running diagnostics on senior gerbils?

[yeti218]

I'm trying to decide whether I should sedate my senior gerbil in order to run diagnostics (blood work, x-rays). Here's his story :


I've had my gerbil Shark for 3 years and 2 months. I estimate he was around 6 months old when I got him, so let's say he's 3 years and 8 months old. About 6 months ago he started slowly losing weight. About 3 months ago he started having slight mobility issues, at first it just looked like he may be slightly favouring his left leg but it was hard to tell. His limp got worse, he kept losing weight, and he went to a vet about 6 weeks ago. She did a physical exam and couldn't determine what was going on. She mentioned maybe some arthritis in the leg or spine.

Since then, his mobility has gotten worse, he still gets around pretty good, but he sometimes falls to the right side, can't climb on top of things like he used to be able to, can't run on his wheel and would only freeroam for 5 minutes (he used to want to stay out for an hour) He is still eating & drinking normally. He currently weighs 74 grams, for most of his adult life he weighed around 105 grams. 

I took him back to the vet, but he saw a different vet this time. This vet thought the mobility issues may be balance related to a growth in the ear but was unable to verify if there was any growth. She prescribed antibiotics just to try, and I have noticed Shark has been out & about more and seems brighter since the antibiotics. He's also wanting to free roam for longer periods (up to 20 minutes). She said if there is a growth, the antibiotics wouldn't change that, but sometimes those growths can cause infections which have their own symptoms. 

The vet said we could sedate him and do bloodwork & x-rays if we want to investigate further. I would definitely do this for a younger gerbil. I'm unsure whether it's the right choice for Shark. My concern is that its stressful and sedation is risky, but also, given his age, is it likely or even realistic to hope for a diagnosis that we can meaningfully treat and restore him to good health for a while longer? 

His brother, Chicken, is the same age and isn't showing any signs of aging or illness so far.

Well, thats the story. If anyone has experience with inner ear growths, arthritis, or vetcare for senior gerbils - I'd be interested to hear your stories. Thank you. 


Here's a photo of my Chicken & Shark. Shark is looking a bit perkier these days, this photo was taken prior to the antibiotics.

[LilyandDaisy]

Sorry to hear that Shark has been unwell.

I think the key here is whether you would able to do anything with the answer, even if you could find out exactly what's wrong.

I believe inner ear growths in gerbils are not typically considered very operable (though I would ask your vet specifically), so it's usually just a case of treating infections if they arise and monitoring quality of life.

I also can't think of any other common condition that would cause these symptoms, which would be treated with anything other than surgery, antibiotics or pain killers/anti-inflammatories. So I think if surgery is off the table, continuing to treat with antibiotics when needed and also considering something like metacam for any pain or inflammation is a reasonable way forward.

[yeti218]

Thanks for your input.

I might bring him back to the vet just for another checkup next week after he's finished the antibiotics and just to reevaluate. Last appointment we considered diagnostics but opted instead to try antibiotics first and see how it goes. Still not sure that I'd go ahead with any testing for the reasons we've discussed, but I might like the vets opinion on that.

We did try him on metacam, I didn't notice any changes after being on it and the vet said she sees no signs that he is in pain - though she also conceded it can be hard to tell with these guys since they're good at hiding pain. But she said continued use of metacam can be hard on their kidneys, so she thought it best not to continue using it at this time. But of course we'll reevaluate if he seems to be in pain.



I once did sedation and a variety of testing & treatment on an 18 month old hamster with the hopes that he could recover and live to his full life expectancy of 2 years. It did work out and he made a full recovery and lived another 8 months. It was a bit more clear in that case because he got so sick so quickly that euthanasia would be the only other reasonable option. This situation feels a bit trickier because I'm not sure its realistic to expect Shark could have that much more time & also Shark seems to be doing okay right now so I'm not sure I want to risk the sedation.

I also had a hamster almost die under sedation once. Crazy story, the vet told me her heart stopped as a result of the sedation but then just... restarted? She was still struggling though. But they were able to do a more thorough exam while she was under and the diagnosis was a tumour near her eye which was causing a lot of pain & other symptoms, so euthanasia was the choice we made on that day anyway. She was also a senior hamster.

I've been very fortunate so far that all my little animals have grown old. But I've got all these previous experiences of vetcare choices made rattling around in my head, and often it's hard to know for sure what the right choice is until things have played out.

[tanzanyte]

How is Shark doing? Did you decide to do the blood work and x-rays?

I had my boys in for a scent gland tumour removal and I honestly thought Max was going to die afterwards. He kept going round and round in circles and stumbling like he was drunk and I thought he was having a stroke. His brother got through the whole thing fine but it has worried me with regard to giving him any anaesthetic in future, especially now he’s over 3 so I totally understand your concern.

One of my girls had an aural tumour and I was told there was nothing they could do. It grew fast. She was gone within 3 weeks, although I think she had an internal tumour as well as she got a lot bigger rather than losing weight and she changed body shape. I think the worst thing was her cagemate grooming her as she’d make the tumour bleed so if this isn’t happening then this is extremely helpful.
I do wonder when they have these symptoms if they are likely to be riddled with it rather than it just being in one area. Not a helpful thought but something to consider.