Gerbil passed away

[nmetro]

This morning Cindi, passed away at 23 month old. She was very sick and I took her to the vet, and when they tried to take her out of the carrier, she went into cardiac arrest. I did bring her sister, so they were together to the end. I was able to spend a few moments with Cindi after she passed. She will be cremated, and ashes returned to me.

As many people pointed out, Cindi showed little signs of decline. On Tuesday morning (2 June), she was fine, but her decline started that afternoon, Wednesday she refused to eat or drink, and this morning she again refused food and drink. She passed at 10 AM MDT. Because of the pandemic,I could not be in the clinic. They brought her out to the car so I can spent a few moments and let Suzie say goodbye.

We got home, Suzie was looking fro Cindi, but after a while, she went to sleep on a pile of soft tissues I gave her, to curl up in. A location where Suzie and Cindi spent their last night together.

 

I want to get a companion for Suzie. What is the best option to get a successful pairing?

Also, while do try to get a companion, for Suzie, what can be done to make sure she isn't lonely?

As Suzie is going to be 2 years old this month, she is still capable of breeding. Suzie is a bit laid back, tough she was the dominant gerbil.

Any ideas would be most welcome.

And, yes I do know about thee "split cage technique".

FYI, Cindi is the tan one in the photo at 8 weeks old.

[catnut]

soo sorry to hear about Cindi, may she rest in peace. a young female may be best but as i've never done that, ask others about what age is best. the new gerbil will need a 2 week quarantine to make sure she is healthy as well. Just spend extra time with Suzie and give her more cardboard to chew, she may get more scared but will hopefully be okay until you can find her a friend. Take care

[nmetro]

Jun 5, 2020 14:44:52 GMT -8 catnut said:

soo sorry to hear about Cindi, may she rest in peace. a young female may be best but as i've never done that, ask others about what age is best. the new gerbil will need a 2 week quarantine to make sure she is healthy as well. Just spend extra time with Suzie and give her more cardboard to chew, she may get more scared but will hopefully be okay until you can find her a friend. Take care

Thank you for responding. Suzie seems to be doing fine. I think, in gerbil terms, she seems relieved. For the past few weeks it seemed she was going through the motions, and she seemed to know Cindi was going t pass soon. It seemed like the gerbil equivalent of death watch, in retrospect. Suzie sometimes would like in her nest house, her head sticking out, and looking into space. They changed where they sleep about two weeks ago. It is warm here, I have AC, but where they moved to is cooler and below where they normally slept. Cindi was active and playful up until Tuesday, then she passed quick, in human terms. She really hid her short illness well, until Tuesday afternoon.

I think Suzie is looking for her sister, looking around, standing on hind legs, and trying to call to her.. Other than that, she is more active, and follows her normal pattern: goes to sleep, eats, chews, and when I come into the room she is perched in an easy to access place, and just wants to be petted. She has been petted a lot in the past day or so.  She gos to one of the wheels, stops, and wants to be petted there, as well. She spent part of the day cleaning out the area where Cindi spent her last few hours, and I removed what she pushed out and washed the area. I want to wait a few days to just clean everything out, so not to add stress. Cindi did not have any disease, just heart disease. She was proper weight, ate and drank well, teeth were fine, ate Gerrie Gerbil. I gave her sun flower seeds, as a treat. And, small piece of raspberry once in a while. She was always a nervous gerbil, it took a long time to gain her trust. I think taking her to the vet, was too much of a shock, but I also know she would have died yesterday, regardless. Not eating and drinking would be a slow death. So, her suffering was shortened.

The lesson, from this, is that if gerbils start changing their behaviors, and you start wondering why they decided to vary their normal routine, it is time to visit a vet. In Cindi's case, it would have been  Palliative Care, keep her comfortable and when things get bed, bring her in to ease her pain.

Getting gerbils around here is difficult. Even more harder during a pandemic. So, Suzie may be a lone gerbil for a while.

[urofan]

I am very sorry that your gerbil died yesterday.