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Eddie doesn't quite seem himself

The beauty of vet bed is it wicks the wet away and locks it underneath so the surface stays drier. Fleece only wicks wet away and once the absorbent layer is soaked the surface stays damp. Yes, vetbed where he mostly lays will help keep him dry. I put a thick wodge of newspaper under the vetbed to soak up the wee. The problem I had with Caspy was he sleeps everywhere, it was a guessing game as to which bit of cage he would lie the most today! Using vetbed in the whole cage has solved the problem.
 
alpacasqueak said:
What do you have under the fleece in the cage? x
Sorry edit, yes vet bed under beds a great plan! Why mine is all offcuts and teeny bits for under mine!
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I don't have anything under the fleece. Should I?
piggieminder said:
The beauty of vet bed is it wicks the wet away and locks it underneath so the surface stays drier. Fleece only wicks wet away and once the absorbent layer is soaked the surface stays damp. Yes, vetbed where he mostly lays will help keep him dry. I put a thick wodge of newspaper under the vetbed to soak up the wee. The problem I had with Caspy was he sleeps everywhere, it was a guessing game as to which bit of cage he would lie the most today! Using vetbed in the whole cage has solved the problem.
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When I change the fleece I mostly notice it looks a bit dirty where the hay piles are so that would be a good place to put vetbed. He does like the flop down all over the place but doesn't stay there that long.
 
Eddie & Elvis said:
I don't have anything under the fleece. Should I?
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I have newspaper under J&C’s fleece in cage (as smaller) and tend to use old duvet covers under the porkies as cage much bigger and struggle to get that many papers these days! The pee will go through the fleece and you need something for it to soak in to at the bottom which you can change or it’ll stay damp as @piggieminder said above. Why vetbed is good as does the same, the top stays dry but the bottom will get damp etc. (And you can whip it out and put fresh in easily if offcuts like I do!)
Towels are good for temporary floortime etc like you’re doing (I’ve used in the past too) but in the cage with the pee monsters newspapers are great so you can change it frequently and then the fleece should stay dry x
 
Ohh I see! I thought the moisture would stay inside the fleece as it's got an absorbent layer in it but clearly that's not good enough. I've got some human incontinence pads from before I switched to fleece when I upgraded their cage. I can put those under the fleece where the hay piles and hideys are then switch them out when needed. I'm changing the fleece today anyway so I'll do it then.
 
Update:
Eddie is back from the vets. He has a mild case of pododermatitis and his paws are slightly inflamed. The vet wasn't too concerned at this stage as it's mild and there is no infection or anything like that.
She asked about bedding and diet and seemed happy that nothing I am doing would have caused it. I mentioned how he had teeth problems so was sitting hunched more so the best explanation is that it started while he was more likely to be sat in wee and it hasn't cleared up.

I've got Isaderm gel to apply a thin layer of twice a day until we start to see an improvement.
 
Eddie's had his first lot of gel put on and he hated it :( He squeaked and wriggled and jerked his foot away even with pellets as a bribe. I expected this from what happens when I have to clip his nails but he's not going to be happy at all with doing this twice a day.
Any tips on keeping him calm and generally making the experience better for both of us would be greatly appreciated! :)
 
I'm really struggling to keep Eddie calm and still enough to allow the gel to soak into his feet. With the help of my mum we manage to get it on his feet but he snatches then away again before it's dried properly so I don't know how much is actually staying on his foot and not just soaking into the fleece tunnel I'm sitting him in. Some advice would be great :)
 
Eddie & Elvis said:
I'm really struggling to keep Eddie calm and still enough to allow the gel to soak into his feet. With the help of my mum we manage to get it on his feet but he snatches then away again before it's dried properly so I don't know how much is actually staying on his foot and not just soaking into the fleece tunnel I'm sitting him in. Some advice would be great :)
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Sorry you’re having trouble with the naughty man not behaving for his foot gel! :doh: Could you maybe sit him on/in something plastic like a big bowl or something so the gel can’t soak straight into the material rather than his feet? And distract him with something tasty etc? With the cream I’ve used on feet it soaks in fairly quickly, not gel that I can imagine takes a bit longer! :hmm:Just an idea! x
 
That's a good idea to use something the gel can't soak in to. I've got a plastic celebrations tub for wieghing that could work.

Thing is it's hard to get him to come out the tunnel once I've picked him up in it :doh: When he realises he's on my lap not the floor he won't come out! Gently prodding his bum to tell him to move or tempting him with food doesn't work. The only way is to put the tube on the floor and scoop him up as he comes out but if he's too fast then there's no way he'll let me catch him again and I have to wait a while for him to calm down.

What I've been doing at the moment is sitting him in the tube on my lap with his head facing my body. I feed him pellets while my mum gently picks up his feet and applies the gel. When he's wriggling he won't even take a pellet off me, he just hates it poor thing :(

Having him in a tub would work (thanks @alpacasqueak ) if only I could get him into it. Any tips on getting him out the tube would be much appreciated.
 
Eddie & Elvis said:
That's a good idea to use something the gel can't soak in to. I've got a plastic celebrations tub for wieghing that could work.

Thing is it's hard to get him to come out the tunnel once I've picked him up in it :doh: When he realises he's on my lap not the floor he won't come out! Gently prodding his bum to tell him to move or tempting him with food doesn't work. The only way is to put the tube on the floor and scoop him up as he comes out but if he's too fast then there's no way he'll let me catch him again and I have to wait a while for him to calm down.

