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Post by gerbilssspp on Mar 14, 2019 13:55:59 GMT -8
One of my 4 female gerbils (all 1 year old), called Pop, has been acting a bit strangely. About 2/3 weeks ago I noticed her limping on one of her legs for a couple of days. This went away but I kept an eye on her and noticed that every now and then she stretches out both of her back legs in a way that I've never seen any of my girls do. I know they can rub their tummy on the floor to mark their scent but this isn't like that. She also seems to clean her tummy and back legs a lot too. However she is acting normal; eating fine and running around with her sisters! Any ideas what this might be? Could she have hurt her leg? Should I take her to the vet? Help please!🙂
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Post by gerbilssspp on Mar 14, 2019 14:01:58 GMT -8
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Post by catnut on Mar 14, 2019 14:26:25 GMT -8
how often does she do this? it could be scent marking but it does look abit strange for that. I would watch her when in her home and see how often she does it in one hour if she stays awake that long. I would get her checked if you are worried or gets worse, she could have some pain and stretching helps it? not sure. Make sure you see a vet who knows small animals as a reg. vet may not know what this is, so do ask if you call a vet. Try to stay calm and see how she is the next day or two incase it is just scent marking. Take care, Tammy
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Post by gerbilssspp on Mar 16, 2019 2:21:24 GMT -8
how often does she do this? it could be scent marking but it does look abit strange for that. I would watch her when in her home and see how often she does it in one hour if she stays awake that long. I would get her checked if you are worried or gets worse, she could have some pain and stretching helps it? not sure. Make sure you see a vet who knows small animals as a reg. vet may not know what this is, so do ask if you call a vet. Try to stay calm and see how she is the next day or two incase it is just scent marking. Take care, Tammy Thanks for your help. I know what you mean it does look a bit odd! I did watch her for about 2 mins before she went back to bed and see how often she did it and it was about 4 times. She seems to do it when shes been sitting in one place for a while then goes to move. Her cage is quite tall (2 levels) and I did see her fall a while before she started doing it and yesterday she fell of the top platform while stretching. However, the bedding we use is very soft so perhaps its unlikely she hurt herself that way? It does look to me like stretching almost helps it. I think I will ring a vet first and ask because she's not doing it all the time so they perhaps won't see her doing it, but I've got a video. Thanks for your help again🙂 |
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Post by catnut on Mar 16, 2019 15:08:50 GMT -8
okay, see what they say and show the video if you do take her in. She may have hurt herself if she fell in her cage, even with soft bedding.
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Mar 26, 2019 13:18:49 GMT -8
Did you ever find out what was going on with your gerbil, gerbilssspp? Because my gerbil is doing exactly the same thing as you showed in the video.
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Post by betty on Apr 10, 2019 2:52:36 GMT -8
Hey gerbilssspp and LilyandDaisy, have both your gerbils still been doing this stretching thing? Have either of you spoken to a vet or anything - or has it completely gone away? I have a duprasi gerbil who sort of did something similar - also a female - and only on a few occasions. Just wondering if this is more common than previously thought as a passing thing? |
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Apr 10, 2019 3:46:07 GMT -8
I have actually had two gerbils (sisters) start doing this. The first started stretching her legs out when she was almost three. She also started intermittently limping. I mentioned it when I took her to the vet for another problem. She was walking normally that day and the vet examined her and couldn't find anything wrong. She suggested that I send her a video of the gerbil limping. However the gerbil died of a ruptured ovarian cyst before I was able to (which I assume was unrelated).
A couple of weeks after she died her sister started doing the stretching out thing as well. She doesn't limp like her sister did, but often when she runs it seems like her heels are more flat on the ground than normal. Even my mother, who isn't a " gerbil person" has noticed this. She stretches her back legs out when she gets out of her house in the morning, and at other times. I wonder if it's some kind of arthritis or stiffness, but she's as active as normal and doesn't seem to have any pain.
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Post by aranya on Feb 29, 2024 11:25:39 GMT -8
Hi Everyone,
I am having exactly the same issue with one of my female Gerbil, same as the video uploaded by gerbilssspp, incidentally my gerbil is also of the same golden color and female. She is also a nursing mother, 9 months old and is currently having 5 kids who are 29 days old. She is having food and has a good appetite, and also caring for her kids, however she has changed her nest site to a open area, and her husband who stays with her is also grooming her intermittently, everything look ok except that she is having difficulty walking and crling herself in the same way as in the video.
The issue started today 2 hours back, if you all can help, do you think it is due to an injury, as it can happen as she is very active, always running and jumping around on the cage.
Kindly help, as she is getting a bit stressed, as she is also a nursing mother.
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Feb 29, 2024 11:47:28 GMT -8
Hi Everyone, I am having exactly the same issue with one of my female Gerbil, same as the video uploaded by gerbilssspp, incidetally my gerbil is also of the same golden color and female. She is also a nursing mother 9 months old and is currently having 5 kids who are 29 days old. She is having food and has a good apetite, and also caring for her kids, however she has changed her nest site to a open area, and her husband who stays with her is also grooming her intermittently, everything look ok except that she is having difficulty walking and crling her self in the say way as in the video. The issue started today 2 hours back, if you all can help, do you think it is due to an injury, as it can happen as she is very active, always running and jumping around on the cage. Kindly help, as she is getting a bit stressed, as she is also a nursing mother. Hi, Gerbils mate again immediately after giving birth, it's likely your gerbil is pregnant again. That might be causing the stretching, as she might just be uncomfortable from being heavily pregnant. Stretching and signs of discomfort are often signs a gerbil is going to give birth very soon. I'd suggest keeping an eye on her for a day or two. If she gives birth but the stretching continues, there might be an internal problem which would need a vet visit. Or if she seems bloated and uncomfortable but hasn't given birth after several days, there might be a problem with the pregnancy which would also need a vet visit. Chances are she's just uncomfortably pregnant though! Remember to remove the male as soon as possible if you want to avoid a third litter. Please do let us know how she does and if she does give birth. |
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