Scent gland tumour..

[chloe]

Urgh.. Okay, I think my Sandy probably has a scent gland tumour... I can't find any pictures to compare, only the one of a tumour.. I don't know what a scent gland is supposed to look like? When I've handled him (not that often) I've felt a lump on his belly.. I knew gerbils had scent glands, but didn't know if they were supposed to be a lump... *sigh* (it's not, is it?) God knows how long it's been there, I rescued him and Jerry from my nephew who didn't really want them about 5 weeks ago.. Jerry's even harder to handle than Sandy, so I haven't really been able to compare them with each other either.

Anyway, today I managed to get him to stand up so I could look through the tank.. It's probably about 5mm (very vague guess) and pretty red..

What do I do? Vets I guess..?

[lizzy]

I'm guessing you don't know how old they are? Its more common in older gerbils.

There's some information and a picture on www.gerbils.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/gerbils/ailments.htm#Tumours

[chloe]

Yeah I read that, thank you. My nephew reckons he had them for about 2 years, and he said he thought they were about a year old when he got them from the pet shop, but I'm not sure about that! So yeah, either way they're 'older' gerbils..

So is the scent gland supposed to be flat?
If so, is this definitely a tumour?

[lizzy]

I would say its very likely to be a tumour if what you have described is in the "middle" of the belly. however i can't be positive considering i haven't seen a picture etc.

and yes, the scent gland is supposed to be flat- just looks like dry skin in a parting in the fur.

Best bet is to take him to the vet either way in the meantime maybe try and get them a bit more used to handling?

[chloe]

Yeah it's in the middle. I shall have a go at getting a picture but no promises! I must say though I think it looks a lot like the picture on the NGS site, possibly a bit worse.

I have been hand feeding them every day since they've been here, and more recently giving Sandy cuddles when I can catch him! Jerry can rarely be caught, and I don't blame him seeing as for a week when he was handled it was for baytril purposes (couldn't handle him other than that as he wouldn't trust me bless him)!

[chloe]

Okay just managed to get a better look, didn't manage to get a photo though. It's almost definitely scent gland, and it's quite a bit bigger than I thought.. More like pea sized..

What happens when they get too big? and how big is too big..?

[lizzy]

They'll start chewing it when it gets quite big, and I imagine that can lead to problems such as infection :\

However vets can only remove it when its a certain size (I imagine its too fiddly and dangerous to remove when its tiny). I'd definitely suggest a trip to the vet,

[chloe]

I fear he may have already done that.. Though it's not weepy or anything like that, so it might have been a fair while ago.. but the lump, it's not smooth.. He won't stay still long enough for me to see properly, but I *think* it looked like it had like a scar or something... I don't know..

He'll go to the vets tomorrow, anyway.

[chloe]

He was going to go to the vets yesterday, that was the plan. But my Mum wasn't feeling too great (that happened just before Jerry got ill too, weird huh?) and as she has to take the dog to the vets on Monday, I very stupidly thought Sandy would be fine til then.

Last night when they were out playing, I noticed some blood... He spent the rest of the evening licking his wound.. I hope it was licking anyway, and not chewing...

It was too late in the day for vets, and this stupid town doesn't seem to have emergency vets. So it will have to be tomorrow.

I do feel stupid and really guilty.. But as far as I can tell he's okay, but we'll see when he wakes up for play time..

If he's still bleeding, is there anything I can do? I've taken the sand bath(/toilet;)) away, and cleaned the tank out, leaving out the hay this time.
Anything else?

[meganb52]

uncontrolled bleeding can usually be stopped with a little flour or a styptic pencil (can be picked up from any drugstore) used on the area. I would just watch your gerbil and make sure he's eating/drinking/peeing/pooping ok--it was a good idea to remove the toilet/sand areas, and yes, definitely keep his cage clean, especially since the wound is on his tummy. Good luck at the vet's!!

-Megan

[RW]

Whenever you take Sandy to the vet, take Jerry, too. They are living together, right?

Gerbils who go to the vet come home covered with strange new smells and their tankmate may not recognize them. Try to have the vet and techs handle, or at least touch, both your gerbils, so that they'll both have the same new smells on them.

BTW, here's a photo of the scent gland tumor one of my gerbils had. You can clearly see the scent gland, too--it's the hairless line above and below the tumor.

[chloe]

Ah flour, I wish I'd thought of that last night! Oh well, I haven't seen any new blood today, so that's something. I don't think he's been as active as usual today though..

Jerry's been to the vets on his own before, and they were fine when he came back. But yes, they'll both go this time, just in case.

Thank you for the picture, Sandy's is at least twice the size of that

I managed to have a split-second look at Jerry's scent gland yesterday, wasn't easy! But his is nice and smooth and lump-less

[chloe]

He's had the op, collecting him in about an hour

Is there anything I should/could do to make him more comfortable etc?

[chloe]

He's back, apparently he's doing fine, he's rather sleepy though.

Baytril. '1/2ml in 125ml water'

This is a slightly different dosage to what Jerry had.. his was 1/2ml in 100ml, so I gave him 0.05ml by hand.

The vet said to put it in the water, because it's such a tiny amount and it wouldn't matter if Jerry has it too. I don't agree with that and think that antibiotics should only be used if they have to be, not 'just in case' or anything like that.

Advice?

[RW]

Glad to hear things went well and Sandy is home!

I'd keep him on some sort of very soft bedding like paper towels or toilet paper, and make sure his food and water bottle are easy to reach. I wouldn't let him have a wheel, or anything that might irritate or strain his incision for at least a few days, until he's healing well. I think you'll be surprised at how quickly he heals, if there are no complications. I've got photos of my gerbil who had the same surgery here, so you can get an idea of how things will go:

gerbilforum.proboards21.com/index.cgi?board=health&action=display&thread=1110662054


About Baytril, I'm fairly certain I didn't have to give my gerbil any antibiotics after he had his surgery. It was a few years ago, so I can't remember for sure, but in any case, I'd follow your vet's recommendation. I do agree, though, that antibiotics shouldn't be used indiscriminately and definitely not for a gerbil who doesn't need it.

RW