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Post by southcore on Jun 27, 2005 10:03:27 GMT -8
He's worrying me quite a bit. I got him last week and kept him by himself for 72 hours just to make sure nothing was wrong with him and he was just fine, bright eyes and bushy tailed if you will. I split caged him with my girl Pip, and i introduced them last night. Everything went fine, except for just before i intro'd them, i noticed The Dude was a little lethargic. All he's don in the last 12 hours since i've introduced them (unless i just missed some major playing around in the middle of the night) is sleep. I've seen him eating a few seeds here and there, but he won't eat form the huge pile i put in a bowl in their cage, nor will he eat anything from my hand(including sunflower seeds) Also i haven't seen him drink anything since they were unsplit. I think the water bottle might have been too high for him on his side of the split all day yesterday (b/c he dug out from under neath it) so i was hoping as soon as he could get access to the other one, which is hung lower, that he's drink up. But nothing. I offered him some lettuce and nothing. He appears to be very squinty-eyed, and sleepy. I really don't know what's wrong...is this normal behavior, perhaps he's homesick for his mother or somthing...or is something elese wrong. Please help!
after i posted this he did take a sunflower seed from me and is eating it...he's not quite that proficient at it yet since he's still young but he is eating it.
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Post by megan b52 on Jun 27, 2005 10:47:37 GMT -8
Hey southcore,
Sorry to hear about your little guy. I would recommend putting him back into quarantine and cleaning out the intro cage to reduce the risk of disease transmission to your other gerbil. I'm not saying this is an infectious disease, but since it's a new gerbil, I would be slightly suspicious. Situations like this are why I recommend quarantine for 2 weeks before introduction because some disease processes can take longer to show up than others. If you're worried about hydration, you can try restraining him and getting him to eat some no sugar added applesauce or even try getting some water into him. Veggie baby foods work well too. Have you noticed any heavy/labored breathing? Any discharge from his eyes or nose? Those could be signs of respiratory disease. If you really think he looks bad, I would say call a vet and make an appointment. These guys can go downhill very fast. If you think of anything else about him that seems wrong (respiratory, diarrhea, etc) let me know and I'll try to help you out. Hope he feels better soon!
-Megan
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Post by southcore on Jun 27, 2005 11:00:47 GMT -8
No discharge from anywhere, no labored breathing, no diarrhea at all...he's just sleeping and that's it. What's really weird is that his new mate, Pip, has been unusually active. I caught her being settled down for only a couple of minutes sincei introduced them...Its like some sort of weird polar opposite thing going on. She hasn't slept, and that's all he's been doing. The Dude could have gotten some water in the night that i didn't know about, and i can't help but think he would unless he really is sick. Could him being a young pup have anything to do with sleeping a lot. B/c since i've had him he's always slept a lot...but he also had periods of activity too. Maybe i just missed his activity last night and he is not trying to sleep...or perhaps he can't get enough sleep with Pip going crazy and so he just keeps trying even though he can't really get any good shut eye? Could carboard ingestions maybe explain any letahrgy?
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Post by doomgerbiluk on Jun 27, 2005 12:05:28 GMT -8
how old is this pup?
by 4 weeks most of my gerbil pups are able to eat seeds including sunflowers with no problems
was he plump or skinny when you got him?
does he have any discharge anywhere or other symptoms?
could he be overheated?
I would use a cotton bud or dropper to give him drops of water as he does sound at least dehydrated
Seperating them is unlikely to do any good, if it is an infection the other gerbil has already been exposed but do be careful to avoid any crossinfection to other animals...hopefully its not anything like that but why take chances?
If he shows no improvement see a vet asap.
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Post by southcore on Jun 27, 2005 12:17:21 GMT -8
He is around 7 weeks old. (i first saw him the day after his parents had had a second litter and i got him a week later, and that was a week ago, so i'm guessing he's 7 weeks. He COULD be overheated...i'turned the fan up in hereto try and get them som better venhilation but it didn't seem to work...maybe i'll put the fan closer to theri cage. There isn't any discharge at all, and he was just normal sized when i got him and is the same size...he has been eating seeds just fine...it takes him a little longer to get the sunflower seeds open than it does my others, but he can still eat them. I will definately see a vet if he doesn't show any improvement.
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Post by whitmoregirl on Jun 27, 2005 12:49:19 GMT -8
Perhaps its all the excitment of having a frisky female with him  But you're right, if he doesn't improve soon best take him to the lubbley ol' vets .... |
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Post by southcore on Jun 27, 2005 22:26:39 GMT -8
I tried giving him some drops of water but only succeeded in getting him wet...i did finally cath him eating a little bit of the lettuce i keep putting in their tank so at least i know he's getting a bit of water, i just hope i can cath him drinking from the bottle so i know for sure he's drinking. Also, i hope he gets used to the heat, or i can find a way to better venhilate their tank.
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Post by whitmoregirl on Jun 28, 2005 13:29:03 GMT -8
Give him grapes or apple slices - they're nice to eat and have plenty of water in them.
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Post by southcore on Jun 28, 2005 22:40:58 GMT -8
He seems to be doing better, he's more active, but still sleeps A LOT. He's shown no other sign of ilness, the only thing that really bothers me is i have yet to see him drink from the bottle (i was gone all day today though) and the way his eyes seem squinty. There is still no discharge from anywhere so that's alright. Pip is pretty rough with him, but not in an agressive manner really...its more like he's not there and she just runs over him or kicks him b/c she's digging and he decides to sit right behind her and she's not paying attention. I've given him some grapes and he's been eating them. Poor littles guy's mouth is so small though it takes him a while to eat a significant amount. I'm hoping this was all heat and stress related and that he'll be over it soon enough (especially as he gets bigger and can push Pip around). Thanks for all your help and i'll continue to update if anything develops.
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Post by gerbilsrgreat on Jun 28, 2005 22:41:59 GMT -8
Hope he does better. Definitely keep us posted!
-Jeremiah
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Post by southcore on Jun 30, 2005 11:31:26 GMT -8
I guess this should be the final update. After i played with The Dude yesterday he's been great. I think that's all he needed was some human contact. I hadn't given him much the last day of the split cage up through yesterday b/c i wanted him to become more aquainted to Pip with out any interference. He's been much more active the last day or so, and Pip has finally settled down as well...they finally built themselves a next which i didn't think they were ever gonna do. They kept playing music sleeping spots. And they are now sleeping all over each other. So everything worked out good. Sincerely, THANKS for all the help.
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Post by meganb52 on Jun 30, 2005 11:46:33 GMT -8
Glad to hear everything worked out OK!!
-Megan
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