Our gerbil has always lived alone since we got her over 2 years ago and she
has never had pups. I will try the goat milk. I don't hear any clicking
noises.
Good.
She just looks miserable and wet underneath. I can't figure out why
she is wet on her underside.
In general, disheveled fur is a sign of a sick gerbil. My Gray Agouti had all his fur have that sort of matted, looks like he got it wet look when he was very sick. Maybe the underside will be the first area to show because it doesn't move around too much now.
Has it been using the exercise wheel? If not, then take her out of the cage and play with her to give her some exercise. She will need exercise to heal that leg and get stronger overall. Its amazing, I thought that Rain Cloud would be lame, but his leg appears totally healed.
I cleaned her cage last night and disinfected
everything that goes in it to make sure it was infection free. I do use
natural pine shavings in her cage and always have.
The two things about pine shavings:
~there can be no saw dust
~When you hold it near your nose, there should be no other.
I use large cut pine shavings with no odor [it may be because it is kiln dried pine] that I buy from the Farmers Exchange. Farm stores sell things at lower prices than the pet store and have good bulk goods - like a bail of Timothy for the price that you pay for an oversized brick at the pet stores.
I also give her timothy
hay to burrow in and she likes to eat it also at times.
Timothy hay and alfalfa are great! Besides being bedding materials, it has excellent nutrition. I know more about alfalfa, because that is what I use, and I know that alfalfa also acts as a natural deodorant.
Like I said, I like to buy mine at a farm store where I know that they did not use artificial preservatives before they packaged it.
What other material
can I use beside pine or cedar shavings?
I also use cut up corn cob, which is available at the pet stores and is fine. Aspen is supposed to be the best wood chip to use, but many pet stores do not carry it. Harlan has a brand of this called Sanichips which is very good, and a similar product call Prochips made of maple shavings that are supposed be great - I have never seen them or tried them. There is also some artificial material called Carefresh which a lot of breeders use, but I have not tried.
Of course, all of these materials are more expensive than the pet store cedar chips and pine shavings. You must make a choice which is best for you - if you can find some of this stuff!
Best wishes and prayers for your gerbil's recovery,
Larry Capuder
GerbilStrong
Strongsville, OH in suburban Cleveland
member, American Gerbil Society
