Gerbil lethargic and eyes closed

[penguinps]

So my gerbil Twinkie (1 yr old) has been acting strangely the last two days. We moved into a new home 1 week ago and she was fine then, so I don't think it's stress from that? I cleaned the tank about 5 days ago too.

Anyways she has been keeping one eye closed and one eye open. But both have crusty red dots around it. She has also been more sluggish. Usually she is chewing a LOT and running about. Now all she does is sleep, and when she does wake up it's only to go to the potty area and to drink water. Her poops look normal, her tail area looks fine, and her teeth aren't too long. I haven't seen her eating her normal food but the pellets are decreasing as usual since I count them. She is still taking a sunflower seed and munches those like normal.

Should I be worried? It's more her sluggishness and lethargic behavior that is bothersome since it was so drastic.

pictures of her eyes:



Thanks!

[penguinps]

help, anyone? She is doing NOTHING now. Just sitting in her sleep house. Not even taking sunflower seeds, which she used to go crazy for. I think she is dying I am scheduling a vet appointment now but I don't think she's going to make it through the weekend

[eaturbyfill]

Until the vet appointment, try to keep her comfortable and make sure she is eating and drinking. You might have to help her eat and drink. Try soft food like baby food or something she doesn't have to chew. If you feed her a lab block diet like Oxbow, you can soften it with water.

[penguinps]

She passed away today. (( I am completely heartbroken as this was my first pet EVER.

I had a feeling I was basically doing hospice care for her. I kept a heating pad, fluffed up her nest, kept food and seeds close to her nest. All of yesterday I had to help her eat and drink, water from a tiny spoon, and I crushed up her block pellets with a mortar and pestal and put some water to make a paste. She ate every couple of hours and drank all of yesterday. But when I woke up, today I knew she wasn't going to make it because she refused EVERYTHING. Shortly after she died.

I am so so sad. I was going to go to the vet and euthanize her if there was nothing we could do. I'm sad she suffered in her last moments and there was't much I could do.

PS--her final symptoms were:
-sudden weight loss
-dull fur
-eyes closed shut by red mucus
-lethargic
-when eating, very slow and strained
-lifeless, "floppy" in my hands
-moving slowly, stumbling around, falling sideways
-sleeping nearly 23 hours
-no response to sound, sight, or smell


Any ideas as to what happened to her?? This was all between less than 48 hours. Before that, NOTHING.

[Deleted]

May 11, 2013 21:56:35 GMT -8 penguinps said:

She passed away today. (( I am completely heartbroken as this was my first pet EVER.



Any ideas as to what happened to her?? This was all between less than 48 hours. Before that, NOTHING.

sorry for your loss.
it could have been a stroke (gerbils are particularly prone to them due to incomplete artery circle in the brain).

[catnut]

soo sorry to hear about Twinkie, my Tia just passed away from a tumour just over a week ago and I have no other gerbils so it has been hard to get used to her being gone. RIP Twinkie, you did all you could for her and I'm sure she felt your love for her. I also wanted to have my gerbil put down but the vets weren't open yet so she went naturally. Take it easy on yourself and give yourself time to grieve, try to do some things that make you happy and listen to music.

Take care,

Tammy

[sofluffy]

I am so sorry <3
R.I.P little one x

[kaijerke]

May 11, 2013 21:56:35 GMT -8 penguinps said:

She passed away today. (( I am completely heartbroken as this was my first pet EVER.

I had a feeling I was basically doing hospice care for her. I kept a heating pad, fluffed up her nest, kept food and seeds close to her nest. All of yesterday I had to help her eat and drink, water from a tiny spoon, and I crushed up her block pellets with a mortar and pestal and put some water to make a paste. She ate every couple of hours and drank all of yesterday. But when I woke up, today I knew she wasn't going to make it because she refused EVERYTHING. Shortly after she died.

I am so so sad. I was going to go to the vet and euthanize her if there was nothing we could do. I'm sad she suffered in her last moments and there was't much I could do.

PS--her final symptoms were:
-sudden weight loss
-dull fur
-eyes closed shut by red mucus
-lethargic
-when eating, very slow and strained
-lifeless, "floppy" in my hands
-moving slowly, stumbling around, falling sideways
-sleeping nearly 23 hours
-no response to sound, sight, or smell


Any ideas as to what happened to her?? This was all between less than 48 hours. Before that, NOTHING.

The exact thing just happened to my gerbil.