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Post by sofluffy on Feb 7, 2013 9:23:32 GMT -8
Most vets will say to complete the course of antibiotics until they are all gone, so they're definitely better and don't build up a resistance to it. I hope he gets better soon x
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Post by chic101 on Feb 15, 2013 15:00:38 GMT -8
My gerbil has the same:( Tonight when i got to the cage , normally my 2 gerbils come out of their underground sleeping burrow automatically when they hear the lid is opening. Tonight, only Twips went out, very active as usual, jumpjng around. But I had to poke and stuff, to get Pooh out. Then she walked very slowly. She hopped and then just sat for a while with her eyes half closed. She looked very fat. And indeed she was very wobbly. I put a cardboard box in, and she didn't even want to touch it:( She just sits with her eyes half closed like an old woman in a sofa:( Her reaction is very slow. Whe is about 4.2 years old now. But she was very active (hyperactive), runs in her wheel like crazy and hops around the cage, on my arm and digs digs digs. It's weekend now, so I can't go to a pet nearby. I gave her a bit of apple and a lick of honey to get her metabolism running faster. Didn't really help. I just let her rest now I guess...Poor girl
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Post by Shooting Star on Feb 15, 2013 16:47:29 GMT -8
(I realized this was posted a week ago only after typing most of this, lol.)
You mentioned (in another thread) Jack being much smaller than Eleven, right? He looks pudgy because his fur is fluffed up -- which makes me think he's either malnourished or very sick. I've seen rescues that looked "pudgy" like that, but when you picked them up, they were skin and bones. (Of course you'd have noticed if Jack was that bad.) Did the vet weigh him?
(I suppose dehydration has similar symptoms, but it makes no sense that Jack would be dehydrated and Eleven would be fine.)
Tooth problems are the first thought-- you've been giving him meds, so are his teeth okay?
And you said the vet didn't see evidence of parasites. Are his droppings normal? Could it be some kind of GI illness?
Is he eating enough? I know it's hard to tell with gerbils, but how much/how often do you see him eat, compared to Eleven?
Do you have, or can you get, an electronic kitchen scale? It would help to know whether he's just skinny right now, or he's steadily losing weight.
Does your vet give advice over the phone? It would be worth a call to ask them about whether to give Jack the leftover antibiotics. They might also be able to give an idea of how long to keep giving the meds.
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Post by eleda on Feb 15, 2013 19:21:28 GMT -8
Well, I say Jack is a little pudgy because when I'm holding (while giving meds) him he seems to have a bit of pudge to his middle. His teeth are fine; they don't look abnormal in any way and he has a good appetite. Any time I offer him something he gobbles it up right away. It's a bit hard for me to tell when Eleven is actually eating and when he's just chewing, so it's hard to compare the amount they each eat. But Jack does less recreational chewing, so it's easier for me to tell when he's eating and he seems to eat a pretty normal amount. (I'll see him go out for a snack several times while watching him) He also drinks several times a day now. He's also a bit more active, so I think he's starting to feel better. His droppings are normal.
The reason I suspected dehydration at one time was because I feared he might be CHOOSING not to drink. He's drinking fine now, though, so I'm not so worried.
Even if I get a scale, I'm not sure how I'd judge whether Jack's weight is good or not because he's very runty. Like, his skeletal structure is just small. He's about half the size of Eleven, just in length and stuff. But when I'm holding him he doesn't feel overly skinny or anything like that.
Aside from being a bit more lazy than Eleven, he's acting like a normal gerbil. He's getting around very well. The only exception is he sometimes topples. Like, earlier today, he stood on his tip-toes, and he just....fell over sideways like a tree falling. But he's very agile and his apparent clumsiness hasn't been hampering him at all. I'll keep giving the meds for a few weeks and see if he improves.
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Post by eleda on Feb 16, 2013 13:19:42 GMT -8
I was wrong! I feel so bad. When I took him out today I sort of felt him all over and realized it he pretty skinny! How did I not notice before? I'll have to go out an buy a scale today. What can I do to help him put on weight? I dont want to give him too much fatty foods, but that all i can think of that would help. should I get him some mealworms and see if he'll eat those? I tried to look at his teeth again and i think they're ok. When I offer him soft things (celery, carrot, baked seeds, cheese) he gobbles it right down. i offered some bits of his food and he didn't want them but I dunno if that's because they're not as tasty or if he doesn't want them for another reason. I tried softening them but he still wasn't interested. I think when I offer him other things he usually takes them because they're treats - they're yummy. so I dunno how to gauge why he might not be eating.
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Post by eleda on Feb 18, 2013 9:20:19 GMT -8
=( jack started having seizures (possible days ago) last night they seemed pretty bad. (They were the freezing type, not the contorting type, but they were happening so frequently he couldn't really function.) He ended up dying this morning. I sent him for an autopsy to make sure Eleven will be ok.
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Post by catnut on Feb 18, 2013 16:20:12 GMT -8
soo sorry to hear about Jack,RIP little man. Some gerbils can be prone to seizures but hope you find out why he passed on. Take care, tammy
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Post by eleda on Feb 18, 2013 17:00:25 GMT -8
According to the autopsy, the likely cause of death was liver failure. The vet said the build up of ammonia in their system can lead to the type of seizing i described to her. She said he probably just had bad genetics, and may have been older than I thought.
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Post by Laticauda on Feb 18, 2013 17:29:34 GMT -8
I'm so sorry to hear about Jack. How traumatic. I hope you and Eleven can find comfort with eachother.
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Post by eleda on Feb 18, 2013 17:37:57 GMT -8
thanks. =( unfortunately, Eleven is terrified of me and now that he's alone he's more nervous. I'll keep trying to reach out to him, but he needs a new gerbil friend...
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