Post by flutinkat on Nov 23, 2014 12:53:34 GMT -8
Hey all,
So I've had Austin since July. He is a gerbil that's probably 1.5-2 years old, and came just horribly taken care of (they were keeping a gerbil and hamster together in one of those starter tanks and he had been degloved a few months previously). I have a sickly robo hamster with severe epileptic attacks and cataracts, so I'm not new to health-challenged small animals.
However, this guy has had a tough run. He's been underweight since I've had him (just two grams under as of last week!) In August, he was bitten on the eye during a failed bonding attempt. Since then, I've opted to keep him separate since his health has been poor enough that I'm worried about tankmates killing him. I know there are strong opinions about that, but that is my choice. He was treated by the vet and given the course of antibiotics. He's had a few poryphrin appearances since then, always in the bitten eye. The degloved tail finally healed and his health looks great earlier last month!
However, he then started drinking and stopped eating. Checked his teeth, and the top ones had snapped off and the bottom ones had grown so much they were puncturing the top inside mouth. We took him to the vet again, they put him under and snipped the bottom teeth and x-rayed the top. He either has a mild abcess or nothing at all, so we are waiting and seeing. A glucose test read 195 blood sugar (normal is 135) although that could have been the baby food he was eating over the weekend while waiting for the vet, but it's entirely possible he's diabetic which would explain the inability to gain weight. He's already being fed a low-sugar diet, same as the robo hamster who is highly susceptible to diabetes. He will be going in next month to see his progress and see whether or not his teeth are growing in or whether we'll have to do the trimming surgery every month.
That was a week and a half ago. He's eating some solids (seeds and such) and yesterday I got him chewing on a sweet potato stick, so the teeth are doing okay. I'm keeping an eye on his upper mouth to make sure possible diabetes isn't preventing it from healing. Still, the poryphrin is back again? What gives?
A bit about his care: i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s616/flutinkat/Gerbils/20140807_1349250_zpsch2wrixm.jpg. HT and Mazuri food with seeds to bring down that protein level, water changed every 2 days and food checked at that time, sand sifted every 2 days since he likes to poop in it, cardboard changed weekly, 50% bedding changed every 2-3 weeks, deep cleans done on a seasonal basis (fall break, christmas break, spring break, summer etc). The wheel has not been chewed but it's coming out today during the deep clean because he never uses it. He's *barely* hand tamed. Bedding is 30% or less aspen, 50%ish Kaytee unscented, and the rest is timothy hay.
Any ideas?
So I've had Austin since July. He is a gerbil that's probably 1.5-2 years old, and came just horribly taken care of (they were keeping a gerbil and hamster together in one of those starter tanks and he had been degloved a few months previously). I have a sickly robo hamster with severe epileptic attacks and cataracts, so I'm not new to health-challenged small animals.
However, this guy has had a tough run. He's been underweight since I've had him (just two grams under as of last week!) In August, he was bitten on the eye during a failed bonding attempt. Since then, I've opted to keep him separate since his health has been poor enough that I'm worried about tankmates killing him. I know there are strong opinions about that, but that is my choice. He was treated by the vet and given the course of antibiotics. He's had a few poryphrin appearances since then, always in the bitten eye. The degloved tail finally healed and his health looks great earlier last month!
However, he then started drinking and stopped eating. Checked his teeth, and the top ones had snapped off and the bottom ones had grown so much they were puncturing the top inside mouth. We took him to the vet again, they put him under and snipped the bottom teeth and x-rayed the top. He either has a mild abcess or nothing at all, so we are waiting and seeing. A glucose test read 195 blood sugar (normal is 135) although that could have been the baby food he was eating over the weekend while waiting for the vet, but it's entirely possible he's diabetic which would explain the inability to gain weight. He's already being fed a low-sugar diet, same as the robo hamster who is highly susceptible to diabetes. He will be going in next month to see his progress and see whether or not his teeth are growing in or whether we'll have to do the trimming surgery every month.
That was a week and a half ago. He's eating some solids (seeds and such) and yesterday I got him chewing on a sweet potato stick, so the teeth are doing okay. I'm keeping an eye on his upper mouth to make sure possible diabetes isn't preventing it from healing. Still, the poryphrin is back again? What gives?
A bit about his care: i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s616/flutinkat/Gerbils/20140807_1349250_zpsch2wrixm.jpg. HT and Mazuri food with seeds to bring down that protein level, water changed every 2 days and food checked at that time, sand sifted every 2 days since he likes to poop in it, cardboard changed weekly, 50% bedding changed every 2-3 weeks, deep cleans done on a seasonal basis (fall break, christmas break, spring break, summer etc). The wheel has not been chewed but it's coming out today during the deep clean because he never uses it. He's *barely* hand tamed. Bedding is 30% or less aspen, 50%ish Kaytee unscented, and the rest is timothy hay.
Any ideas?