What I've been doing at the moment is sitting him in the tube on my lap with his head facing my body. I feed him pellets while my mum gently picks up his feet and applies the gel. When he's wriggling he won't even take a pellet off me, he just hates it poor thing :(

Having him in a tub would work (thanks @alpacasqueak ) if only I could get him into it. Any tips on getting him out the tube would be much appreciated.
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Such a naughty boy! You might have to be a bit cruel to be kind I think, it’s for his own good! Totally empathise though, dread to think if it was my speedy mini Cleo :doh:
Could you use the tunnel to ‘catch’ him and then pick him up/nudge him out of that to put into/onto something? It’s how I do things with the naughties or newbies!
Does he sit still on your knee or a sofa etc when he comes out? Thinking very randomly, maybe wrapping cling film/carrier bag over a cushion and trying to do it on that instead? Or coaxing him/picking him up out of the tunnel and putting him in a bigger bowl to put the cream on?
 
I've tried nudging but he doesn't budge! He's very determined not to come out. I'm not sure how else I can get him to without risking scooping him up as he runs out if I put him down.
He doesn't sit still on my lap either so I'd have to hold/contain him in some way.
He's not making this easy for me is he? 😂
 
Hi everyone, it's been a while since I've had to post on this thread but I'm back again as yesterday evening Eddie's teeth seemed to be bothering him again :( .

I'm not home all day anymore so I don't know how he was been during the day (seemed fine before I left in the morning) but when I got home he was sat fluffed/hunched up. He's still eating hay, pellets and veg but a little more tenderly than normal. Luckily I think I've caught it earlier this time around as I know what symptoms to look for.

Last night I gave him a dose of loxicom that I still have from before and my mum is going to phone the vets this morning to get an appointment as soon as we can.
 
Aw such a shame Eddie’s teeth seem to be playing up again. Yes, sounds like you have caught it quickly so it might be just a small spur that’s regrown. Good that you have spotted the signs, it becomes more easier and you learn to spot them once it’s happened a few times. Great he is getting an appointment at the vets, so it can be quickly solved and it doesn’t impact on Eddie’s health.
Keep us all informed how the little man goes on x
 
Eddie has an appointment at 6:30pm on Monday. I had hoped I could get him seen sooner but Nathalie (vet who saw him last time) wants to see him this time too and she doesn't work every Saturday so this is the earliest she can do.

She said to keep giving loxicom and monitor his eating while we wait. I'm going to start weighing him daily again too. This morning he weighed in at 1008g which is a 45g drop since I weighed him on Saturday.

Yes, I'll keep you all informed on how little Eddie is doing :)
 
Eddie & Elvis said:
Eddie has an appointment at 6:30pm on Monday. I had hoped I could get him seen sooner but Nathalie (vet who saw him last time) wants to see him this time too and she doesn't work every Saturday so this is the earliest she can do.

She said to keep giving loxicom and monitor his eating while we wait. I'm going to start weighing him daily again too. This morning he weighed in at 1008g which is a 45g drop since I weighed him on Saturday.

Yes, I'll keep you all informed on how little Eddie is doing :)
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I think you have everything sorted there, you could step in and offer some mashed pellets or critical care if you think his weight on a decline just to keep him topped up x
Good luck for Monday 🤞
 
Just given the boys their veg. Eddie ate it all up enthusiastically and has been eating hay just as much as Elvis has (in fact he's munching as I type) which is all very comforting to see :)
Bill & Ted said:
I think you have everything sorted there, you could step in and offer some mashed pellets or critical care if you think his weight on a decline just to keep him topped up x
Good luck for Monday 🤞
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I've ordered some more Emeraid to be on the safe side. Thank you 😊
 
Eddie & Elvis said:
Just given the boys their veg. Eddie ate it all up enthusiastically and has been eating hay just as much as Elvis has (in fact he's munching as I type) which is all very comforting to see :)

I've ordered some more Emeraid to be on the safe side. Thank you 😊
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Thats great, you are all prepared and so organised x
 
Today Eddie weighs in at 1003g so he's held his weight since yesterday and he's continuing to eat his hay as much as Elvis is. When cleaning the cage yesterday I saw some smaller poos so I'll be keeping an eye out and hopefully they'll get bigger again now he's having loxicom to keep him comfortable.
 
Eddie seems quieter again this evening and he didn't eat all his veg which isn't normal for him so I've seperated him from Elvis to give him some grass which he was enthusiastic about. He's eaten some and now is having a lap. I'll also be able to check how big his poos are. At veg time he was about due his next dose of loxicom so hopefully he'll perk up a bit again now he's had that.

His weight was 976g today. I'd like to give him some recovery food just to be safe but I don't have any that he likes yet (last time he refused to eat Oxbow CC or mushed up pellets which are the only 2 options I have right now). My order of Emeraid wouldn't get here until Monday or Tuesday so I didn't end up buying that as the vets should be able to give us some on Monday. But that does leave me without recovery food until then. I'm not sure if he actually needs it yet but I'm stressing that he's going to need it before I have it :(
 
Poor Eddie.
Have you tried adding something he does like to the syringe feed?
Blended carrot or banana or something he would find tempting
Hope he perks up again quickly.
 
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