|
Post by yankeedoodledandy on Jul 6, 2005 15:08:55 GMT -8
I don't believe in discrimination against rodents - they have a right to good health just as much as any other animal - so, yes, I take my gerbils to the vet when they are sick. An extra six months might not seem like a long time to us, but to them it is.
|
|
|
Post by annenrob on Jul 6, 2005 19:21:29 GMT -8
I believe it can be a hard call on what to do I know where I live there's only 1 vet that will treat small rodents and birds. I personally would do what I could to take a suffering animal to him but if at the time I couldn't afford it I would do what I could to ease their suffering and let them go in peace.
|
|
|
Post by gerbilsrgreat on Jul 6, 2005 20:46:50 GMT -8
Bes has a good point! I wouldn't take my gerbils to the vet for expensive procedures, but that doesn't mean I don't love them to pieces! Once my gerbil didn't seem to be acting normal but fortunately one of the vets at the Banfield in my PetsMart offered to check him out for free for me and he said he was fine so it put my mind at ease. But I prefer to just let my gerbils die in peace when it's time for them to go. If they need to be euthanised, then I'll take him to the vet for that and pay for it.
I don't believe that animal life is sacred like human life is. That's my personal belief and I respect anyone else's different beliefs. I believe it is wrong to mistreat an animal, but I don't think deciding not to take them to a vet if they are sick qualifies as mistreatment.
Also it was mentioned that we should try to extend their life because: "An extra six months might not seem like a long time to us, but to them it is." But I've read in other posts that a gerbil's memory can last about 72 hours, so do they really have an accurate concept of time and how long they've lived? I don't think so.
-Jeremiah
|
|
|
Post by RitzieAnn on Jul 6, 2005 21:40:29 GMT -8
I agree! My gerbils have it pretty darn good these days. We just bought all sorts of things to make toys (like the bird toys) and they get hay to snack on, and 7 of my 16 gerbils were rescuses. Honestly, at 19, and with all that's happened, I don't even have the money to take myself to the vet if I had to.... but at least my group of 6 little rescued siblings aren't living in a floor space of only 5 gallons! Money isn't everything, and I'm so glad you brought that up Bess!
|
|
|
Post by yankeedoodledandy on Jul 7, 2005 5:48:48 GMT -8
"Also it was mentioned that we should try to extend their life because: "An extra six months might not seem like a long time to us, but to them it is."
No, I wasn't saying that others should try to extend their animal's lives. I was just stating my belief on the matter. For a 2 year old gerbil, another 6 months would lengthen its life by 25% and that's a good chunk of time, relatively speaking.
|
|
|
Post by gerbilsrgreat on Jul 7, 2005 19:49:06 GMT -8
No, I wasn't saying that others should try to extend their animal's lives. I was just stating my belief on the matter. That's true, perhaps I should have rephrased (sp? ) that. For a 2 year old gerbil, another 6 months would lengthen its life by 25% and that's a good chunk of time, relatively speaking. But does the gerbil know that? Interesting questions, wish I could ask my gerbils ;D -Jeremiah
|
|
|
Post by milia on Jul 8, 2005 3:41:29 GMT -8
But does the gerbil know that? Interesting questions, wish I could ask my gerbils ;D You and me both
|
|
|
Post by meganb52 on Jul 9, 2005 16:19:39 GMT -8
I don't believe that animal life is sacred like human life is. That's my personal belief and I respect anyone else's different beliefs. I believe it is wrong to mistreat an animal, but I don't think deciding not to take them to a vet if they are sick qualifies as mistreatment. While it may not apply to gerbils, in most states it's a criminal offense to not take your animal to the vet if they are in obvious need of medical attention, and you can be charged with animal cruelty for not doing so. I'm not trying to be mean or anything, just stating the facts. I think there's a fine line there, and it's tough to know which side of it you are on sometimes. -Megan
|
|
|
Post by RitzieAnn on Jul 9, 2005 16:33:39 GMT -8
That's ture megan. It is a fine line, and sometimes it's hard to see it.
