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Post by ps25 on Oct 13, 2019 7:02:32 GMT -8
Hi
One of my boys goes through periods of drastic weight loss. His always been on the slim side so this is pretty scary to see. He stops eating and rapidly losses 20-30g. Each time, the weight loss is so rapid and he refuses all food and I dont expect him to survive the night. Then a day or two later, he'll start nibbling food again and gradually get back to eating normally and putting the weight back on. He'll be fine for a few months and then it happens again. There are no other symptoms that I can see, no diarrhoea, no respiratory sounds or anything, his teeth look fine. He gets the same food and toys as all my other gerbils and they have (so far) never been affected by this.
Any ideas what could be causing this?
Thanks
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Post by eowynandpoppy on Oct 13, 2019 9:15:59 GMT -8
Maybe he has parasites? Just a guess. If I were you, I'd definitely get him checked out by a vet, if possible. Does he still drink when he loses weight? Next time he stops eating, you might want to try syringe feeding him some soaked and mushed pellets with powdered sunflower seeds, or Critical Care. For an animal as small and active as a gerbil, rapid weight loss can be a very serious problem and you'll want to make sure he gets some calories in him.
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Post by ps25 on Oct 14, 2019 15:14:33 GMT -8
Hmmm, not thought about parasites. I sort of ruled out an infection as none of the others ever come down with it. And its his third time now, so its pretty bad luck to be struck by three infections in one year. But maybe he is just more susceptible? Its weird.
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Oct 14, 2019 16:02:24 GMT -8
This reminded me of an old thread I read a while ago (http://gerbilforum.proboards.com/thread/27417/undersized-appearing-gerbil). The gerbil is this thread was a bit worse than yours, but it turned out to be a parasite. I think a vet visit is needed here to rule this out. 20-30g is a lot of weight to lose. How much does he weigh normally?
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Post by ps25 on Oct 15, 2019 9:30:31 GMT -8
Thanks for digging that thread out. I'll see if I can get him checked out for parasites. He is eating and gaining weight again, so I'm not sure if there will be anything in his feces now, I need to find that out. He's normally in the 90-100g range so will drop to 70-80g when this happens.
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Post by acesong on Oct 24, 2019 10:44:41 GMT -8
Gotta ask, did you ever find out what was wrong with your baby? Had something similar happen before and never could figure out what it was.
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Post by ps25 on Nov 13, 2019 11:49:55 GMT -8
He's eating normally and back to being healthy now. But if its happens again, I'll get him checked for parasites and let you know.
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Post by ps25 on Dec 8, 2019 8:39:25 GMT -8
Update - well it happened again. He stopped all intake (about from an occasional drop of honey water that I managed for force into him), rapidly dropped to only 65g and could barely walk. I took him to the vets who gave him a thorough examination but also couldnt find anything obvious. Heart and breathing sounded OK, no obvious ear infection, teeth OK, no internal lumps, injuries etc. He was in such a bad state, we talk about putting him out of his misery. Instead, I opted for a course of antibiotics, pretty much as a last resort as neither of us were very optimistic. And it worked! Within a day he started eating and drinking and within 3 he was obviously much perkier and playful.
So whatever it is, it responded to antibiotics so its bacterial, not parasitic. But we are still none the wiser.
Really hoping we don't go through this again!
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Post by eowynandpoppy on Dec 8, 2019 12:53:06 GMT -8
Glad antibiotics helped him! Wishing you the best of luck that he makes a full recovery.
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Post by catnut on Dec 8, 2019 15:22:00 GMT -8
sorry the vet couldn't figure out what the issue is. How does his poop look? if it doesn't look normal, maybe that could be the issue or something with his intestines/stomach? maybe get his poop tested but not sure how much that would cost? Glad the antibiotics are working, fingers crossed. how long are you giving it to him? some things need a long term antibiotic to kill all the bacteria, that is another idea to ask the vet. Take care, tammy
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