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Post by blackie on Jan 23, 2006 1:50:34 GMT -8
I took my gerbil phillip to the vet about one week ago and he was diagnosed with ear infection and I got antibiotics. Tired to give him medicine for a few days without success. He suddenly stopped eating and drinking after being able to eat pieces of carrot and sunflower seeds for a few days and drinking. For two days now he's been critically ill and I probably should have taken him to the vet. Is there any hope at all that he will survive if I get him rehydrated and start giving medicine again? What should I do? I don't htink the vets around here knows a lot about gerbils. How about room temperature, does it have to be constant? How often do they need to drink, once aday, twice aday, four times a day? Can I put water into his mouth with a syringe?
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Post by doomgerbiluk on Jan 23, 2006 1:56:22 GMT -8
You will need ABs, advice on how to give them and rehydration fluid.
Get the vet to demonstrate and ask about alternative methods.
Yes you can give fluids through a syringe, a drop at a time.
Your gerbil does sound extremely sick though, so it may be time, if the vet feels its hopeless, to say goodbye.
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Post by ashleyrenee on Jan 23, 2006 7:40:13 GMT -8
OMG!!! wow thats horrible. What the vet made me do to give my gerbils medicines in a syringe is hold one in your left hand and take the syringe and pop it a little on the side of the mouth. sometimes they will lap it sometimes they wont. If your left handed just switch with holding the gerbil in the right had and admint the medicine in with the left hand. to see if he is hydrated or not, my vet pulled my gerbils skin up from its back. it went down slowly. then you know its not hydrated.
My vet gave missy a shot of water underneath the skin to help her get her hydration back. Go buy some pedialyte for kids its an orange liquid it helps with hydration. I gave missy that and after the vets and all and she slept for a little bit and woke up the next morning a little better than she was. if you are gonna give her the pedialyte i suggest give her half a syringe full or a little less.
i hope your phillip gets better fast!!! *crosses fingers*
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Post by ashleyrenee on Jan 23, 2006 7:40:52 GMT -8
give him half the syringe twice a day. morning and night.
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Post by blackie on Jan 26, 2006 3:05:33 GMT -8
thankx for advice. Yes he was critically ill,and I had almost given up hope. Called a vet and discussed it with her. I should have started giving him water through a syringe earlier. I went to my grandmothers place with the two gerbils in a cage, and I'm staying with her until he gets better. We give him the medicine twice a day and we gave him water with the syringe, and small pieces of fruit (hermetic pears, grapes,) I dip the fruit in boiled water to heat it if it's straight from the fridge. Not sure about giving whole meal bread? I gave him some bread crumbs too. He gets some liquid from the fruit he eats, he loves the hermetic fruit. I'm really exhausted because I haven't slept properly for a week. But I'm happy that he is getting better. His balance has gotten a lot better too, now I'm only worried about his digestion, don't know if it's ok. He only ate pieces of carrots and sunflower seeds for three days. Of course it would be wrong to let him suffer. Actually it's a miracld that Phillip survived at all. His teeth has gotten a bit overgrown because he hasn't gnawd at any thing for a week. Might have to go to the vet an d have them cut. Last night he started walking around in the cage like he normally does, and he went to the food bowl and ate some gerbil food. I've stopped giving him carrots because i dont' want to overdose him with carrots and I don't know if they contain som much carbohyrates. So hopefully he will be just fine.  |
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Post by blackie on Jan 26, 2006 3:22:02 GMT -8
I'm sorry I don't know what pedialyte is, is it a kind of orange juice? I bought a can of diet fruit cocktail that doesn't contain any sugar. Only Zacharine. And he loves that. I almost started to cry when he ate two pieces of it straght away. Actually I've been overprotecting my gerbils only giving them dry gerbil food it must taste really boring. So I bought some hamster food too. The other gerbil Simon has put on bit of weghit because I was putting huge amounts of sunflower seeds in the cage. He is really happy because I let him out of the cage three times a day now. I don't think he understands that Phillip has been sick. They still sleep together ansd Simon grooms him but Sometims I have to take Simon out of the cage when Phillip is eating because he bullies him a bit and tries to steal his food. Actually I think he is a bit jealous. First I was really nervous when Iwas giving him medicine but I'm getting better at it everyday. I don't have to put the syringe in his mouth I just drip it on the side of his mouth. My grandmother is really good at holding him. when I give him medicine. He is used to both of us. The stupid vet could have told me what to do if he stopped eating and drinking. She just precribed the antibiotics and said he would be alright. I don't know if she is used to treating gerbils and hamsters a lot. Don't think Phillip has cancer in the brain, because then he wouldn't have gotten any better. It would be stupid to lose him from an ear infection. My sister said that gerbils die all the time and since he is almost 3 he is old, and I guess in a way she is right, but it wasn't exactly the aging process that made him sick. It's been an awful week. Glad it's over.
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Post by blackie on Jan 26, 2006 3:27:23 GMT -8
I got a panic attack one day and i culdn't think straight and didn't know what to do. I was all alone in my small flat with the sick gerbil just sleeping all the time. My grandmother was really tired because she was moving to a new place and her flat was a complete mess. I'm a student and I don't have a car. So it's not that easy when my pets get sick. It's impossible to concentrate about anything else when I have a sick pet, so at least I care, even if I mess things up.
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Post by Ritzie/Admin on Jan 26, 2006 3:33:41 GMT -8
Pedialyte is an oral electrolyte maintenance solution. Pedialyte is specially formulated for infants and children to quickly replace lost fluid (e.g. by diarrhea and vomiting).
Am I reading it good? Is he doing better?
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Post by blackie on Jan 26, 2006 4:09:56 GMT -8
OK I'll check out the baby food section in the Rema1000 shop. It's just a bit funny because I'm , norwegian and I don't know the American products. I bought cheerios... can I give them to the gerbils? I went to the chemist and asked for a small syringe and said it was for my gerbil who had an ear infection and the woman just looked really puzzled.
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Post by blackie on Jan 26, 2006 4:15:25 GMT -8
I gave my dog Tanja baby food when she was sick some years ago. It saved her life. She had an infection in her stomach and wouldn't eat anything for three weeks, so I had to feed her baby porridge. That was quite awful. She died in 2002. I want a golden retriever when I get my own apartment but I don't know if it would eat my gerbils.  |
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Post by chico on Jan 26, 2006 6:39:46 GMT -8
hiya, i posted a message last week, my gerbil has bad ear infection too but is slowly getting better. he is still on oral antibiotics after 10 days.... You really must keep your gerbils food & water intake up, my gerbils has not been that hungry but I have been giving him baby food (any type rally but he seems to love banana porrige), cherios are okay but try and soak them a bit in warm water before you give them to him so they are easier for him to eat with his teeth, maybe you could also try some weetabix & thinly sliced apple (not too much).
Good luck my fingers are crossed for you.......
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Post by ashleyrenee on Jan 26, 2006 8:51:25 GMT -8
well thats good that phillip is doing better. for 3 years old thats a long time lol. wow i had my two for only a year. well good luck im sorry if i confused you with the pedialtye i thought you were from the usa. Very sorry again |
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