we’re not cut out for gerbils? Warning graphic post.

[tams]

Hello,

Last December we woke up to find that my daughter’s gerbils (Beans & Bop) had both died in the night. They were young and we’d had them for 3 weeks. It was totally 💔 heartbreaking. You good folk were very kind as we tried to work out why. We concluded that it was due to a very cold house.

In February this year, we decided to be brave and try again (with a stick on tank heater this time round). Got a beautiful pair of boys. Chutney & Enrique. They had been thoroughly happy, active and delightful but last week, chutney suddenly seemed off his food, my daughter was hand feeding him and making sure he had access to water and it looked to be successful, he seemed to be bouncing back until she found him dead in the tank seemingly ripped open by his brother🥹 what and why???

Enrique still seemed lively and well but this morning it was clear he was catastrophically ill. It looks like a stroke. My daughter is now just keeping him warm and comfortable until he dies, it looks like it won’t be long.

We don’t even know how to figure all of this out, it’s been bewildering. Whilst we maintain a firm belief in gerbils being fantastic and joyful pets, as a family, we think we’re done! 🙁

We are obviously concerned about what we might have missed? If at at fault in any way.

I hope it’s ok to write this post, it’s been so bewildering and I don’t think many people elsewhere will appreciate the impact of these losses.

[catnut]

so sorry to hear about your gerbils, sometimes they just get ill and it may be nothing you did. If Chutney had been ill and maybe passed in the night, his brother could of got rid of the evidence and sometimes' gerbils' do eat the remains, which is hard to see. Did you get them from the same place? Pet store gerbils' can be hit and miss to which ones' are healthy and they may seem fine for awhile, and then get ill. I have a gerbil, Tristan and he is just going to turn 3 1/2 years old this month and i'm sure he was a pet store gerbil as i got him from the SPCA as a rescue almost 3 years ago. I'm sure it's nothing you did and sad this is how your gerbil story is going. Take great care and know you did the best you could for them.

[Markpd]

So sorry to hear of your loss
I hope that somehow Enrique pulls through....

And yes no probs on posting that, it is what it is.

[tams]

Thank you both. Incredibly Enrique seems to have rallied. He went from being entirely still, looking emaciated and scarcely drawing breath to scampering (albeit slightly more slowly)around in his tank. We wanted his last moments to be comfortable so had him on a warm hot water bottle. I read something about mashed banana after stroke so we offered him that although he didn’t seem strong enough to take any food. How does this sort of recovery even happen??!!??

Boy, the emotional ride of the past week has been intense. Is this how it goes? A day at a time I guess. Thanks for listening.

[catnut]

sometimes they just need some warmth and something easy to eat and then they can get better, just depends what is wrong. Soo glad he is looking better, just take it day by day and make sure he is eating/drinking, feed him off of a spoon if needed.

[Markpd]

Good news today then! Keeping fingers crossed....