|
|
|
Post by lizzy on Jul 10, 2005 10:28:48 GMT -8
I think it is necessary to research vets in your area before you purchase any animal and find out if the vets nearby you treat or specialise small animals. It depends on the area, a lot of vets for example do not know how to treat animals that are classed as exotic such as chinchillas. However others only treat dogs, cats, rabbits etc and sometimes you have to wait a few days to get an appointment with a vet that treats small rodents. In cases that I could not treat myself I would in every circumstance take the animal to the vet if at all possible. I do not believe anything deserves to be left suffering. The gerbil may find it stressful to be taken to the vet but I am sure if it gets better as a result of being seen by a vet, it would have been worth it. There was a gerbil I took home from the petshop I work at a few months ago (Connor) because he was very sick. Both my manager and the vet said they didn't think he would survive. I ended up paying about £30 for his vets bills (he had a respiratory infection) and he has made a full recovery and I have kept him. He has turned out to be one of the sweetest gerbils I have owned and he is most rewarding to own I don't think I could place a "limit" on how much I would be willing to spend on my gerbils, because it depends on the circumstance. I think "but I have no money to take a gerbil to the vet" is a pathetic excuse because in my opinion if you cannot afford vets fees then you should not own pets. My friend is a full time student who has a part time job with hardly great pay, she has to pay rent and bills and is often left with very little or no money after she pays them and somehow she still manages to afford vaccinations for all her many rabbits and any expensive vets bills that she ends up with. if she borrows money then she always pays it back. I mean I have nearly £900 saved up and thats what I will dig into if I have no money in my bank account and need the money for vets bills or other emergencies. I will probably be back later with other points I'll have no doubt forgotten!
|
|
|
Post by Ritzie/Admin on Jul 12, 2005 5:15:59 GMT -8
I just don't like it when people come to an office I'm working in insistent that we will be able to "fix their pet" because they read about some miracle cure on the internet. I know the problem! I think no vet or veterinary nurse does like that. And the same problem have physician for humans! People demand a lot these days. My parents love my gerbils and so do I. Please don't judge us and say "we shouldn't have them in the first place" just because we don't have enough money to bring them to the vet. Shouldn't it be enough that we try to give them a good life already? I totally agree with you Bes! For a 2 year old gerbil, another 6 months would lengthen its life by 25% and that's a good chunk of time, relatively speaking. But does the gerbil know that? Interesting questions, wish I could ask my gerbils ;D -Jeremiah That is a very good question! Personally I don't think they will think this way, or are not able to do that. I don't think they have a sence of time like we do. But it would indeed be very handy if we could ask that to them. I think "but I have no money to take a gerbil to the vet" is a pathetic excuse because in my opinion if you cannot afford vets fees then you should not own pets. My friend is a full time student who has a part time job with hardly great pay, she has to pay rent and bills and is often left with very little or no money after she pays them and somehow she still manages to afford vaccinations for all her many rabbits and any expensive vets bills that she ends up with. if she borrows money then she always pays it back. I mean I have nearly £900 saved up and thats what I will dig into if I have no money in my bank account and need the money for vets bills or other emergencies. I don't agree completely with you! It is most of the times not just "I don't have the money", but "I don't WANT to spend that amount of money". You all know my opinion. I think you should be allowed to have a limit, and still own gerbils as pets. I'm also a full time student, and could spend hundreds of euros for vet bills, but personally I would not spend a very large amount of money for a vet, with gerbils or any other small rodent. I would probably spend more for a dog or cat. And even for a rabbit. So I do make a difference between animals, but that does not mean I don't love my gerbils. And indeed for me a limt depends on the circumstance too. But for each different circumstance I think about the limit! Questions I ask myself are: Is the treatment worth spending the amount of money that is needed? Or: Am I willing to give my gerbils this treatment?
