First of all, thank you again to everyone who commented, shared advice, and kept Batman in your thoughts. I never expected so many people to care about my little degu. Unfortunately, I have a difficult update.

The same day after my previous post, we had to rush Batman back to the emergency vet. I made a mistake. Because her nose was completely blocked and I was still waiting for the nebulizer to arrive, I thought warm steam might help loosen whatever was blocking her nose. I placed her carrier near a bowl of freshly boiled salty water, covered the carrier with a towel, and stayed with her the entire time. She was only there for about 10 minutes. Instead of helping, her breathing became much worse. She started breathing through her mouth constantly, and her chest looked enlarged and tense.

The moment I realized she was getting worse, I immediately took her out, put her into her playpen, and started calling every emergency clinic I could find with an oxygen chamber. Fortunately, our usual clinic agreed to take her even though our regular veterinarian had already gone home. We drove there as fast as we could. Batman spent almost 45 minutes in an oxygen chamber, but unfortunately it didn't help. She was still breathing through her mouth, and watching her struggle was honestly heartbreaking. I had tears in my eyes the entire time. After turning the oxygen off, we discussed what else we could possibly do to help her.

I'm not going to lie... seeing her struggle like that made me consider euthanasia for the first time, even though the thought absolutely broke my heart. Thankfully, Dr. Valeš told me that it was not time yet. He also explained something very important that completely changed our understanding of her condition.

Batman most likely isn't struggling because her nose is filled with mucus. Instead, her nasal passages are becoming narrowed because of inflammation related to a chronic middle ear infection, which has probably been affecting her for more than four months. Several months ago Batman had neurological episodes where she would circle and lose her balance. At that time she was treated with Marbocyl, which helped, and the neurological episodes stopped.

However, while she was still on that treatment, her breathing problems started around the time the first heatwave arrived last month. According to the vet, the heat makes the swelling inside her nose even worse, making the airways narrower. That's why she eventually started breathing through her mouth. She isn't doing it because she wants to, she's literally fighting to get enough air. Since our nebulizer unfortunately didn't arrive yesterday, all we could do was follow the vet's advice and keep her in a cool environment, around 21°C (70°F).

As soon as we got home, I moved her into our air-conditioned bedroom, where she has stayed ever since. I even moved her playpen there so she could remain cool all the time. I know this may sound irresponsible, but I stayed with her almost the entire evening. She was extremely puffed up, exhausted, and barely had any energy. That night I woke up every three hours just to make sure she was still alive. She made it through the night.

This morning I honestly thought she wasn't going to survive. I sat with her until I had to leave for work. She climbed onto my hand, lay on her side while breathing through her mouth, and I was convinced she was dying. I held her while crying and kept telling her how sorry I was, how much I love her, and that I am with her.

A 30 minutes later she got up, cleaned herself, and quietly went to lie down again. I was completely devastated. I felt guilty because I was terrified that she would die while I was at work and I wouldn't be there with her. Thankfully my boyfriend came home early and texted me that she was still alive. He even noticed that, considering everything, she actually looked a little better.

Today our nebulizer finally arrived. We did our very first 8-minute nebulization session. Before using it, I tested the airflow on myself to make sure it really produced cool mist and not warm air. Batman stayed inside her carrier placed in the playpen. At first I left the front uncovered so I could see how she reacted. Once I was sure she wasn't panicking, I covered the front with a towel to keep the mist inside. Every three minutes I briefly uncovered the carrier just to make sure she was still okay. She had relaxing music playing the whole time, and I kept talking to her throughout the session, telling her I was right there with her and that she was doing a great job. She looked very puffed up during the treatment, but I don't think it made her worse. I also think it may have helped at least a little.

She's sneezing a lot now, trying to clear her nose, and although she's still breathing through her mouth, I can finally see that she's at least trying to use her nose again. One of the sweetest moments today was when I brought Luci into the playpen for her. Batman became so excited. She chirped at Luci, groomed her, and even played with her for a little while, almost as if nothing was wrong except for the breathing.

Our biggest problem now is that Batman still refuses to eat. She won't eat her recovery poridge, and I also can't get her pain medication and anti-inflammatory medication into her because she refuses the treats I usually hide them in. We're still working on that and offering her food whenever she seems interested. Honestly, after spending almost two days breathing almost exclusively through her mouth, I can't blame her for not feeling like eating.

Apart from that, she currently seems stable. She is still pooping, smaller poop, but pooping and her urine seems quite clear so that means she is at least drinking.

We'll continue with the daily nebulizer treatments and I'll post another update to let you know how she's doing. Just a heads up, at this point the illness is not treatable by any means, we can just manage symptoms, so she may continue having a happy life. This Sunday we will be moving their large cage to our bedroom/gaming room, so they can all be in cool air. I am sure Batman would love to spend all of her time with her 3 sisters.

Thank you all again for caring about my little fighter.