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Post by orangepenguin on Jun 13, 2007 14:36:38 GMT -8
i have 8 gerbils and 2 of my boys have epilepsy, its common for 1 in 5 to have it n i have 2 in 8!! almost half of my pups seemed to show signs of it too which is strange as thier parents do not have it!!
does any one else have epileptic gerbils??
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Post by ohmylokix on Jun 13, 2007 14:54:41 GMT -8
It means that the parents are carriers, and should NEVER be bred from!
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Post by tracy on Jun 13, 2007 19:58:02 GMT -8
I had Puffy, whom I got when he was nearly 4 years old. I assume he had epilepsy as he used to spin as if he were on a skewer from head to tail. The spinning was very fast and only lasted a moment. Puffy always got up right away and carried on eating or running the wheel as if nothing had happened. He had a little head tilt. What do your epileptic gerbils do?
Tracy
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Post by AndreaS15 on Jun 14, 2007 12:42:29 GMT -8
How old are the gerbils?
It is common for young pups to have fits from over stimulation.
They usually grow out of it after a few months, but some never do, and end up living a shorter life.
Though the pups may grow out of it, this is an undesirable trait and both parents & pups should not be bred to help stop this trait.
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Post by orangepenguin on Jun 15, 2007 9:41:17 GMT -8
the gerbils pups r only around 7 weeks old so yeh its porbably over stimulation, i wasnt to know that the parents were carriers though untill i tried them so i couldnt help it!! no need to have a go!! my epileptic gerbil Flash is just over one year old and i am not breeding from him hes just a pet. i wouldnt dream of breedin him knowing that his pups wil have the epilepsy. the fits my flash have are twitching going limp drooling and violently shaking.
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Post by hazel2k6147 on Jun 15, 2007 13:47:17 GMT -8
Carla had epilepsy and it killed basically one of the worst deaths Ive ever seen its an awful disease.
Yes if they are hat young it is probably over simulation
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Post by ohmylokix on Jun 15, 2007 13:51:52 GMT -8
Nobody was having a go at you.  Just do NOT breed the parents anymore. Or ANY of the pups. Even if they never showed symptoms/grew out of it. |
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Post by orangepenguin on Jun 16, 2007 0:36:18 GMT -8
all the pups have gone to homes now and i did warn the people ho took them. so i will not be breeding from them. as for the parents they have just had another litter as i didnt take the father out, but this will be the last.
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Post by tweak on Jun 16, 2007 6:44:30 GMT -8
awww... I hope it was just over stimulation and that they are ok. Are these new pups showing any signs?
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Post by orangepenguin on Jun 16, 2007 14:20:59 GMT -8
hey havent shown any signs yet no, hopefully they wont at all. im going to try and handle them more than the others, there is only 6 in this litter, there was 9 in the other so i have more time now!! not so many to play with
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Post by ohmylokix on Jun 16, 2007 15:06:26 GMT -8
Seizures are hereditary. These pups are still under 3 weeks, right? They probably won't show signs yet.
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Post by orangepenguin on Jun 17, 2007 5:35:17 GMT -8
i feel like im being treated like a kid on here i might just not btoher coming on again. im 19 years old and i do know what im doing with my gerbils, ive had them al my life!! i did say they had shown no signs, as they have jst been born so its obvious. and again i know seizures are hereditary, hence why i havent let my best gerbil be bred from. he is happy enuff chasin his boy friend around the cage.
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Post by pepandmax on Jun 17, 2007 5:48:36 GMT -8
I don't think you're being treated like a kid  I do think that maybe your first post raised a few questions, as it almost seems like you're happy or proud of the fact that a high percentage of your gerbils have epilepsy. The other thing is that the most careful breeders will use animals of which they know the family and health history, so it would be possible to know if the parents were carriers of diseases like epilepsy. Now that you've explained the situation, it isn't as bad as it originally sounded. But that's why some of the responses may have been a little dramatic Myself, I had one gerbil with epilepsy. He was the product of a brother and sister, and the brother and sister were likely the products of brothers and sisters  He was a very sweet animal, just a little jumpy and "off" in the head. Nicole |
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Post by hazel2k6147 on Jun 17, 2007 12:23:31 GMT -8
I woldnt say epilepsy was that common as out of 17 gerbils I have kept for the latter of their life Carla was the only one and she was a pet shop gerbil until a year before her death
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Post by orangepenguin on Jun 18, 2007 0:35:09 GMT -8
well i certainly aint proud of it! i was just wondering if anyone else had epileptic gerbils.. i would do anything to stop him from having it, its awful to watch. i only actually have the one, the other one hasnt shown any signs of it since he first had a seizure. so im glad for him. the one i have is a pet shop gerbil too, so he is probably in bred also. he is the oldest one that i have at the moment, hes not really "off" in the head though, he is just like any other gerbil unless i get him out of the cage - i must say that he has calmed down a lot now i get him out more often so he gets used to the area outside his tank
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He was a very sweet animal, just a little jumpy and "off" in the head.