Gerbil Help Needed!

[Joelle]

I have a white gerbil, Valentine, who is going to be 4 next month. She lives by herself (her sister was a runt that died at age 2) in a tank with a cage topper. Lately she's become a bit more lethargic. Thursday I noticed her gentiles were yellow and brown, and she was struggling to clean herself. She was actually doing tumber-saults trying to clean her bottom! I decided to give her a little bath in the sink with some Johnson and Johnsons shampoo, and held her on a heating pad until she was dry enough to go back in her cage. She seemed to perk up when she was being held, and relaxed while I pet her. However, Friday I came home from work and noticed she was soiled again, and now lying and whimpering. I took her to a vet, sure that she would need to be put down - but low and behold, we left with antibiotics, ointment and cleaning pads. They thought she had wet tail (which was possible, since my mom fed her fresh fruit once a day for a week when she babysat in August :nono) I had to go away for the weekend, so she came with me in a smaller cage. She's been getting 1mm of medicine daily, along with a little wet-nap bath, but she seems to be getting continually worse. I have never had a gerbil get sick, and never seen this "yellow" stuff on them - it may be because she's my first white gerbil. I can't find anything on it online. Her eyes still look clear. Today her fur looks more displaced than usual and she appears to shake every 30 seconds or so. Does anyone know if this is old age, or something that might go away with antibiotics? I don't want to see her suffer if I am just prolonging the inevitable.

[Unikorngrrl]

What antibiotic did they give you?

[Joelle]

Veraflox. It's meant for kitties, but they changed the dosage for the gerbie baby.

[SugarBugFerret]

4 years old is pretty good for a gerbil. They can live around 3-5 years average in captivity. I have always heard that one should never give a gerbil, hamster, etc. a water bath, because it could cause them to become ill and possibly even cause death. :( There is also an illness they can get called Tyzzer's disease. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyzzer%27s_disease. I hope the antibiotics you have help your little baby, but at least part of his issues may just be old age. Happy thoughts and prayers headed your way! :)

[Unikorngrrl]

I can tell you what we would try for a squirrel. A tiny bit of yogurt and maybe a tiny bit of pumpkin. There is a slight possibility that the diarrhea was cured by the antibiotic but that the antibiotic has caused diarrhea. Yogurt can help to restore the normal flora of the GI tract. It's worth a shot anyway. Good luck!! :thumbsup

[Joelle]

I can tell you what we would try for a squirrel. A tiny bit of yogurt and maybe a tiny bit of pumpkin. There is a slight possibility that the diarrhea was cured by the antibiotic but that the antibiotic has caused diarrhea. Yogurt can help to restore the normal flora of the GI tract. It's worth a shot anyway. Good luck!! :thumbsup

She's been eating about 5 yogurt drops a week. I will try actual yogurt too. I just feel so bad for her. :Love_Icon

[Unikorngrrl]

She's been eating about 5 yogurt drops a week. I will try actual yogurt too. I just feel so bad for her. :Love_Icon

Yogurt drops don't count and that is entirely too many for a gerbil in a week. Bad for them really, they're like candy. I gave my rats (4 times the size of a gerbil) a half of a yogurt drop a couple of times a week... Real yogurt has probiotics that help regulate the tummy. Use full fat vanilla yogurt. It will give her some nutrition too. It's a cheap attempt. Won't hurt anything to try it. But don't give her a whole teaspoon or even a yogurt drop size. More like the size of a green garden pea.

[Joelle]

I think you may be thinking of a different kind of drop. These are really small - about the size of a mini chocolate chip. Not the big ones from the store.

[Unikorngrrl]

I think you may be thinking of a different kind of drop. These are really small - about the size of a mini chocolate chip. Not the big ones from the store.

Ah gotcha. I was thinking about the larger ones. But I'll sit back and laugh while you try to half those :poke:poke:poke :crazy

[solarx10]

How's the little one doing? Make sure she stays hydrated and comfortable.

Does she feel cold to the touch? Also, keep checking on her. When they tumble over they don't always have the strength the roll back over.

You can also see if she'll take flavored yogurt instead of the yogurt drops.
4 years is long for them.

I have robo hamsters, on my 3rd set (6 total)

These do sound like the symptoms they display shortly before they pass of old age.:grouphug