Help my gerbil has had a stroke..

the_devil_made_me_do_it

I always put my gerbils in exercise balls whilst I clean out their cage. I noticed one wasn't running about & when I checked him, he was lying quick rigid on his side.

I picked him out and warmed him up and he still continued to twitch quite badly. I noticed that one of his back legs was limp & he was dragging it along.

I continued to keep him warm & tried to get him to drink a little water. In the meantime my OH cleaned out the spare cage, filled it with megazorb and paper bedding and put him in there to rest.

He keeps getting up and staggering about, then goes back to sleep. Is there anything I can do for him? He is approx 3 & half years old. He also lost one of his friend a couple of weeks ago.

At the moment I still have him apart from the other 2 gerbils.

picklepick

Oh no, im so sorry to hear that.
When mine was poorly last year I put him in a seperate cage with a hot water bottle wrapped in towelling which he lay on top of and it really helped him. I also cut up some cucumber for him to nibble, at least hes getting some water if he nibbles on that.
If he makes it through the night you should probably think about taking him to a vet. Hope it's ok, it's so sad to see them go.

picklepick

Found this thread for you on gerbil forum which may have some good advice on things you can do to help

http://gerbilforum.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=health&thread=13519&page=1


The exact same thing happened to my gerbil and he's happily sleeping in his nest as a type almost a year later so it's not the end yet!!

the_devil_made_me_do_it

He is still with us, but he is still quite poorly. I have given him a little bit of apple & he appeared to nibble on it.

I still have him in a seperate cage to his buddies for the time being. At least he can get rested without being hassled by the other gerbils.

No doubt I will be up all night making sure he is warm and cosy. Fingers crossed we see an improvement tomorrow.

hethmar

So sorry to hear about your pet. Hope he is better tomorrow xx

the_devil_made_me_do_it

Well he's still here

Obviously not out of the woods, but he's eaten bits at least. Now need to decide whether to return him to his buddies, or leave him on his own. Any advice would be appreciated.

badmumof1

Hi
Pleased he is ok i would suggest leaving him on his own till he fully recovers as the others might gang up on him

picklepick

It's a difficult call. badmumof1 is right that they might gang up on him, but if you dont reunite them quickly he may never be re-accepted into the group. I think I'd try him in with his friends but be ready to whisk him out again if it's not going well.

Froglet

Could you not have got a vet's opinion?

the_devil_made_me_do_it

In normal circumstances I would've sought the opinion of a vet. However, I live in one of the very wintery parts of the country making getting to a vets very difficult & he started being ill long after the vets had closed.

I'm pretty sure, had I contacted the vet last night, they'd have told me to keep him warm and quiet & see if he lasted out the night.

From experience, vets don't really like working with small animals & I don't want to stress out the gerbil anymore than needs be with futile visits to the vets, especially considering how cold it is outside as well.

Froglet

Yes i can understand that.I suppose as well,considering his age,he has done well.Probably not a lot the vet could do,and only time will tell if it is fair to keep him alive if the stroke will affect him badly.