Inoperable tumor, when to put him down?

[Elin]

I have a Gerbil who is just over a year old and we've gotten the news that he has an inoperable tumor in his stomach.

The vet said he could operate but he didn't think it would be successful so we did as he advice and brought him home to spend the time he has left with his bother.

The tumor sticks out of his belly a couple of mm when standing up, he has yet scratch at it or chew on it which is good. He eats and drinks and plays with his brother pretty much as usual. The only thing he does out of the ordinary is to wash the tumor more then the rest of his body. The vet told us the call when he started feeling pain so we could put him down and now to the question, when do I know he's in pain? The vet prescribed some painkillers for him to take and I'm unsure how I would notice the tumor getting worse without having to stop the treatment with the painkillers.



Any help is appreciated

[Monique]

It sounds like a scent gland tumor, the success rate isn't as low as they make out. Your gerbil is still young too. Thats helps. Whats better? Risking an operation that will mosy likely save him with a chance of death, or certain death from euthanasia. I made that decision when I had stormy, but because I hesitated it got worse. I'd take the risk of surgery bcos at least he has a chance of surviving.

[Elin]

Well It's stuck to a big piece of his abdominal wall so if we let them operate he will most likely bleed out and if he lives there's very little chance he will have enough skin to close him up.

[betty]

Firstly to your pain question. If a gerbil changes its behaviour enough through the pain you will notice it even through the pain killers. Most rodents try to carry on as normal anyway even if they are in pain, so you need to think of other things for him to make your decision.

For example, if he starts to loose condition or start to look skinny and bony; if he causes an open wound where the tumour is or anything starts to ooze out of it. This could lead to an infection or it could become ulcerated. As gerbils scent mark with their tummies, he could be spreading the ooze around the place as well.

Also if his friend starts to behave differently to him or he starts to sleep alone you may feel that he is 'sad' on his own. And don't forget that only you can decide for yourself when you think the time is right for PTS if there are no other outward signs.

In addition, the sooner you operate on a growth the more chance there is of recovery - and as I was told by my gerbil vet - it a surface tumour gets bigger than a certain point, there isn't enough skin to sew back together after the tumour is removed. So if you are wanting to go for the surgery - I would visit another vet - specifically one that specialised in small animals for a second opinion.

If your current vet says it is inoperable, but doesn't often perform small animal surgery if may be inoperable due to their experience rather than the size of the tumour. I had to travel into the next town for my gerbil op (he was 2 years old) and his op was a success (so far - it was only in December). It cost me £120 but he was my favourite gerbil - and working it out per day so far it is only £2.72 - and who wouldn't pay £3 a day to keep their fave gerb happy? That's less than a coffee.

Also, I would never say it is too soon for an animal to be euthanased - if anything people often leave it too long. If yours has been diagnosed with a tumour and is on pain killers, AND you aren't going to operate, then I would say things won't improve (especially once the pain killers run out) and you will just be watching every day asking yourself over and over 'does he look in pain'.

It is totally up to you to decide when of course - as you see him and his friend interacting every day. Others can offer their opinions, but only you will know when the time is right.

It's a tough decision, but we have nearly all been right where you are now.