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Post by xxxamybxxx on Apr 16, 2015 6:46:40 GMT -8
Hiya, im new here but was hoping for abit if advice.
Ive had a trio a gerbils for just over 4 weeks now from a small rescue, a week after i had then one (jelly tot) had to go the vets and was given 0.04ml of septrip for 2 weeks, it started looking better really quickly and he finished this course on good friday and my easter monday his ear was completly gunked shut again.
I rang back the vets and they have given me another 2 weeks of septrim but 0.05ml, hes been on this just over a week now and this time it doesnt seem to be helping at all, his eye is half closed and the side of his face just doesnt look right. Theyve said if this doesnt help hes gotta go back in and be put under anaesthetic and have his ear flushed out.
The ear infected is a flat ear... apparently his ear has always been flat but the rescue had no problems until he came to me, the resuce used wood shavings whereas i use megazorb which is quite dusty. How likely is it that the dust from the megazrob is getting into his ear cannal with it being a flat ear and therefore not as good at deflecting dust as normal ears? Ive just brought a bag of shavings and have switched the bedding over just encase but he looks so poorly!
Also ive come home today and he seems to have made his own next on the top floor of the tank topper seperate from jelly bean and jelly baby... should i be worried? i hope they arent rejecting him becuase hes ill or something :L
Thanks in advance
Amy
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Post by betty on Apr 16, 2015 9:21:36 GMT -8
I wouldn't know if it is anything to do with the bedding - but worth a try if you are concerned.
As for the medication, I wouldn't think the drugs were working if it isn't even slightly improving - but that could be circumstances rather than medication if it IS the bedding (like treating ofr an upset tummy and still eating rotten food etc).
As for sleeping alone - this always flags up for me. It could be due to the illness and the gerbil 'feels better' up there - but often this is a sign that he is being bullied by one of the other gerbils. Not always if it only happens every so often. I have a well bonded pair where the dad often sleeps up on the top side shelf for some reason, but they have never fought or been injured, he just does it in his old age.
Lets see what others on the Forum think, but certainly keep a close eye on how they act around each other. If you only have one water bottle add another one somewhere else if possible and start to scatter feed so the sick one doesn't have to want for anything that the healthier ones could be 'controlling' (if they are trying to oust him which they might not be).
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Post by eleda on Apr 16, 2015 14:40:19 GMT -8
Sounds like a return trip to the vet is in order. in my experience, ill or injured gerbils will often seek a little solitude from the others. its an instinct - i think to avoid infecting others or drawing predators to the rest of the clan. keep an eye on how they seem when they DO interact. What i would call 'normal' behavior toward him would be grooming him a little (perhaps especially his face) upon coming across him and otherwise sort of leaving him be. When Jean Luc got ill, he stayed in the nest almost all the time and Data just went about his business and kept using the same nest as normal. I'm sure he cuddled and groomed him some while they were in there but he never tried to shove him out or anything (which i HAVE seen happen when they were both well, haha) But Jean Luc was also dying so he didn't have the energy to build his own nest. if Tot is eating, drinking, and nest building he's not in such dire straits as JL was, but I would still book another visit to the vet soon.
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Post by xxxamybxxx on Apr 16, 2015 15:10:26 GMT -8
Thanks for the replies, since ive had them ive made sure theyve always got 2 water bottles... i always worry encase the bury one and cant drink from it, i also always scatter feed and have millet sticks and things like that hangning around as jelly tot and jelly bean are soooo tiny compared to jelly baby! (67g, 77g and 105g!. since ive had them ive never seen any of them groom eachother they just tend to go about there business running around and chewing things, ive just had them out for a while in the bath and they all seem to be getting along fine when i can see them. He seems ok in himself, its difficult to say whats normal for him since hes been poorly pretty much since ive had him but hes up and about and as im typing this hes scratching at a box and running around and drinking etc.... tbh hes move active tonight than ive ever seen him... which would be lovely if they others were up and about too but they arent its just tot playing alone :L Ill keep an eye on him over the weekend just to see if the change of bedding does make a difference and if not ill take him back next week... do they not do ear drops for gerbils or anything like that? im really worried at the thought of him going under anaesthetic with him being sooooo tiny Thanks Amy
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Post by eleda on Apr 17, 2015 7:19:19 GMT -8
putting gerbils under can be really scary, but they can come through it perfectly well. I was surprised how well JL did with multiple doses of anesthetic (i did draw the line after 3 times though i think? we were trying to fix his leg and the doc put him under any time he needed to do anything. anyway, its really good that his behavior is so normal. and i wouldn't worry about him playing by himself. my boys never did anything 'together' except sleep. they boxed and groomed occasionally. your babies might be grooming in the nest or when you're not around, etc. =) you're handling this really well i think
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Post by xxxamybxxx on Apr 23, 2015 6:36:06 GMT -8
Tomorrows the big day poor little guy is going to have his ear flushed out. It hasnt looked *as* bad the last few days but its definitely not better, just hope he isnt way from his brothers too long, i have the tank a re-arrange and he doesnt seem to of been sleeping on his own since luckily. He cant have food tonight so because i scatter feed the plan is all three of them are going to spend tonight in the bin cage then when jelly tots at the vets tomorrow ill leave the others in there because i dont want to risk them making the tank their terrority especially if jelly tots going come back from the vets smelling different to what they are used to. Then hopefully but them altogether again in the bath when tot comes home just so i can be sure they are ok before they go back in there tank. At this point im more worried about them declanning and jelly tot having to spend his life alone than i am the anasthetic! ....trios are so much more stressful than pairs! lol Amy
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Post by betty on Apr 23, 2015 10:19:44 GMT -8
Males are normally fine though...
I took both my males into the vets together in one of my travel cages - and loads of mealworms as a distraction. The vets made sure they were both handled throughout the day so they both smelled the same the whole time, and I left them in the same tank for 3 days after the op before loading them back into their usual giant tank.
Not only did it make it easier to see if he was fine after the op, I could also see they were getting on - and it helped to keep his stitches in place...
*My vet didn't ask me to stop them eating beforehand - but if yours did - then stick with that obviously, just seemed weird to expect a rodent not to eat?
Good Luck!
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Post by xxxamybxxx on Apr 23, 2015 12:31:46 GMT -8
yeah im just realising now that its weird, when i booked him in i only spoke to the receptionist and she said dont feed him from 9pm the night before but now im looking at the paper she gave me with all the information in and it says "for small animals (rabbits, guninea-pigs and the like) it is very important that they have constant access to food and water right up until they come into surgery"... so now im thinking mabey i should feed them especially as it says the with holding food is to reduce the risk of vomiting and gerbils cant vomit anyway so its not a probelem :L
Amy
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Post by catnut on Apr 23, 2015 15:04:24 GMT -8
good luck to Jelly Tot tomorrow. I had a gerbil with a chronic ear problem, she never was put under but I tried a lot of different meds. and natural cures with nothing really helping her. I wish I would've just tried less meds. and just tried to keep her problem free with just cleaning it when it was appearing to get worse-probably putting all what I did, made it damp which wasn't good. She lived over a year so nothing harmed her, with this issue. Good wishes for Jelly tot, I'm sure all will go well.
Tammy
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Post by xxxamybxxx on Apr 24, 2015 8:37:32 GMT -8
Jelly tot came back from the vets about 12:30... the news isnt great ...but i guess it could be worse ... they said they gave it a good clean and had a look in it and theres no infection there but hes got a tumor inside which goes too far down for them to be able to remove. They said at this point because hes still eating and playing and everything theres not really anything they can do except give him anti biotics if the infection comes back, so i guess all i do now is keep it clean when it goos up and keep an eye on him. Hopefully its not cancerous and he will still have a long time left with us, poor little guy Amy
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Post by catnut on Apr 24, 2015 14:38:08 GMT -8
glad Jelly tot made it through the ear cleaning but sorry to hear he has a tumour, try to be positive that he will be okay. I had a gerbil with a skin issue on his scent gland when he was almost 2 and I thought he would get worse but he lived to be 3 1/2 years old.
Take care,
Tammy
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Post by betty on Apr 25, 2015 0:19:05 GMT -8
Perhaps now then, you should start to try other beddings. We can't have his little ear gunking up all the time.
Maybe start back with what the Rescue Centre were using and see if that staves it off for a while.
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Post by xxxamybxxx on Apr 26, 2015 7:15:08 GMT -8
They have been on wood shavings for 2 weeks now (which is what they were on at the rescue) but it hasnt made any difference. Its not looking too bad at the moment, mabey having it cleaned out has helped abit. If not he seems to quite like having it bathed...i use a cotton bud and if im holding him he sits pretty still and lets me do it... mabey its relaxing for him!
Amy
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Post by eleda on Apr 26, 2015 7:34:30 GMT -8
how nice that he seems to like it! for you and for him =)
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