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Post by LilyandDaisy on Jun 13, 2021 15:49:04 GMT -8
Lily had a "funny turn" this evening which I'd appreciate any insights on. She and Daisy were on the floor free roaming. Lily was having a great time as usual, sprinting around, climbing on everything, digging in a box of paper etc, but about half an hour in I noticed she had suddenly started walking oddly. It was slower and closer to the ground, a bit like a waddle. I picked her up and she felt very limp and weak, and sort of collapsed into my hand. Then I put her back down to see again how she was walking and she seemed to be trying to get around as normal, she even climbed to the top of her climbing tower and tried to stand up to look around, but her movement was wobbly and uncoordinated. I put her back in the cage and saw an immediate improvement. Over the next few minutes she continued to improve. She ate and drank, and basically behaved normally, but in a wobbly manner. She asked to be let back out by sitting by the topper door (as she always does) but she did seem quieter and subdued. After about another half an hour she went underground to sleep and she's still there (this is a normal time for her to be sleeping).
Now I'm not sure what happened. I didn't see if anything happened immediately before she started walking funny but she had been previously acting normally that evening. Is it possible she got too hot? As we were inside it never occurred to me that she might overheat, which I feel bad about now, but it was a warm evening and she had been very active without resting for about half an hour. Could it have been a seizure or even a kind of transient stroke? I was very upset when I saw her wobbly and uncoordinated as when I've seen gerbils like that before, it's followed or preceded a seizure (and usually, death). I really thought I was about to lose her earlier.
I'd appreciate any thoughts or advice.
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Post by betty on Jun 13, 2021 19:12:18 GMT -8
Ah, no, I know the feeling when you see them go like that. And often you actually can't tell - or never find out as it usually completly disappears as quickly as it arrived. I have had plenty of these experiences and not lost them because of it.
One would assume either in injury or discomfort of some kind first off, where they were fine, then instantly not. Sometimes pain or discomfort takes a while to 'understand' and so movement can be affected short term. Once you understand it, you just cope with it and try to get back to normal.
Your suggestion of a mild stroke or seizure is also possible, temporarily affecting movement in all or some parts of the body which she could just about overcome - but was rather a struggle. Seizures can be very exhausting (I have read) so the resting and going to sleep would fit that.
Overheating, I am not sure on. They could certainly affect enthusiasm and cause movement issues, but I would have thought that drinking and her ability to stop moving if she wanted to (as I am sure she is well used to that run and isn't 'in a new place' or felt in danger). So strange that she wouldn't have stopped or slowed down beforehand. Again, not impossible though.
Not sure of your timezones/schedule - but waking her up in a few hours or earlier than usual with a tasty treat might give you a chance to see if she is still wobbly after a few hours rest? Bless her.
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Jun 14, 2021 1:41:21 GMT -8
She was already awake when I got up this morning and she seems fine and herself again.
It's strange but hopefully just one of those things, like how people sometimes feel suddenly faint or dizzy or get vertigo. The other week I had a very painful injury and a few minutes afterwards felt suddenly dizzy, clammy and had ringing in my ears, I think as a shock reaction to the sudden pain. I didn't see if anything happened to Lily before but it's possible, though she doesn't seem injured now. The gerbils I've had that were like this and died shortly afterwards were already elderly and in declining health, which Lily isn't, and they also didn't spontaneously recover.
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Post by sandybadlands on Jun 18, 2021 6:42:44 GMT -8
I've had a couple of gerbils act that way, both 2.5-year-old girls—suddenly walking oddly, kind of dragging their back feet, and looking unsteady and hunched, but then getting back to normal after just a few minutes. In one case it turned out she had an ovarian tumor that might have been affecting her every once in a while (it happened every week or two until we lost her). We have another gerbil now who had a couple episodes of this last month, and after some vet visits we're pretty sure she had an intestinal obstruction that was causing her pain on and off. (As of now she's been acting normal for a couple weeks, but she still has something going on in her belly.)
I thought maybe these were strokes at first, and maybe they were? I've never seen one happen. But I've heard those don't usually go away so quickly.
Anyway, I know the feeling! It's so scary thinking they're declining right in front of you, but then such a relief when they're totally fine the next day. Hopefully in Lily's case it was some minor ailment or discomfort. Surely gerbils can get indigestion?
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Jun 18, 2021 8:26:33 GMT -8
Thank you sandybadlands. That's very interesting. Lily is 2 years 3 months old. Over the past few weeks occasionally I have thought she looked a bit round when she was sitting but then she stands up and she's skinny without any obvious swelling. I'm now debating whether I should take her to a vet and see if they can see or feel anything even if I can't. Does anyone know if vets can do ultrasounds on gerbils or are they too small? I had a really bad experience of losing my favourite gerbil to an ovarian cyst a few years ago which means I'm now a bit hyperalert to changes in my females' body shape, so I'm never sure if I'm imagining something or not. Lily has been completely fine since. She's been out free roaming again and nothing happened.
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Post by betty on Jun 19, 2021 15:09:45 GMT -8
Still all good with Lily?
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Post by sandybadlands on Jun 20, 2021 15:22:37 GMT -8
So glad Lily is doing well! I think it's great to be alert to any changes—even without the professional expertise and knowledge, we are the only ones who see our pets every day, so the vets don't have that context. Like for one of my gerbils, I noticed her ovarian cyst before my vet could tell anything was wrong...fortunately it didn't seem to bother her until it was already big enough to be undeniable.
A few of my gerbils have had ultrasounds done, and I was surprised how much information they were able to get, especially after they said it was hard to get a clear picture with such small animals. (They found ovarian cysts in two cases, a tumor in the other case.) So it is possible, though pretty expensive, at least in my city.
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Jun 20, 2021 16:09:23 GMT -8
Still all good with Lily? Yes, she's still fine. It's been a week and I haven't seen any similar symptoms again which is reassuring that it's probably not something acutely wrong. After looking and looking I really can't see any abdominal enlargement. I think the times she looked a bit round she probably just had her fur puffed up a bit as well as being in a posture that made her look large. I'll keep an eye on it but I don't think I'll take her to the vet just yet.
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