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major_clangerTwo bits of gerbil news, one sad, one happier.
Poor 5.3 didn't make it. She initially perked up a bit after her trip to the vet, but she showed little interest in solid food and despite my best efforts we were only able to get tiny amounts of liquid food into her (she was very prone to start choking on even the smallest amounts I could dispense from a syringe).
This morning I went to check on her and found her sitting in her food bowl having a bit of a root around. I thought that was encouraging, but she then ran around briefly and collapsed. By the time I'd fetched a syringe of water to try seeing if rehydrating would help she'd gone. We can only assume that she was so weak that the shock of being disturbed killed her.
We're not entirely sure what the problem was, although she was clearly malnourished and probably suffering from lung infection. A clue might be that Jerry got pregnant again after giving birth (as usual) but rather than stretching the gestation to seven weeks - as nursing gerbils are able to - she went to term in the usual four and a half, perhaps because only three babies was insufficient stimulus to slow gestation. This might have meant reduced milk supply at about three weeks, which is the time pups start to wean. It may be that 5.2 managed to get onto solid food in time but that 5.1 and 5.3 never weaned properly. If this was the case then it won't be a problem again, as with Ben and Jerry now separated there won't be any more pregnancies after the most recent one.
And talking of the most recent pregnancy, six more little pink blobs arrived yesterday! We'll be watching this final litter carefully to make sure that we catch any health problems early - there's always the risk that 5.1 and 5.3 had congenital defects of some sort. With Ben in his own tank, Jerry is sharing the main one with 5.2 now, so we'll see if what the books say about older siblings helping to raise new babies is true. For that matter, we're wondering about keeping 5.2 as a companion to Jerry now that Ben is off elsewhere - we'll see how they get on.
MC
Poor 5.3 didn't make it. She initially perked up a bit after her trip to the vet, but she showed little interest in solid food and despite my best efforts we were only able to get tiny amounts of liquid food into her (she was very prone to start choking on even the smallest amounts I could dispense from a syringe).
This morning I went to check on her and found her sitting in her food bowl having a bit of a root around. I thought that was encouraging, but she then ran around briefly and collapsed. By the time I'd fetched a syringe of water to try seeing if rehydrating would help she'd gone. We can only assume that she was so weak that the shock of being disturbed killed her.
We're not entirely sure what the problem was, although she was clearly malnourished and probably suffering from lung infection. A clue might be that Jerry got pregnant again after giving birth (as usual) but rather than stretching the gestation to seven weeks - as nursing gerbils are able to - she went to term in the usual four and a half, perhaps because only three babies was insufficient stimulus to slow gestation. This might have meant reduced milk supply at about three weeks, which is the time pups start to wean. It may be that 5.2 managed to get onto solid food in time but that 5.1 and 5.3 never weaned properly. If this was the case then it won't be a problem again, as with Ben and Jerry now separated there won't be any more pregnancies after the most recent one.
And talking of the most recent pregnancy, six more little pink blobs arrived yesterday! We'll be watching this final litter carefully to make sure that we catch any health problems early - there's always the risk that 5.1 and 5.3 had congenital defects of some sort. With Ben in his own tank, Jerry is sharing the main one with 5.2 now, so we'll see if what the books say about older siblings helping to raise new babies is true. For that matter, we're wondering about keeping 5.2 as a companion to Jerry now that Ben is off elsewhere - we'll see how they get on.
MC
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Date: 2003-04-26 01:11 am (UTC)How are you going to ensure that this really is the final litter that you have, unless you are certain about the sex of 5.2? :-)
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Date: 2003-04-26 07:27 am (UTC)We're pretty sure that 5.2 is female, as we now posess the Secret of Sexing Gerbils. Most books on them will tell you to turn them upside down (Ha! Try that with any self-respecting adult gerbil) and look between their legs. The trouble is that male and female gerbils are fairly similar in this area - it's a question of how far apart the openings are, which can vary a lot within sexes anyway. Now, if you have the gerbils from birth, the trick is to look at their tummies at about a week old, when they are (a) hairless, and (b) still susceptible to being picked up and turned upside down. Some will have a line of three of four small pores from the chest down to near the rear legs; these are nipples, and gerbils showing them are female!
MC
no subject
Date: 2003-04-26 09:20 am (UTC)Pets are hard work, non?