lethargic, tired, skinny gerbil

[maddie]

It's been quite a while since my last post, but I knew where to come when my gerbil, Cupid, started having some issues. She's probably close to 2 years old, and is bonded with one other female gerbil. They both seemed perfectly healthy until I noticed Cupid's absence. At first, I summed it up to just missing her, since I've been very busy these past few weeks, but I started to get concerned since she wasn't even coming out to get food. I hadn't seen her for close to a week before I started rummaging through the bedding to find her. Honestly, I really just wanted to make sure she was even alive. When I found her she was okay, but had labored breaths and moved in an unstable way. When I picked her up there were no outside issues I could see, other than she was much thinner than before. I moved her to a smaller isolated tank with a heat lamp. I've been monitoring her these past few days, and she still has labored breathes and is eating very little. I tried feeding her unsweetened apple sauce just so she could get something in her system, but she would not take it. She mostly sleeps a lot, but I have seen her move around a little bit. The thing I most worried about is her breathing and her appetite, especially considering she is already as skinny as she is. I think we are setting up a vet appointment since she hasn't shown much improvement so far, and that should be for sometime this week. Her sister has not shown any symptoms of whatever this is. I read through a couple threads with similar issues, and they seemed to resolve themselves, but I would rather not take the risk to wait it out. Honestly any advice helps, thanks in advance!

[betty]

Sorry to hear she is poorly, bless her.

First things first is check her front teeth if you haven't already - this is THE most common cause of weight loss as the overgrown teeth dig right into the gums and are extremely painful. Easily remedied with an immediate trim.

Second thing would be to have her back with her tank mate. Unless you have reason to believe that the other tank mate is the cause of her weightloss/lethargy and/or they are fighting - having them together is better all round. They will keep each other warm and they will groom the poorly one most times, keeping their bond. Even take them to the vets together. If you part them for too long and they start to smell different - it could be quite hard to get them back living together again after recovery.

Fingers crossed it is just her teeth - and nothing more sinister.

[mygerbilprince]

Everything Betty said, just be sure to take her to the vet if it's not the teeth or nothing improves. It feels silly having to say that, but some people really don't consider taking a gerbil to the vet! I hope she gets better <3

[maddie]

I checked her teeth and they seem normal. I put her back into the tank with her sister and she ate a little bit today. Other than that she's mostly the same, we still need a vet appointment just to be safe. Thanks for the suggestions, I'll keep you guys updated.

[betty]

How has she been since your last post?

What, if anything, did your vet say?

[maddie]

Hey everyone, I know its been an eternity since my last update, and for that I apologize. Cupid did end up passing only a couple days after my last post, before we were able to get her to the vet. These things happen. thank you all for being patient and cooperative with me!

[betty]

I'm sorry.

Always a sad day, and thanks for coming back to the forum after such a sad day.

[Markpd]

Sorry to hear she's passed away, and thanks for the update