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Post by Madi on Nov 2, 2019 21:27:59 GMT -8
My sister and I were playing with her two female gerbils in their large playpen. I picked one of them up to return her to her enclosure when I stumbled and accidentally stepped on the other one, who was still running around. I caught her on the side of the head and her ear was bleeding. Her eyelid is drooping a bit, but the eye itself is fine and the bleeding of the ear stopped. A second ago she was burrowing and moving around her enclosure and her head isn’t currently tilted, so I don’t think any brain or spinal damage was done. Her sister was grooming the excess blood from her fur. Is there anything in particular that I should be mindful of in the coming days?
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Post by Madi on Nov 2, 2019 21:42:32 GMT -8
UPDATE - She (Roo) is already eating just fine, so there was no damage to her jaw. She still came up to sniff my hand when I went to check and make sure her water bottle was full and the nozzle was dispensing properly, so she is just about as unstressed as she can get. Occasional quick head shakes and rubbing of the ear and face. It seems like she had the gerbil equivalent of a black eye. Keeping my sister’s room dark and quiet.
She is not my gerbil but I feel awful for what happened and I’d like to put my sister’s mind at ease - Thank you for any information you can give us on the situation.
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Post by Madi on Nov 3, 2019 13:17:54 GMT -8
Update 2 - The swelling to the eye and jaw has worsened, but she is still active and eating. Is there anything I can do for the swelling?
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Post by gerbsoftheapocalypse on Nov 5, 2019 5:27:22 GMT -8
You could get some anti - inflammatory medicine from the vets (called Metacam) as this will reduce any swelling
Doesn't cost much, usually around £10-15
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Post by catnut on Nov 5, 2019 14:15:55 GMT -8
I would get Roo checked by a vet and she will need Metacam to get better. If she is worse, would call today to get in as soon as possible as you don't want her in pain or to pass away. Accidents happen but now she needs help. Hope she is better soon.
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Post by Madi on Nov 6, 2019 21:28:24 GMT -8
Final update after heeding your advice! She’s all the way back to normal! No more swelling, and (as I was worried for potential blindness) full function of her eye. She is active, and eating and drinking normally. Thank you both for the help!
On another note, walking/sitting in the pen is henceforth prohibited to avoid another incident. This should have been the rule to begin with, seeing how fast they can dart around. My sister and I are admittedly both new to gerbils as pets. I should have known better with my 10+ years of care for other sensitive creatures like reptiles and fish. Rest assured that the proper research was done (excluding the jargon that pet stores put out there) regarding habitat and diet BEFORE we adopted our four girls. I’m used to treating injuries and illness as a pet owner, but such an accident so soon really caught me off guard. Thank you for your help, and more care will undoubtedly be taken in the future.
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Post by catnut on Nov 7, 2019 15:25:35 GMT -8
lucky you, she is okay,gerbils are fast and it is easy for something to go wrong, I've been there myself in the past and one gerbil passed away.
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