Scent gland tumour

[rosi]

Hi guys,

My elderly gerbil (3/4 ish, he is a rescue so not sure exactly) has a scent gland tumour. He has also started acting his age more e.g., sleeping more, half closed eyes for periods of time. He is still getting bursts of energy and is still eating albeit a bit less than usual. I just wanted some advice on next steps. I would not be willing to put him through the surgery as he is already showing signs of age but I don’t think he is unwell enough to put to sleep? Does anyone know the general trend of a scent gland tumour and how to know when he is in pain etc?

Thank you,

Rosi

[catnut]

sorry to hear your guy has a scent gland tumour, it can take months to get bad so just have to check him daily and if he starts to bite or pick at it, that may be time to see if metacam would help him and get a vet to check him over/ask questions about his quality of life or if too bad and he isn't awake much, time to be PTS. Just watch if he is still enjoying life and doing normal things. I hope you have some more time with him but take it day by day.

[rosi]

Hi, thank you so much! He is picking at it quite a lot and it’s bleeding so I will look into metcam. He is doing everything as normal just has more sleepy periods so finding it hard to work out!

[betty]

Hey there, at this frustrating time - but these tumors are so mean.

If he is already picking at it and/or it is bleeding - it is hurting him, sadly.

Any vet can prescribe versions of Metacam (cat version) to help reduce the pain. You might need to really push for it as some vets still think that gerbils don't need it (along the lines of developing liver or kidney issues later on - but this doesn't matter either way as the end result of a SGT is not long term). Gerbils are very tolerant of these nsaids as well - so the dose won't be microscopic and will be easy to administer (I usually offer it on a broken open sultana or a pinch of bread).

If it still bleeds regularly on the pain killers (give it a few weeks once dispensed) and/or it looks infected, hot or swollen; then it is time. Bless him.

[rosi]

Thank you so much for all of your advice 😊 I will go to the vets asap to try and get a prescription. I thought he had mites for ages as he was very itchy and only a little bit of blood and I only noticed the tumour last week as he doesn’t handle very well so feeling like a bad gerbil mum!!

[catnut]

don't worry about it, some gerbils are not good with hands, i've had some rescues that were very skittish, one of mine had a scent gland tumour and i didn't notice it until later as well. Take care.

[betty]

I have missed one too - I had a gerbil who was very wary, very hairy around his scent gland AND his enclosure was on the floor at the time - so seeing his underbelly wasn't always a thing.

It happens.