Make sure they're well hydrated and nourished.
If any of the superficial wounds look bad, you can use a thin coat of
neosporin or the like to prevent infection. If any of the wounds appear to
already be infected, then you will probably need to give a course of oral
antibiotics to ensure the infection doesn't become systemic. For that I
would recommend Bactrim (also called Sulfatrim, trimethoprim sulfa), but
you need a vet to get that.
Even if you don't have an exotics vet per se, there are some small animal
vets who are either willing to learn or treat given the right information.
There are exotics vets who are willing to do phone consultations with
regular vets for animals regular vets aren't familiar with. Also, in the
situation of administering a basic antibiotic, you don't need to know much
about gerbils specifically, but just the animal's weight and the dosing
protocol for the medication (Bactrim is 30mg/kg every 12 hrs orally- I have
a gerbil on it currently who weighs 110 grams and her dose is 0.05ml).
Bactrim is a general broad spectrum antibiotic that any vet would be
familiar with- some small animal vets are comfortable with treating species
they're not familiar with for basic ailments like that. A good exotic vet
text to consult or for the vet to consult is The Biology and Medicine of
Rabbits and Rodents by Harkness and Wagner.
It's always worth a try!
Good luck to you and your rescuees!
----------
> From: ABCgerbils <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: Fighting/injured gerbils
> Date: Friday, April 06, 2001 3:34 PM
>
> I am doing a "gerbil rescue" of some badly beaten-up
> gerbils. Haven't found a local vet yet that does
> rodents. Any tips for saving and nursing them back?
> Thanks! Donna
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail.
> http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/
Shop online without a credit card
http://www.rocketcash.com
RocketCash, a NetZero subsidiary
