Unknown gerbil illness

[gerbilling]

One of my gerbils died a few days ago and the vet couldn't save him or understand what was wrong with him, so I'm gonna ask here just to understand what happened if someone has experienced anything similar.
I want to start by saying that when I got both my gerbils less than a year ago, he was already looking a bit more lethargic than the other one, with his eyes a little closed, but I still took him home and he recovered in a few weeks, gained weight and was fine. I think he was also the more dominant and bigger one.

A few weeks (maybe 4) ago Moon started losing weight rapidly, and I noticed my other gerbil would just grab the food from his hands and run, so I thought that dominance was the issue, and I started hand feeding him, but he didn't gain weight. He also started drinking a lot, but looked more and more dehydrated and thin.


I kept trying to make him eat, but he would be really picky, take a few bites and drop the food, and only eat a bit more of the soft food and fresh fruit. He was running around and looking ok, but eventually he started looking worse and breathing slower, and when he walked around he would wobble, so I rushed him to the vet.


They told me they'd have to hospitalize him, and that he was looking thin, dehydrated, but he looked like he didn't have any visible issue, his teeth and eyes were good, everything was fine, and they couldn't find anything wrong with him, even after x-rays.


He was on oxygen for a while, seemed to do better, was eating and drinking, but still looked dehydrated, and a few days ago they called me and told me he got weaker and would just sit in a corner without opening his eyes, and eventually he lay on his side struggling to breathe, and they told me he wasn't gonna make it...

Obviously I'm heartbroken and I've been trying to understand if I did something wrong, but I've been cleaning the tank, given them the right food, toys, etc. My other gerbil was doing great too (although now he's sad and he's started scratching himself a lot, idk if it's bc he's stressed or alone or mites, but I'm taking him to the vet in a few days), so I'm really at a loss. 

Has anyone gone through something similar? If so, did you find out what happened to your gerbil?

Sorry for the looong post and thank you.

[betty]

Sorry to hear about the little guy - sounds like you went above and beyond to find out what was wrong and care for him.

Unfortunately there are many instances like this in the gerbil world - sometimes even without the symptoms at all - just; gone.

Teeth is always the first stop with weight loss (check) or some other facial pain/obstruction (not all vets chack the back teeth) - but if they aren't pawing at their faces or salivating excessively - it probably wasn't that.

I wouldn't imagine it was anything you did - just bad luck for the poor guy. There could be as many genetic and congenital/idiopathic conditions in gerbils as there are in humans - many of which even the best vets couldn't diagnose or even treat. Sounds like they did a better job than most vets for sure.

I have even asked for post mortems for some of my animals with unexpected deaths - but I always get told that they 'probably couldn't see anything anyway' so even that option isn't always available to us gerbil owners.

Hmm.

[gerbilling]

Jul 24, 2020 15:14:57 GMT -8 betty said:

Sorry to hear about the little guy - sounds like you went above and beyond to find out what was wrong and care for him.

Unfortunately there are many instances like this in the gerbil world - sometimes even without the symptoms at all - just; gone.

Teeth is always the first stop with weight loss (check) or some other facial pain/obstruction (not all vets chaek the back teeth) - but if they aren't pawing at their faces or salivating excessively - it probably wasn't that.

I wouldn't imagine it was anything you did - just bad luck for the poor guy. There could be as many genetic and congenital/idiopathic conditions in gerbils as their are in humans - many of which even the best vets couldn't diagnose or even treat. Sounds like they did a better job than most vets for sure.

I have even asked for post mortems for some of my animals with unexpected deaths - but I always get told that they 'probably couldn't see anything anyway' so even that option isn't always available to us gerbil owners.

Hmm.

Yeah...it's not easy to understand what's wrong sometimes I guess. We just do what we can and just hope for better luck with future pets   Thank you.  

[betty]

Nope - and sometimes it can be quite frustrating - as knowing what caused something you see in your animals helps protect or treat any future pets.

Luckily people who have plenty of gerbils can often spot patterns as they have more instances of things - so we certainly thank breeders who keep good records.

Having only the odd pet or only one clan at a time can make these things worse as you really only have that one shot for healthy pets.

