?

[Sasami]

Quote: Originally Posted by texteo thx. I thought he feel and twisted his neck or something. But how could he have gotten the ear infection? Is it random or does something trigger that?

Well, no infection is random but it probably wasn't anything you did. He could have gotten a small scratch on his ear that got infected or something. The vet will hopefully give him a good check-up; sometimes getting an ear infection is a sign that something else is wrong (but not always so don't worry).

An ear infection causes animals to lose balance and/or tilt their heads. Luckily, antibiotics should clear it up easily.

[16degus]

Even if it's not an ear infection (though it is likely it is, as Sasami has indicated), I've heard of many goos that have this issue and continue to live happy lives with it. As long as he's eating and doing degu things, there's no need to put him down.