Old gerbil with always-damp bottom?

[ralliart12]

Hi fellows. I have an old (4Y8M) gerbil that I believe has uncontrolled urination, i.e. his lower half is almost damp all the time (wet, yellowish fur when it's supposed to be white). Is there anything I can do for him other than provide plenty of absorbent tissues in his enclosure? I do change his bedding quite regularly. He is quite weak and his cage-mate is quite an over-enthusiastic groomer...

I am also very concerned a regularly-soiled bottom may lead to easy infection/hygiene issues.

[monkeygerbils]

How much fresh food are you giving him because this is sometimes the case but maybe he is stressed for some reason. I think it is called tyzzers when they are stressed and have a stained bottom. There isn't anything else I can really think of though so it would be best to see a vet but I know its hard with lockdown and stuff.

[ralliart12]

May 10, 2020 7:48:16 GMT -8 monkeygerbils said:

How much fresh food are you giving him because this is sometimes the case but maybe he is stressed for some reason. I think it is called tyzzers when they are stressed and have a stained bottom. There isn't anything else I can really think of though so it would be best to see a vet but I know its hard with lockdown and stuff.

I have rarely given the chap any fresh (wet) food. I think he’s just old & have no controls over his peeing...but I will like to hear if there are tips to improve his environment.

[monkeygerbils]

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[monkeygerbils]

it probably is just old age poor little guy. hope you take good care of him as i'm sure you will.

[gdopmop]

Poor little chap, though what a wonderful age he is! I think it's great you're already changing the bedding often. If this isn't daily, you could always add in a mini one each day where you scoop out at least some of the main cage bedding and add a fresh layer of something dry to help him out. Also, I wonder if he could have a regular light daily wipe over with a touch of a gerbil-friendly cleaning spritz. We use 'Supreme Keep it Clean Disinfectant Cleaner' in lavender and just dab a little on some kitchen towel and very lightly dust it over their fur. It dries quickly and freshens them up!

[ralliart12]

Anyway for better clarity this is what his bottom resembles nowadays:



His fur is supposed to be white colored; so since his bottom regions remained yellowish I can only suspect he is peeing all the time.

[ralliart12]

May 11, 2020 6:59:22 GMT -8 gdopmop said:

Poor little chap, though what a wonderful age he is! I think it's great you're already changing the bedding often. If this isn't daily, you could always add in a mini one each day where you scoop out at least some of the main cage bedding and add a fresh layer of something dry to help him out. Also, I wonder if he could have a regular light daily wipe over with a touch of a gerbil-friendly cleaning spritz. We use 'Supreme Keep it Clean Disinfectant Cleaner' in lavender and just dab a little on some kitchen towel and very lightly dust it over their fur. It dries quickly and freshens them up!

Due to his 3-leggedness I am unable to give him fluffy absorbent bedding as it makes the substrate very challenging to crawl around. I am not at the state where I can changing his bedding daily (or even weekly); perhaps I should.

A bit hesitant about wiping with disinfectant, as I’m concerned the chemicals may be too harsh & stings/burns their skins...especially around the nether regions.

[betty]

Can you try him on a very shallow flat bed of dust bath (I have noticed that most older gerbil prefer a flatter surface to urinate).

It is very common for older or poorly gerbils to have this wetter underside. It can be due to inability to groom there themselves anymore; sitting in their own urine due to limited movement; pain anywhere internally (tummy/liver/bladder) which causes them to over groom that area.

I just had to have one of mine (5 years old too) put to sleep this afternoon after his hips started to become weaker - and he was urinating normally (on the flat roof of his custom-made little soft cosy house (thanks Demented Squirrel)) but still had this super damp/yellow under-tummy. I am sure it was either pain which he was chewing or inability to curl his head under himself with his dodgy hips?

Either way, I couldn't prevent it.

Poor chap.

[ralliart12]

May 11, 2020 8:02:31 GMT -8 betty said:

I just had to have one of mine (5 years old too) put to sleep this afternoon after his hips started to become weaker - and he was urinating normally (on the flat roof of his custom-made little soft cosy house (thanks Demented Squirrel)) but still had this super damp/yellow under-tummy. I am sure it was either pain which he was chewing or inability to curl his head under himself with his dodgy hips?