|
|
|
Post by yankeedoodledandy on Jul 12, 2005 6:15:39 GMT -8
While it may not apply to gerbils, in most states it's a criminal offense to not take your animal to the vet if they are in obvious need of medical attention, and you can be charged with animal cruelty for not doing so. I'm not trying to be mean or anything, just stating the facts. I think there's a fine line there, and it's tough to know which side of it you are on sometimes. -Megan Yes, I agree with this. That's what I meant when I wrote about not believing in discriminating against rodents. People could go to jail for failing to take a dog or cat to the vets, but if it's a gerbil or hamster, it seems to be okay. I love rodents so much that this bias upsets me a little. I don't judge people for their decisions, but find it a little perplexing, because of what it means about the status of pocket pets.
|
|
|
Post by reallybes on Jul 12, 2005 7:13:17 GMT -8
I think "but I have no money to take a gerbil to the vet" is a pathetic excuse because in my opinion if you cannot afford vets fees then you should not own pets. My friend is a full time student who has a part time job with hardly great pay, she has to pay rent and bills and is often left with very little or no money after she pays them and somehow she still manages to afford vaccinations for all her many rabbits and any expensive vets bills that she ends up with. if she borrows money then she always pays it back. I mean I have nearly £900 saved up and thats what I will dig into if I have no money in my bank account and need the money for vets bills or other emergencies. Idealistically speaking, yes it would be the ideal thing to bring all your pets to the Vet. But realistically, we don't all have that kind of money to begin with. Why is it people say "if you don't have enough money to bring them to the vet, don't own them at all"? I don't mean to sound cruel but this is what's real - it was either i took the gerbils into my care or left them at the petstore. And I love all animals, I don't think it is anybody's business to decide whether or not I should "own" one. Yes I agree with expressing your concern and opinions but when it comes down to it, nobody's here to make decisions for anybody else. This isn't about cruelty and this isn't about flaming someone for their opinions, so there really isn't any need to call money "excuses" pathetic. Yes, you may say that not bringing your animal to the vet is cruelty enough, but that is a matter of opinion since it wavers with each individual. I give my gerbils everything, and anything I can afford .. And no offense but if that money is torn between paying for a Vet or paying my tuition .. where do you think that money will go? Lizzy, it's great that you've given us examples of what great people you and your friend really are. But that does not make you better than anybody else and that doesn't make anybody else "pathetic." I would greatly appreciate if everybody could watch their choice of words (ie. pathetic) when responding to someone else's post. We're not here to read rants so we should express what we think without the strong and unnecessary adjectives next time.
|
|
|
Post by lizzy on Jul 19, 2005 2:43:59 GMT -8
Well I'm sorry half of you didn't like my post, but it was my honest opinion and it was not supposed to be a "personal attack". It was not supposed to imply "I take my gerbils to the vet and I'm better than you." It was not suggesting you should forfeit your tuition fees for vet fees. I have seen and heard of a lot of cases where people have simply said "I don't want to take this animal to the vet. I don't have the money." In my opinion, paying for vet care - the health of the animal - comes hand in hand with buying the pet.
Gerbils are small animals and most of the time they will not require large, extensive vet bills. Dogs, for example, can be expensive as surgery for them can cost hundreds of pounds. But I've never heard of a case which means that hundreds of pounds have to be spent on a gerbil at the vet- perhaps one of you would like to provide one. For one thing, surgery or vet care for that amount would have to be pretty advanced, and I'd rather not put a gerbil through all that surgery, not to do with the amount of money, but that advanced surgery may mean that something must be very wrong with the gerbil, not to mention the poor thing would be stressed out of its head and could possibly die under anaesthetic anyway. Plus not many vets would be willing to subject a small rodent to such extensive surgery. Of course this is all general and there may be circumstances where I would be willing. Obviously it all depends on the circumstance, like I was saying in my previous post.
Jeez.
|
|
|
Post by RW not signed in on Jul 19, 2005 5:19:31 GMT -8
At one time or another, most gerbil owners are faced with needing to take a sick gerbil to the vet. Why not start an emergency fund before it happens? Couldn't you save up a few dollars here and there for vet treatment? Believe me, I'm far from being rich and in my area vet visits for gerbils aren't cheap, but my gerbils get vet care when they need it because I know that eventually someone probably will and I try to be prepared ahead of time.
RW
|
|