doug
Member
Posts: 2,064
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Post by doug on Sept 1, 2010 10:56:54 GMT -8
How old is this gerbil?
Doug
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Post by tlouwhite on Sept 1, 2010 13:53:59 GMT -8
I've used canned kitten replacement milk before as well... actually until the last time I needed it and I found the small animal milk replacement mix.
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Post by katievictoriaplum on Sept 2, 2010 1:13:03 GMT -8
mines about 5 - 6 months old,
so is weetabix safe??
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Post by cinnamon on Sept 2, 2010 4:28:16 GMT -8
weetabix is fine, all of mine love it!
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Post by fanny123 on Sept 2, 2010 8:18:56 GMT -8
My gerbil's 2.5 years old.
He's back to his normal weight via Chex cereal,sunflower seeds,& peanuts.
I'm scheduled to get his bottom teeth trimmed.I'm just going to do what Boz is doing.
I can't manage even taking a picture because he wiggles around too much.His situation looks similar to katie's photos though.
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Post by fanny123 on Sept 2, 2010 9:01:10 GMT -8
Hmm...I just took him out to feed him & noticed his scent gland was gone.There was a brown patch where his scent gland was.
What is that & does it correlate with his broken teeth?
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Post by ohmylokix on Sept 2, 2010 9:44:05 GMT -8
The scent gland is a brown patch..
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Post by fanny123 on Sept 2, 2010 11:01:03 GMT -8
ohmylokixActually,the brown spot is a tumor.The scent gland is an off pink color. Here's a picture of someone else's gerbil's scent gland tumor.  I'm going to schedule him for surgery.From what I've read on the internet,the average is $150,but a mobile vet quoted me $30-$50. Is that too cheap? He says he's a DVM.
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Post by ohmylokix on Sept 2, 2010 12:08:36 GMT -8
From my experience, the scent gland is tannish, not really pink, but tumors can be pink.
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doug
Member
Posts: 2,064
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Post by doug on Sept 2, 2010 12:21:25 GMT -8
Given the age of the gerbil I would look at whether or not you would want to have this done given it may only give him a few more months and given the teeth issue.
Doug
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Vixen
Member
8 years of gerbil fun
Posts: 1,805
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Post by Vixen on Sept 5, 2010 12:57:39 GMT -8
Given the age of the gerbil I would look at whether or not you would want to have this done given it may only give him a few more months and given the teeth issue. Doug Not always Cy's had his teeth problem for 6 months and his prolapse for over a year, he doing very well, all I do is keep an eye on things trim his teeth evey 2 weks make soft food when he having a problem. |
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doug
Member
Posts: 2,064
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Post by doug on Sept 5, 2010 14:58:33 GMT -8
But yours is an exception, in most cases given the age of the gerbil and the problems time is not on his side, to put an old gerbil through surgery is a risk itself.
Doug
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Post by fanny123 on Sept 5, 2010 16:31:24 GMT -8
I visited the vet yesterday & he said it's not a tumor afterall.It's a bacterial growth. I wasn't cleaning his tank out enough. I read that bedding should be changed every 8-12wks.I changed it every 8wks,but that clearly wasn't enough... I'm going to start cleaning it every 2wks now. He gave me medication which I'm to apply everyday to his growth until it subsides. I still don't know what to feed him.I got his bottom teeth clipped,so he has virtually no teeth now. I tried the baby food/crushed gerbil food that Boz recommended,but he's not receptive to it at all. Only thing he's willing to eat are sunflower seeds & Chex cereal.That just doesn't seem a sufficient diet. Only small animal powder I've located in my area is called Bene-Bac ( www.petag.com/features_details.asp?ItemID=1784 ),but that seems only a supplemental powder & not a meal replacer. How about kitten milk? Could've sworn someone in a similar situation used that. |
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Post by ohmylokix on Sept 5, 2010 16:37:07 GMT -8
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Post by fanny123 on Sept 5, 2010 17:33:25 GMT -8
Thanks for the recommendation.I'll definitely check that out.Just the kind of thing I was looking for.
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