Either way, I couldn't prevent it.

Poor chap.

I am so, so sorry to hear that; I can never bring myself to these decisions

[ralliart12]

May 11, 2020 8:02:31 GMT -8 betty said:

Can you try him on a very shallow flat bed of dust bath (I have noticed that most older gerbil prefer a flatter surface to urinate)...

I don't think he has any issues urinating; I'm concerned he's constantly urinating.

May 11, 2020 8:02:31 GMT -8 betty said:

...It is very common for older or poorly gerbils to have this wetter underside. It can be due to inability to groom there themselves anymore; sitting in their own urine due to limited movement; pain anywhere internally (tummy/liver/bladder) which causes them to over groom that area.

I'll be having an online consultation with a vet for Bob this coming Saturday. I'm hoping the vet can give him something to alleviate the situation.

In the mean time, here are a close-up of his undersides:

[betty]

Older gerbils do tend to urinate more as their kidneys aren't so good with age - but you say 'constantly' so are you see it trickling out all the time for sure, or is he just always wet (temperature could help you identify it here).

As many older gerbils get this wet bum, I was always under the impression that it slower speed/increased amount/lack of mobility and lack of grooming caused all my guys wet undersides rather than a constant flow. Perhaps I was wrong on all/some of these thoughts?

And by 'trouble going' I didn't mean it wasn't coming out, I meant that the posture and stance of urinating could be the issue either of the bladder itself or other bones and internal pain - just like really poorly humans can't balance on the toilet seat very well and need handles or wider seats, etc. They might not have more urine per se, I just thought that perhaps its natural path wasn't being followed for whatever reason.

Interesting to discuss either way so I would be very interested to hear what your vet says throughout your consultations.


As for making 'those' decisions - I find that although they might seem more sad at the time - I often do this before it gets too bad as I feel that I am doing them a service - just because they aren't dying doesn't mean I should keep them alive. It's a weird one - but everyone has their own tipping point on this.

[ralliart12]

May 15, 2020 5:35:29 GMT -8 betty said:

Older gerbils do tend to urinate more as their kidneys aren't so good with age - but you say 'constantly' so are you see it trickling out all the time for sure, or is he just always wet (temperature could help you identify it here).

As many older gerbils get this wet bum, I was always under the impression that it slower speed/increased amount/lack of mobility and lack of grooming caused all my guys wet undersides rather than a constant flow. Perhaps I was wrong on all/some of these thoughts?
.

That's very astute of it: I'm not seeing it trickling out all the time; it was my assumption.

[betty]

I do like details - espeically when the details could distinguish between two very different conditions.

Anyway, I wish it was easier for me to upload images on here sometimes to show you a few of mine. Since photobucket crashed, I just don't do it now. How are you doing it - maybe I am going about it the wrong way? PM me if you want so it doesn't clog this thread?

[ralliart12]

Okay, just had a session with the vet. Key points:

• Likely kidney issue, likely terminal
• Bob is dehydrated (vet had me lift up Bob's skin and see how slow it resumes its "state".
• Prescription: subcutaneous fluid therapy (injecting (saline?) into the scruff of his neck) for 10 days, one injection daily. Vet review on the 7th day. Vet is quite certain even force-feeding Bob (this was my counter-proposal; vet did not suggest me to force-feed) with water daily is insufficient.
• may only buy Bob a few more months even if the fluid therapy is going fine.
• there's quite a lot of urine, remaining urine actually scalds the skin. Try to use warm water to clean with, and use hair dryer to dry him (but be careful that the hair dryer doesn't scald his ears). Alternatively, use baby powder to make his undersides more comfortable.
• vet mentioned something about the kidney not metabolizing properly. My interpretation is: the water that Bob drinks, the kidney is not able to treat it hence it gets peed out rapidly without hydrating himself.

Edit: went to the vet to get the first injection: