Heat Stroke?

[hattie]

Hi everyone,
I'm facing a dilemma that I keep on beating myself over, so I just wanted your guys input. Please don't judge me too badly!

So for some backstory, I live in a pretty hot state. It gets up to the 80's and 90's even during Fall and sometimes Winter. Today it was around 80 degrees, so it felt moderately warm, and not too hot (at least to me). I've read about a lot of people who bring their gerbils on a car-ride for several hours with no problems, so I decided I would bring my gerbil with me for a short drive that was supposed to take twenty minutes at max (don't ask why, it was a stupid idea as I now realize). I've brought my gerbils for a mini car trip with no problems.

The A.C. was on and it felt fine in the car, but the gerbil started to show signs of distress despite that, all around her mouth was damp and she started to stretch out on her stomach like she was trying to cool down. My mom still had to run a quick errand so I stayed in the car with the gerbil while she ran inside with the windows rolled all the way down and placed her carrier outside the window so hopefully the air from outside could cool her down. But the dampness on her mouth spread to her chest like sweat, and her nose also looked a bit runny with blood. At this point I was freaking out, thinking she might be having a heat stroke, and I didn't understand why since it wasn't that hot for me, but I know it sometimes feels different for animals and I'm used to this weather. I kept her by the window in her carrier so she wasn't even directly in the car anymore. Until my mom came back after about ten minutes at the most. We immediately turned the A.C. back on but she was still showing signs of a heat-stroke the whole way home? Rubbing her head against the carrier and all around her mouth and chest still being wet. I don't understand why she was reacting so severely, so quickly, since the A.C. was on for the most part and she wasn't left alone in a closed car. Also, I know gerbils are desert animals so they can tolerate heat better than hamsters and other small animals. 

After we got home I immediately put her back in the tank, re-filled her water bottle with cool water, and had the fan running. Lesson learned is no more car-rides with gerbils! I feel like a very irresponsible owner right now. This state has always been hot and humid for me and the pets, but sometimes they have to go along in the car with you whether to the vet or such, and they're a little hot during the trip if it's super hot out, but they never face long-term repercussions and I make sure to never leave them alone in a hot car so please don't get the impression that I'm a cruel person!

Anyway, I guess I'm just asking if she'll be okay or if she'll suffer any long-term effects from whatever happened? And was this a heat-stroke or just distress from the heat? Right now she seems like she's back to her normal self, drinking water and eating, but isn't as active as she was before. Of course, this is also just her personality, laid-back and not as active as the other one. Should I be worried? And any tips for if I have to bring her in a car again to keep her cool? What is too hot for gerbils? Most of the time they're in their tank or in the house so I don't put much thought to how hot is too hot if I bring them outside during the day. 



Thank you!

[fysha]

What type of carrier do you use? Was it a plastic one? Using a small plastic carrier will create less airflow and can heat up faster. So even though it's cooler in the car, it might be warmer in the carrier. So yes, either don't take your gerbil for car rides unless you really have too, or it's cooler out, or make sure she has something cool to lie on like a cold piece of ceramic tile.

[hattie]

No, it was a paper one and I left it open the whole time so it wasn't closed up. I know that using plastic or glass carriers in the heat can be a recipe for disaster! I will definitely only take her for car-rides unless it is cooler out, it was a mistake. The cold piece of ceramic tile sounds like a good idea too.. but I don't know where I would be able to find that

So you think the gerbil will be alright then? And in your opinion, was it a heat-stroke? Thank you for your response!

[londongerbils]

The wetness around the mouth sounds like heatstroke. Read here:

gerbils.co.uk/gerbil-help/heatstroke-avoid/ 

[hattie]

Man I feel horribly! Thank you for that info, it sounds like that's what it was then. I've never had a gerbil or any animal suffer from something like that! I'm just glad she appears to be okay now. Didn't bring her to the vet since she seemed fine after I put her back in the tank. Also glad it didn't escalate to something worse! Thanks everyone for the help.

[catnut]

glad your gerbil is okay, gerbils can overheat if too hot so it is better to leave them at home unless they are going to the vet. Don't feel too terrible, we've all done things and wish we hadn't (I've had some things happen in the past that I wish hadn't and still feel terrible about it to this day, gerbils are fast and things you think were safe and turned out not to be). We need to learn from mistakes and sometimes things don't turn out like we think. Just learn from this as that is the best to take from it.