Alvin updates

[rhianna]

Alvin's tumor has gotten really bad. He was still doing alright until the past couple of days, I noticed he started really slowing down and spending a lot of time asleep underground as well as losing a lot of weight. I cleaned the big tank yesterday and today he's gone really downhill. I really hope it wasn't the stress of having the tank freshly cleaned, but it needed to be done...

This morning when I went to check on the gerbils I noticed him having trouble drinking from the water bottle. Then when he walked away, but he was unable to really walk, and he kept stumbling. He then crawled underground and I rustled the bedding a bit to try and get him to come back out. He appeared again and I noticed his eyes are half closed and he feels like a little skeleton with fur.

I can't believe how quickly my little Alvin's health has gone downhill, but I did expect it eventually. Him and Simon are almost 3 years old and he's had the tumor since February, I believe. 

I'm supposed to work today but I'm going to ask my mom if she'd take me to the vet to have Alvin pts, and if so then I'll call in sick to work. I really don't want to see him suffer anymore and figure we should just get it over with. I'll keep you guys updated on what happens today and tomorrow. 

[sarahobw]

Brave decision in a sad situation.

I really feel for you - my Bo had a SGT and deteriorated over about year (and most drastically over the last 2 months) in a very similar way to Alvin. When he wasn’t showing much discomfort I was quite happy to let him slow down and live out his days – but when the time did come, I’m sure he was suffering, and it was evening so the vets was closed and I couldn’t take him. I am still sad that I did not take the plunge and have him pts a few days earlier.

You know your little animals better than anyone - their usual health and their personality. So trust yourself to make the judgement on when they just aren’t happy any more because, realistically, no one is more qualified to do so. Any decision you make will be made with love and their best interest at heart. Be kind to yourself for it.

Hope you're okay and good luck with the appointment x

[catnut]

soo sorry to hear about Alvins' decline,you've looked after him well. It does usually just sneak up on you when they get worse. Take care and do what is best for him and take good care of yourself. I hope Simon will be okay by himself. Tammy

[rhianna]

Thank you guys for the nice comments. My mom and I decided to wait it out and see how nature takes its course for now. He's doing alright, other than being unbalanced and sleeping a lot. He still was getting excited about his treats and eating/drinking plenty yesterday. I know that it would probably be the best option to have him put to sleep asap but I honestly can't bring myself to do that right now. I know it sounds selfish but this whole thing is already very hard as it is. Simon has been taking care of Alvin, he's been grooming him and snuggling with him. It's so sweet to see him caring for his brother. I hope I'm making the right decision by just letting it happen naturally, but that's what I feel is the right thing to do.

As for what I'm planning in the future, I still haven't gotten around to finding a friend for Olaf. He's been doing extremely well on his own, and he was on his own when I got him, so I haven't been too worried about it. However, I think I'm going to try and introduce him and Simon. Hopefully it will go alright since Simon is very dominant. I'm not sure how Olaf is going to react, but we shall see. If it turns out that Olaf is just better off on his own, then I'll see about getting a couple of male pups to share the 29 gallon tank with Simon. Or, another possibility would be to get a longer tank and set up a permanent split for Simon and Olaf. I'll probably make a separate thread about this later

[rhianna]

Alvin passed away earlier today. I had a feeling that he had so I went digging through the tank to find him. I finally found him; he had passed away inside of a chewed up toilet paper roll. I though that was so nice, because chewing toilet rolls was his absolute favorite thing to do. I'm working on painting a gravestone for him and then I will be burying him along with the toilet paper tube in my new front yard underneath a big, beautiful tree. Simon seems to be doing fine; he was spoiled a bit today with yogies and seeds. I'm waiting to see how he acts over the next couple of days without his brother.

I'm going to the hardware store Saturday to get some mesh, and then I'll be splitting the 10 gallon. Olaf and Simon will go in the split and we'll see how it plays out. I'll make a separate topic in the appropriate section when I start the introduction

[ninestone]

I think you made the right choice with Alvin, and also for Simon. Animals understand death, and are often more stressed or affected if another animal in the family simply disappears. Sorry for his loss, and I hope things go well with Simon and Olaf.

[catnut]

rip Alvin, I hope Simon will be okay. Be gentle on yourself and hope all works well when you try Olaf with Simon.

[rhianna]

Thank you for the kind words. Simon is happily gnawing on a new cardboard box I gave him, and had fun running around in my sleeves earlier today. In short, he seems to be doing well.

[PurpleSheep]

RIP Alvin. It sounds like he had a great life. I hope the introduction goes well.

[sarahobw]

I'm really sorry, RIP Alvin, I'm sure you gave him a wonderful life and made the best choices for him. Glad Simon is adapting well, it's funny how little animals cope with these things so naturally. X

[rhianna]

Thanks for all the replies We got the supplies to build a really high quality removable/reusable split today so I'm really excited about it. My dad is going to help me build it tonight (hopefully) and then the gerbils will probably be going in it tomorrow when I get home from work. Simon is still doing just fine but I still want to try it out with him and Olaf. If it doesn't work, then at least I know they're both alright on their own.

Anyways, I plan on doing a tutorial video while we're building the split, so I'll link it when it's done!

[chakotay]

I'm sorry to read of Alvin's passing.