I got this e-mail from my site today. I plan to suggest putting the gerbils on plain paper for awhile as the one could be allergic to aspen. The one that was ill concerns me, though, and as a round of antibiotics has already been administered I am unsure what to suggest. Please e-mail her directly as she isn't on the list. Tana and The Little Rascals Terre Tepikian wrote: > > Am new to the gerbil world (about 1 mos.) but have really been through a lot > in that short time! Need some help and advice if you can spare it. I > discovered the National Gerbil Society, but never could find an e-mail > address to send questions to! Looks like you've had LOTS of experience, so > here goes. > > Got our first two gerbils from a pet store about a month ago (Sunny & > Moonlight), which were probably only about 5 weeks old (which our gerbil > booklet recommended as they said you needed to get them young so they would > get used to being handled. We live in the Kansas City, MO, area, so it was > pretty cold on the day we transported them. We had them about 3 days, and I > (an adult) picked them up every day for a few minutes. Then Moonlight got > sick on a Saturday evening and her belly was all wet. So I quarantined her > and she just got weaker and weaker. On Monday morning I took her to the vet > who said she probably had wet tail disease. He gave her a saline injection > and > Septra which I administered to her and also Sunny (what fun that was!) > twice a day. > Also on that Monday, I went back to the same pet store to get another > gerbil so I could get one from the same litter (not sure I really did), as I > had a feeling Moonlight wasn't going to make it. Unfortunately, Moonlight > did die on Wednesday, poor thing. > So, Chip came onto the scene. (We supposedly have 2 females, but now that I > know a little more, > think Sunny is a male and Chip is a female. Guess we'll soon see! :o) > Anyhow, I began administering antibiotic to all 3 gerbils for 9 days (twice > a day). On about Friday of that week, Sunny looked ill, listless with a > wet belly, so I separated her > in a bowl with a heating pad. By the following Tuesday, the antibiotics > were finished and Sunny seemed fine but thinner, but I kept them separated > until Saturday, just to make sure > we wouldn't have a relapse. Chip never did get sick. > > Fortunately, their reunion went smoothly, and they were very happy to see > each other (especially Chip who had been very depressed all alone). > > All has been going well, until 4 days ago when Chip developed a sore nose > and it appears a sore mouth (red) the morning after we had put a "u" tube in > their habitrail which allows them to go up and over the cage. Actually, > I've never seen Chip go up in it--don't think he's quite figured it out yet. > Don't know if that had anything to do with it (perhaps an injury?) We use > Aspen shavings, and feed them a seed mix, along with prepared gerbil > pellets. I haven't given them any salt, or any fresh fruit yet as I was > still a bit leery of giving them diarrhea. Anyhow, Chip has been pulling on > and cleaning his nose a lot, and 2 days ago started making a wheezy sound > out of his nose. Don't know if it's because he has an allergy, or because > his nose is heeling, or maybe she's developed a respiratory infection. The > NGS suggested an antibiotic ointment for the nose (is Neosporin okay?) or an > oral antibiotic if it's a respiratory infection. Don't know what to do, and > hesitate to take her to the vet again, as it's very cold here and hate to > stress her out on the trip unnecessarily. > > Today Chip seems a little more lackluster than normal, so am getting more > concerned. Any help or feedback you could give would be greatly > appreciated. I'd also be willing to have you call me collect to discuss > this (913) 696-1312. > > My husband thinks I'm nuts getting all concerned about these little guys, > but they've already stolen my heart and we've already been through so much > together! :o) > > Thanks for bearing with this wordy message, but thought you having the "big > picture" might help. > > Thanks! > > Terre Tepikian > > P.S. Still think Sunny "poops" more than I would have expected for the > "desert" animal that she is, and she especially loves pooping and peeing in > her wheel, especially after I've just cleaned it! Is that normal?
