[Serallen]

Hello,


I have two four month old male degus. I think one of them has something wrong with his oral cavity.


I noticed last night he has developed a fairly bad right twitch whilst eating (his balance is ok otherwise, so reckon it may be pain related?). He had a fall a week ago; he seemed fine after it apart from a very very minimal right twitch when I fed him (which may be related, or I may have only just noticed it then because I was watching him like a hawk to make sure he was ok).
My first thought last night was a neurological problem / inner ear infection but he has no other symptoms to support either of those, but there's no drooling to support the oral cavity theory either and he's still eating all his food. If he'd broken his jaw when he fell I think he'd have been a little more put out about it...

His coat/mentation etc. are all completely normal.


Has anyone seen anything similar in their own degus?

Thankyou,
Serena

 

[Sasami]

First off, welcome to Paw-Talk.

I know you said that if he had broken his jaw he should be acting more upset, right? But degus actually try their very best to hide pain. So it's possible that he does indeed have a problem with his teeth/jaw. Have you been able to take a look inside his mouth? I know some degus don't like that :lol:.

If you're worried, your best bet is to always go to the vet. Degus can go downhill very quickly so it's better to be safe than sorry . Just make sure your vet has degu experience.

 

[Oatcake]

My degu does that, but he has a respiratory problem (more like a hiccup).
Do you hear clicking when he breathes? Could be worth putting him up close to your ear to see if you can hear any weezing.