[catnut]

what do you use to clean the cage with? could it be enviromental- something new you used in the room he was in that may have affected him? sometimes their body just isn't working right-heart,lungs,etc. and he didn't feel well enough to eat and was weak. I doubt it's your fault so don't blame yourself and at least your vet did all they could and went far beyond what most will do for a gerbil. Take care and know you did all you could and loved him. Tammy

[Markpd]

Sorry to hear about losing Moon .

As betty mentioned their could be any number of causes, but the thirst and weight loss rang a bell with something I read recently, it could have been due to kidney disease (just a guess really of course!).

Just been looking it up, and apparently it's relatively common in older Gerbils (the 1st link is particularly useful) link1,  link2.

Did the vets test his urine?

Another thought I had (which maybe much less likely!), is type 1 diabetes, (I have that), this is where the immune system attacks the insulin producing cells in the pancreas, when that happens the cells in your body just can't get the energy that's needed (insulin 'transports' the sugar, aka energy from your blood to the cells) so you're tired, and the energy you have consumed (carbs etc digested to sugar) builds up in your blood, the body sees this and tries to flush it out by using up water reserves in the cells etc (hence thirsty), as the cells are still 'starving' the body then breaks down fat, then muscles to try to fuel the cells, (adding to weight loss). Without insulin, theirs no chance, with people it can mean death in a few weeks or so.

My 1st symptoms were blurry vision (back then it was pin sharp), I booked a doctors appointment for 2 weeks later (they were busy and I didn't think it was a major issue!), 1 1/2 weeks later people were telling me I looked noticeably thinner, grey in the face and I suddenly became very tired, thirsty and going to the loo lots! I went to the doctors on an emergency appointment that afternoon,  blood sugars were ~28! , supposed to be 5-7 ish (UK units).

Anyway, it might be that Gerbils don't get T1 Diabetes and so the above is irrelevant. I also thought, that with their high metabolism, if they did have T1 D, they probably wouldn't last weeks. But you never know.

Hope at least the 1st part is useful!

[gerbilling]

Jul 27, 2020 6:46:14 GMT -8 Markpd said:

Sorry to hear about losing Moon .

As betty mentioned their could be any number of causes, but the thirst and weight loss rang a bell with something I read recently, it could have been due to kidney disease (just a guess really of course!).

Just been looking it up, and apparently it's relatively common in older Gerbils (the 1st link is particularly useful) link1,  link2.

Did the vets test his urine?

Another thought I had (which maybe much less likely!), is type 1 diabetes, (I have that), this is where the immune system attacks the insulin producing cells in the pancreas, when that happens the cells in your body just can't get the energy that's needed (insulin 'transports' the sugar, aka energy from your blood to the cells) so you're tired, and the energy you have consumed (carbs etc digested to sugar) builds up in your blood, the body sees this and tries to flush it out by using up water reserves in the cells etc (hence thirsty), as the cells are still 'starving' the body then breaks down fat, then muscles to try to fuel the cells, (adding to weight loss). Without insulin, theirs no chance, with people it can mean death in a few weeks or so.

My 1st symptoms were blurry vision (back then it was pin sharp), I booked a doctors appointment for 2 weeks later (they were busy and I didn't think it was a major issue!), 1 1/2 weeks later people were telling me I looked noticeably thinner, grey in the face and I suddenly became very tired, thirsty and going to the loo lots! I went to the doctors on an emergency appointment that afternoon,  blood sugars were ~28! , supposed to be 5-7 ish (UK units).

Anyway, it might be that Gerbils don't get T1 Diabetes and so the above is irrelevant. I also thought, that with their high metabolism, if they did have T1 D, they probably wouldn't last weeks. But you never know.

Hope at least the 1st part is useful!

That sounds like a good guess actually...I don't know if they tested his urine, they did a bunch of tests, but I don't remember her mentioning that. They did give him fluids and antibiotics, but yeah...Thanks for the links though! I'll definitely keep an eye out for these symptoms in my other gerbils!

[Markpd]

Yea same, how often is it we're supposed to weigh them?

[edit] Never mind, re-found the (accessible) FAQ, it's 2-4 weeks.