Do antibiotics effect a gerbils appetite?

[jennygerbils]

Hello all, our gerbil, Katie developed what looked like a growth in her ear a few weeks back and gradually became lethargic and started sleeping in odd positions, like stretched out on her side instead of her usual huddled ball in a tunnel. Despite this, she was eating well and still chewing and digging, but not much. We took her to the vet who thought the growth was just wax and managed to clean it out. She prescribed a 10 day course of antibiotics and anti-inflammatories to eliminate infection. After 3 days Katie looked a lot better and had more energy. But then she started to decline again and was eating much less, sleeping a lot and has stopped digging and chewing. Within the space of 1 week she has become really thin and I thought felt cold yesterday. I’ve given her extra bedding to make a nest and put a warm water bottle next to her cage. I wondered if the antibiotics have effected her appetite. Does anyone have any similar experiences and can you advise what is the best food to give her to help her regain weight? Many thanks

[betty]

Hello jennygerbils.

Sorry to hear about the whole ear thing - gerbils do seem to be becoming more prone to these based on online chats.

As for the appetite - it is always possible that a certain drug can affect an certain animals appetite - what drugs were they specifically as I find that metcam and baytril can help increase weight as they are usually fed with treats or 'more appetising' foods and this can help with recovery also.

Warming the tank in one place is really helpful for recovering animals as will be simplicity - so make sure all complicated things are flattened out and the wheel removed; food scatter fed and the water made easier to get to without having to leap up and down things.

Foods such as fruit and veg baby food, sunflower hearts, scrambled egg, porridge oats, ground nuts, mealworms and the like are all high impact, highly nutritious foods to help a sick animal get nutrients fast (no schucking or holding heavy things required). Feed these in small amounts only and put in fresh regularly to help keep their nutrients and appeal (noone wants hard babyfood or trodden on eggs).

Hope that helps for starters, and other might add to this from their own experiences too - so do keep asking any specific questions you have both about the condition and the care.

Good luck

[jennygerbils]

Thank you very much Betty, I will definitely try those things out and I’ll let you know how we get on. Thanks again.

[jennygerbils]

Betty she is loving the scrambled egg 😊. And is eating oats and fresh fruit and veg. I’m hoping she will start putting weight back on. Im relieved to see her getting some protein as she had stopped eating her usual seeds. It’s been about 5 days since I’ve seen her chewing on anything like a toilet roll. How long until I need to be worried about her teeth growing too long? Thanks again Betty. Jenny

[betty]

Sorry, jennygerbils, I missed this.

Glad that she is on the up and eating again - and that some of the things I have used myself are good for you too.

Is everything still on the up?

As for spotting teething troubles, either tip her upside-down and have a look yourself by lifting her lips up - use a pen for this if you don't trust her that close up!

Gerbils rubbing or washing their mouth over and over may also be signs of tooth pain or mouth trouble.

Also, it may not be her teeth per se either - the growth in her ear may make eating feel weird so therefore having an effect on what she eats - sort of like a taste Vs pain type of set up. Like when you have an earache yourself - getting up for a boring soup might not be as appealing as that delicious mushroom risotto or Mexican wrap selection...