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Post by kimsgerbils on Dec 23, 2005 18:14:36 GMT -8
Ok, a few of my gerbils have scent gland tumors... Milton, 4 y.o. male, unknown origins, never bred. Yoshi, 2.5 y.o. male, born to Mouse x Hobbes, never bred. Kirby, 3.5 y.o. male, unknown origins, Bred to Mouse, produced Henry. Trixie, 2.5 y.o. female, born to Diego x Foxy (recently deceased), never bred. Hobbes, 2.5 y.o. male, origins not exactly known (from breeder though), bred to Mouse to produce Yoshi, bred to Rosalyn to produce Poppy. I'm on the lookout with Henry and Poppy. Poppy is my main breeder and Hobbes' scent gland tumor just cropped up. Poppy is going to be retired once this current litter is weaned as a preventative measure and due to lack of homes for pups...  |
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Post by kimsgerbils on Dec 23, 2005 18:41:33 GMT -8
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Post by AndreaS15 on Dec 23, 2005 19:56:50 GMT -8
aawww.... He's been nibbling on that one eh?
Have you looked into getting them removed?
I find it very strange one of your females has one, I've never heard of a female having a scent gland tumor yet (well till now).
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Post by kimsgerbils on Dec 23, 2005 20:10:05 GMT -8
I'd never heard of a female getting one either... Yes, he's been nibbling on it, and no, I can't find a vet to reliably remove them... |
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Post by maxthegerbil on Dec 24, 2005 2:32:45 GMT -8
What a lovely little man he is! It`s a real shame you can`t find a small animal vet to take a look at him kimsgerbils. I read time and time again that people over in the U.S & Canada find it very difficult to find a vet who will treat small animals like gerbils, rats and mice? It`s never a problem here in Britain thankfully.
So none of the vets you have spoken to will see him? Or did they see him but say they could`nt remove the small tumour? I hope someone can help him. It`s a sad world when they can`t treat something as small as a gerbil....
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Post by kimsgerbils on Dec 24, 2005 2:42:37 GMT -8
Well, I have 2 vets who will treat rabbits (which was hard enough to find) and they said they *could* attempt it, but don't have the right supplies, etc. to make it 100% successful. I wouldn't want to risk them in surgery and they seem to be doing just fine with the scent gland tumors (except for Kirby's occasional barbering of it) but with some styptic powder and neosporin, they seem to be ok for the time being... Yes, it is a shame I can't find a good vet... My rabbit vets are over an hour away so I'm thankful I've never had a dire emergency...
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Post by kimsgerbils on Dec 24, 2005 19:44:35 GMT -8
This is Trixie, the female gerbil with a scent gland tumor:  And this is Milton with a more advanced scent gland tumor... You can see his very nasty teeth too:  |
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Post by maxthegerbil on Dec 25, 2005 3:26:58 GMT -8
Hi kimsgerbils. That`s sad that so many of your gerbils have developed gland tumours. I`ve only read that these tumours are caused when there are groups of gerbils housed together, they tend to scent mark more, which in turn is supposed to make them prone to this type of thing. Whether this is what actually caused the gland tumour, I don`t know. I think we need to do some research in this area to determine what predisposes gerbils to these tumours and why they occur at all? Is it something all gerbils get? Do these tumours only appear in older animals? Is there anything we can do to prevent them occurring in the first place? All these questions......  I`ll be sure to check my four boys from now on to make sure their scent glands are clear and free from lumps! I`ll do some digging and reply if I come up with anything useful.... |
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Post by maxthegerbil on Dec 25, 2005 4:00:31 GMT -8
Hi. I found a nice website that has some good gerbil information regarding scent gland tumours: animalhospitals-usa.com/small_pets.htmlClick on `gerbils` and you will be taken to a page with various articles. Basically what it sais about scent gland tumours is, that they tend to be caused by excessive territorial marking. These tumours can also compromise intenal organs if they grow internally, aswell as externally and can also become infected. The good news is, they can be safely removed with 100% success! If you can find a good small animal vet that is.... vets in the United Kingdom are fairly good at this type of surgery. |
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RW
Member
When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure. Puppy 6/6/07
Posts: 530
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Post by RW on Dec 26, 2005 6:20:47 GMT -8
One of my boys developed a scent gland tumor when he was about a year old, so I don't think a gerbil has to be old to get one. He did mark a lot and my vet told me this can stimulate cells in the scent gland to "overgrow".
I think the statement that these tumors can be removed "with 100% success" is a bit misleading. A far as I understand it, the tumors themselves are fairly easy to remove as long as they're treated early, but just as with any surgery, there is a certain amount of risk from the anesthesia. It's best to find a vet who has experience anesthetizing small rodents, as dosages need to be carefully monitored and the length of time under anesthesia kept to the bare minimum necessary. Also, I understand that gas anesthesia (my vet used isoflurane) is much preferable to injectable anesthesia.
RW
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Post by maxthegerbil on Dec 26, 2005 9:42:50 GMT -8
Hi RW. It`s interesting to know that not only older gerbils are prone to scent gland tumours. Sometimes you read that catching them early for removal is best and then you read that once they are bigger, to have them removed......so there`s a fair divide as to the correct time to operate. I think I would choose to have it treated early, rather than wait until a possible internal mass grew, which has been stated as happening.
Luckily, my four boys are very, very healthy and happy, but a good health check once a week is essential for spotting these things early.
I also agree with the anasthesia. You can`t reverse an injectable anasthesia, so gas is the best way.
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Post by kimsgerbils on Dec 27, 2005 1:11:38 GMT -8
I don't see them marking that often, Kirby does, but none of the others do it all that often... I can't really get them treated, but I figured we could try to find out why this occurs and how to make it easier on them. Is it genetic, does anyone know?
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Post by meganb52 on Dec 27, 2005 10:44:34 GMT -8
It could be genetic. Since it's fairly common to see though I would guess it more as a change over time (as populations of cells get older over time it is tougher for them to repair their genetic material if it is damaged when they divide).
Doing the surgery would be very easy for any vet with a gas anesthesia machine. All they would have to do is fashion a mask to fit onto their machine for a gerbil, shave the area, excise the tumor and sew it up. They could probably even use tissue glue if they had it since the incision would be so small. Really, stuff like that isn't tough and it's the same principles as used in cats and dogs... I honestly don't see why more people aren't doing pocket pet medicine. There's my soapbox on the subject. Those are really good pics of scent gland tumors though Kim. I will probably refer to them in the future when people have questions about scent gland tumors. (If that's OK with you of course)
-Megan
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Post by kimsgerbils on Dec 29, 2005 2:15:36 GMT -8
Yes, I don't mind others using them for reference. That's why I posted them. If others can get their gerbils treated by using my gerbils' photos to diagnose, that would be great  |
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pixytwinkle
Member
Molly and Misty, my lovely gerbils.
Posts: 737
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Post by pixytwinkle on Dec 29, 2005 11:39:44 GMT -8
Do gerbils that have scent gland tumours always die from them?
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