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Post by brittanie on Apr 28, 2004 18:51:20 GMT -8
My one gerbil, abby, has been acting a little wierd, although I've only had her and tessa for only a couple weeks so it might just be me. First off, she's not as active as tessa and she's been crouching, licking her gentil and belly area, which abby does not. Also she's crying a bit when she's licking herself so I'm wondering, is it possible for them to have maybe a bladder infection? or am I possibly feeding them something I shouldn't be? because I give them lettuce and carrots which have larger water contents and I know they are desert animals not too used to water... does anyone know why she's doing this? she's really starting to worry me! also is it possibly because they are in a cage? Tessa loves to run around so I'm getting them an aquarium at the end of the week, but the cage is obviuosly smaller then an aquarium, could she be depressed because of her small space? she's just really acting fuunny and I feeel horrible!
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Post by andrea on Apr 29, 2004 0:02:05 GMT -8
Have you noticed any runny poos?. It maybe the lettuce etc is giving her the runs, maybe her sister isn't eating it and therfore is ok. Maybe try not giving them the high water contented food for a while and see if it makes her happier.
Andrea
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Post by brittanie on Apr 29, 2004 6:52:40 GMT -8
What I did was I took out all the lettuce or oranges they had to snack on and I removed the sunflower seeds frorm their food. I then put them in my kitchen which is warmer then my room in the basement and put a couple towels, over lapping each other, over the cage leavving on side uncovereed so they had air and a place to look out. This was to keep her warm and in a dry sort of environment. I put a little dish with water so that she could get to that and not her bottle and this morning when I went upstairs, she wasn't in the best shape still, but an improvement for sure. She;s still licking herself though so she's gonna go get some advicec from the doctor today... I finally found a pocket pet doctor right in my area. *Better safe then sorry!* an d Petsmart is getting an ear-full from my friend and I cause everything they told us about our gerbils was a lie! I'm not very impressed! Poor abby could have died!
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Post by andrea on Apr 29, 2004 7:15:24 GMT -8
Bloody Petsmart they are just as useless here in the UK also !!
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Post by Ritzie/Admin on Apr 29, 2004 15:49:12 GMT -8
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Post by brittanie on Apr 29, 2004 18:00:33 GMT -8
I talked to the vet, there wasn't much he could say without her there, but I didn't want to put her through the stress of a car ride with her being sick cause its almost an hour away. but they did give me some pointers, the licking the lower belly could mean she's in heat they said, but I noticed when I got home she had some left over runny-poop on her bumm, so I think she has diaharrea. I looked at your page on what to do when that happens so there is no more fruit or veggies for a while, its sunflower seed treats. She just isn't getting as fat as her sister as well. She worries me, but if its not better in the next couple of days, I think there is no choice but to make the drive.
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Post by Ritzie/Admin on Apr 30, 2004 2:56:23 GMT -8
The treatment for diarrhoea is: Remove all food with high moisture content out of their cage. Only feed your gerbil with dry bread and boiled, dry rice. Replace their drinking water with tepid camomile-tea. Be sure that they can drink, because they will lose a lot of water. When your gerbil won't recover within 1-2 days, you need to go to a vet. Take some faeces with you, so the vet can examine it. The vet can give you some drugs to treat the gerbils. You need also to clean the whole cage.
Maybe just removing the vegetables and fruit will help also if that is the cause! Keep an eye on it!
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Post by queenofthenile on Apr 30, 2004 7:48:35 GMT -8
Also, you can use a product called Wet-tail. I used it on my sick gerbil Rowan (the poor guy that Peter mentioned above). How old is your gerbil? Diarrhoea is pretty common before 8 weeks of age, especially if your gerbil came from a petstore (they aren't as sanitary and it can cause the gerb stress as well).
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Post by brittanie on May 1, 2004 14:09:00 GMT -8
I just read your message and looked at the pictures of rowan and I SWEAR that has got to be the case with abby!! her belly looks like that and stuff too, only problem is that she won't let me near her right now, let alone rub her belly! I did get her from a petstore 2 weeks ago so she's just a baby! I've cleanedd their cage, been giving them dry bread and camomile and keeping their temperature in the room a dry-like 20-23 degrees Celcius. Where can I get this wet-tail stuff. i've been so upset and crying for the past coupld of days thinking that she had wet-tail but it seems to be getting better. None of the vets had openings so I couldn't bring her in!! I think she's gonna get better. How do I tame them though? they've been with me for 2 weeks and are still kinda scared!! do you think that will change when I get them an aquarium instead of their plastic cage they have now? since it'll have more room and it won't seem like I'm restricting them so much maybe?
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Post by Ritzie/Admin on May 2, 2004 7:33:49 GMT -8
They will not get tame in just 2 weeks! It takes longer. Just handle them a lot and offer them treats from your hand, etc. Than it will get better and better! Just be patient, sometimes it can take a while! About your sick gerbil! If it's goning to get more serious, I would see a vet if I were you! Or is she improving? EDIT: Oh I just saw that they are doning better: gerbilforum.proboards21.com/index.cgi?board=health&action=display&thread=1083466825.
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Post by brittanie on May 2, 2004 13:42:25 GMT -8
yea, I just saw how my best friends gerbils were a little more tame already and thought mine might never come around... patience is there though, they seem to be a little more comfortable so... yea... and they are doing much better, the tea really does help!!
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