> I guess my question is, has there ever been a case where a gerbil
> treated with antibiotics leveled off in the recovery progress, and if
> so, did they ever just make it through on their own? Or is this
> respiratory thing something that ONLY clears up with antibiotics, and
> not time? I will continue the treatment for another week, but I
> haven't been able to catch him drinking from the water bottle yet.
> Perhaps he's getting too much? Oh I do hope he makes it through! I'd
> hate to lose him after all this, but... c'est la vie. *hopes for the
> best*
>
I had a gerbil who was almost 4 years old who had a chronic respiratory
infection. The antibiotics (prescription from the vet, given orally) kept
the infection at bay for a long time- almost 9 months. She did level off in
the treatment- she never was completely cured, but got well enough to live
a quality life. Eventually the antibiotics stopped working on the bacteria
and she began to get worse and we did have her put to sleep.
If this is truly a respiratory infection, he will not recover on his own-
these infections are caused by bacteria that must be killed with antibiotic
to be rid of infection. There is no evidence as of yet that gerbils are
susceptible to any viruses that simply run their course and then go away on
their own.
What kind of antibiotic are you using? If it's something bought in the pet
store, it's unlikely he's getting too much. These antibiotics are not very
strong at all (hence they are able to be sold in pet stores) and it is much
more likely he's not getting enough, OR the bacteria that's causing the
infection isn't sensitive to that particular antibiotic. The most accurate
dosing is when the meds are given orally, dose determined by weight and
they aren't diluted with water. If it were me, I'd contact my vet and start
with trimethoprim sulfa (also called Bactrim, Sulfatrim, TMP SMZ) pediatric
suspension. The vet will need the exact weight of the gerbil to calculate
the dose. If this didn't work, I'd try Baytril, Doxycycline, or a
combination of the 2.
Good luck,
Jill
