Vet check-up for pups

[loxy]

Hey, my female Bee is 15 days pregnant now so we're preparing for the arrival of pups next week! Wanted to ask about taking pups to the vet.

I'd like, before I rehome them, to take them to the vet for a little check up. Should that be before or after I've seperate them into genders and away from mum?

Also on the note of vets, if we have an emergency with RIs around weaning age are there special travel instuctions for younger pups going to the vet? I doubt a vet would prescribe antibiotics based on my observations over the phone so I'd need to take them to be seen. Do I need to keep them warm, what's the longest they can be from mum etc...

All advice appreciated

[johanne]

Unless you have a genuine emergency, it's best to NOT take gerbils to the vet. Trips like that are stressful (which can be deadly) and the chance of picking something up they don't already have is an unnecessary risk. Gerbils are very healthy creatures with strong immune systems provided you are caring for them properly. If you want to be sure they're healthy, post pics here. It's pretty easy to see if gerbil pups are healthy or not from pics.

If you have properly researched breeding and are providing a proper home with sufficient nesting material and pup-safe bedding (not pine) in a quiet location and a proper high protein/high fat diet, the odds on pups getting RI are really quite low. If you do need to bring gerbils to a vet, always bring every animal in the tank. Being together will reduce their stress and there's no harm in bringing extra animals along. If a pup does become ill, the others have already been exposed to whatever they have so there is no merit in separating them. Gerbil care is different from most other animals so it really pays to do your research and ask questions on anything you're not sure about.

[loxy]

Thanks, johanne, that's helpful It was a suggestion which I read on here during my daily digging about the forums for old pearls of wisdom, hadn't heard it before but I could see some logic in it. Figured it was worth asking again. If the benefits don't outweigh the stress and risk involved then that's a no-no for me.

I'm taking every precaution possible and while I'm confident that I've minimised the risks as much as I can and they'll probably be fine I'd be irresponsible to not consider the worse case scenario. I'm happy to admit that before now I've only had healthy boys who have very rarely needed taking to vet until they succumbed to the tumours of old age. Thought it best to see what special requirements there are for little ones, there wasn't much information I could find.