Post by queenofthenile on Jan 23, 2004 20:34:31 GMT -8
I'm not sure anyone read this before we got removed, so I will post it again.
Juniper, my first gerbil, passed on yesterday. It was really very sad. I recently had to split her and her cagemate up because she was acting very aggressive. I had planned to reintroduce them and perhaps keep them permenantly split-caged. I hadn't figured out how to do that in my irregularly shaped tank, though. Since she has been alone, she has been very destructive. She had learned how to chew through her tank lid and I had previously found her sitting on top of her tank. I placed a large object over this area thinking she could not make the hole any bigger and this worked for a week. Yesterday morning I found her on the ground. She had managed to chew the hole to 5 inches past her water bottle (she would sit on her water bottle to chew on the wires). I guess she had jumped into one of my plants and this caused it to fall off the shelf. When I found her, she was propped on her chest and her hind legs were not working. She was able to drag herself around quite well but she was in a lot of pain. I took her to the vet and he told me that she had either broken her pelvis or her back. So I had to euthanize her. At least it was fast, I did not like to see her suffer.
I feel really bad because I know I could have prevented it. I guess I didn't realize that she would get hurt. At least I was able to put her out of misery quickly, and I know that I will never make this mistake again.
So, everyone, please be careful with your small animals. Even a small fall can cause life-threatening injuries. I wish I had realized that earlier.
Juniper, my first gerbil, passed on yesterday. It was really very sad. I recently had to split her and her cagemate up because she was acting very aggressive. I had planned to reintroduce them and perhaps keep them permenantly split-caged. I hadn't figured out how to do that in my irregularly shaped tank, though. Since she has been alone, she has been very destructive. She had learned how to chew through her tank lid and I had previously found her sitting on top of her tank. I placed a large object over this area thinking she could not make the hole any bigger and this worked for a week. Yesterday morning I found her on the ground. She had managed to chew the hole to 5 inches past her water bottle (she would sit on her water bottle to chew on the wires). I guess she had jumped into one of my plants and this caused it to fall off the shelf. When I found her, she was propped on her chest and her hind legs were not working. She was able to drag herself around quite well but she was in a lot of pain. I took her to the vet and he told me that she had either broken her pelvis or her back. So I had to euthanize her. At least it was fast, I did not like to see her suffer.
I feel really bad because I know I could have prevented it. I guess I didn't realize that she would get hurt. At least I was able to put her out of misery quickly, and I know that I will never make this mistake again.
So, everyone, please be careful with your small animals. Even a small fall can cause life-threatening injuries. I wish I had realized that earlier.
