>Hey everybody. I have a little male lilac, born April 7, 2001 with a VERY
>broken leg, and I need all the help I can get. Right now, he's isolated
(of
>course) from the other gerbils. Has anyone else ever gone through this?
If
>so, PLEASE send me some suggestions as to what I can do for him. It breaks
>my heart to see him try to toddle around on 3 legs, while dragging his
left,
>hind leg along with him at a very unnatural angle. :( Please help! As
soon
>as possible! He doesn't look very good, and I'm afraid he's going
downhill.
>He can't keep his balance, so I'm not sure how well/how much he's
>eating/drinking.
Unless the other gerbils were out and out picking on him, leave
him with at least one companion. He was part of a group and
being alone will be more stress. If it's only been a few hours,
take the gentlest fellow that was in with him before and reintroduce
them, they should be ok but keep an eye on them.
Unless the bone is protruding through the skin, the leg will heal.
If the bone is sticking through, you need to get him to a vet asap
for help as that is a major infection. At best the vet would clean
and close the wound and you'd do antibiotic treatment, at worst
the animal would have to have the leg amputated (and they do
very well without one leg) If you take him to the vet take the
companion too, so they can stay together.
Go to a thin layer of bedding of something easy to get through
(carefresh or corncob) and put the cage with him and chum
in a quiet location where he can recuperate.
You might want to start an antibiotic treatment (tetracycline in
the water) for ten days even if you don't have to take him to the
vet. Keep an eye on his eating and drinking, and don't hesitate
to step in with the eyedropper and feed.
You might try offering easy to eat food like baby oatmeal and
applesauce, especially the latter, as it is sweet and moist and
will usually be well received AND help keep him hydrated.
It will take a few (2-4) weeks for the leg to heal if the bone has
not come through the skin. In the meantime the first few days
are often worse on the gerbil keeper than the gerbil.
Deb
Rebel's Rodent Ranch
