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Post by lizzy on Mar 30, 2006 6:13:16 GMT -8
At the risk of sounding stupid, does it mean anything [bad/good] if a gerbil is drinking more than normal?
I know one should worry when gerbils stop eating and drinking but one of my girls Juliet is drinking considerably more than usual, and more than my other gerbils. It has gotten warmer here but surely then all my gerbils would be drinking more if it was to do with the heat. She is quite chubby so she's on a diet but its not really working, I don't know if that means anything. She is fine otherwise.
It isnt the water bottle either because I've swapped it with one of my others to be sure, and its not leaking because the bedding is dry still.
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Post by christine on Mar 30, 2006 7:10:36 GMT -8
Does she have a male in there with her? If so she could be pregnant. I usually check mine with the gerbils start drinking and don't stop because it usually means its clogged but it doesn't sound like thats it. I don't know what else it could be, maybe somebody else has an idea.
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Post by lizzy on Mar 30, 2006 7:17:13 GMT -8
She lives by herself and I don't breed my gerbils so I know she's not pregnant. Thanks for your advice though.
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Post by AndreaS15 on Mar 30, 2006 11:02:53 GMT -8
It could be just heat, or could the bottle be leaking?
A sign of diabetes is drinking/urinating more.
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Post by lizzy on Mar 30, 2006 11:18:26 GMT -8
I have a diabetic cat yet I never thought of that.... Juliet is overweight and not the youngest [2yearsish] which doesn't help either I suppose. but surely she would be losing weight?
Does anyone have any info/knowledge regarding diabetic gerbils? I haven't found much on google.. there's just a few stories about diabetic hamsters.
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Post by AndreaS15 on Mar 30, 2006 11:42:44 GMT -8
All my diabetic friends/family are more or less overweight. I wouldn't think she would loose weight because of it.
i wish i could give you more info on it.
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Post by doomgerbiluk on Mar 30, 2006 12:29:28 GMT -8
You can get diabetes testing strips from your chemist. Just dip some of the animals urine on the strip (how u collect it is your problem  ) |
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Post by lizzy on Mar 30, 2006 12:36:57 GMT -8
All my diabetic friends/family are more or less overweight. I wouldn't think she would loose weight because of it. i wish i could give you more info on it. well, the reason that I brought weight up is because my cat is diabetic and she lost lots of weight before she was diagnosed because of the lack of insulin which means that the body cells think they are being starved. one of the symptoms of being a diabetic cat is that they lose a lot of weight. perhaps it is not the same with gerbils. anyhow, i think i am worrying over nothing... I just took a closer look at the bedding and she seems to have buried alot of wet bedding so maybe the water bottle was leaking... I will see what happens in the next couple of days thankyou for all your help. |
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Post by meganb52 on Mar 31, 2006 13:24:07 GMT -8
As others have mentioned above, a sudden increase in drinking usually signals trouble with the kidneys. It could be some sort of diabetic condition, or it could be some other form of acute or chronic kidney disease. The only way to tell really is to have her urine tested by a veterinarian using a urine chemistry strip. These animals can become dehydrated because the kidneys are damaged and not doing their job of conserving body water. They can be supported with injections of fluids under the skin, and somemtimes omega-3 fatty acids can help as well if there is ongoing inflammation in the kidneys causing disease.
-Megan
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Post by pepandmax on Mar 31, 2006 16:12:26 GMT -8
This is strange to see this post... we were having dinner tonight and I said, "Wow, look at Pep drinking... and still drinking... and still drinking..." He is 2.5 yrs old and chubby, as well. He has been a "thirsty gerbie" for several months, and I have been suspecting kidney trouble or diabetes. The severity seems to come and go, though. The next time I'm up by the vet I may ask for some testing strips. To collect gerbil pee: Put down some plastic wrap on the table/ in the pen/ wherever, and let the gerbil play and hang out there until you find a little puddle  Oh, regarding under/overweight human diabetics, Type II, formerly called "adult onset" diabetes is the typoe often found in overweight persons for the reasons described above (insulin resistance). Type I, or "juvenile diabetes," is different, although I don't know if it has an association to body weight. |
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Post by meganb52 on Apr 1, 2006 8:42:19 GMT -8
The next time I'm up by the vet I may ask for some testing strips. Unfortunately, you'll have to bring the urine to the vet's because the values on the test strips are read against a standard on the side of the bottle. You can't test urine at home unless you have the whole bottle with you, which I doubt a vet would let you do  -Megan |
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Post by doomgerbiluk on Apr 1, 2006 9:11:34 GMT -8
Megan it doesn't even need a vet trip. You can purchase these at the chemist.
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Post by meganb52 on Apr 1, 2006 9:17:46 GMT -8
It depends on which type you're looking for. The ones used by a vet have lots of values on them that can be useful, not just things like ketones or glucose, which can be purchased at a pharmacy. Vet urine test strips test for other things, such as protein content, the presence of blood, and several other chemical parameters of the urine that are most helpful in diagnosing kidney disease.
-Megan
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Post by christine on Apr 1, 2006 12:22:02 GMT -8
Wow I will have to keep all this information in mind because I never knew all this! I'm glad I read it.
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Post by pepandmax on Apr 2, 2006 12:59:12 GMT -8
not just things like ketones or glucose, which can be purchased at a pharmacy. Dumb question (sorry!): they are not the same strips that human diabetics can use to check their urine, are they? I ask because i have never seen gerbil/ rodent specific supplies at a pharmacy |
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