Introducing my gerbils

[Maz]

That's good news about Astra. Luna is one of the babies isn't she? Maybe it's a genetic thing. Some humans are pigeon chested too.

 

[Daisy]

That's good news about Astra. Luna is one of the babies isn't she? Maybe it's a genetic thing. Some humans are pigeon chested too.

Yes, she's one of the new pups. It could be genetic. They're rescues and I think they came from an out-of-control breeding situation so they could be inbred.

 

[Daisy]

Twiglet had to have her scent gland removed today because it had a lump on it. Male gerbils often get scent gland tumours, though they're much less common in females. However Twiglet is a rather masculine female gerbil who scent marks a lot. The surgery went well and she has a horrible wound but is recovering well. I opted for histology which will show whether it was a tumour, and if so whether a cancerous one, or something else like a wart.

She's on Metacam twice a day which unfortunately she doesn't like! It's unusual as hamsters usually love Metacam, but I find gerbils are much more picky. I tried mixing it with malt paste which she normally loves, but she wouldn't take it, so in the end I just had to give it to her straight from the syringe and make sure she swallowed it.

The surgery required Twiglet to be apart from her friend Peanut for a few hours. Peanut is still only 12.5 weeks old, and she's very dependent on Twiglet, so she didn't enjoy this very much. However they went back together okay.

She is recovering well and currently having a great time destroying a box:

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[Maz]

She clearly doesn't think much of Mr Kipling . She's really enjoying chewing that box isn't she? Amazing how well she seems post surgery. It's very cute seeing Peanut weaving around her as well.

Well done Twiglet. I'm sure her recovery will go well and fingers crossed about the histology.

Does Twiglet like baby food? I usually put metacam in that.

 

[Daisy]

She clearly doesn't think much of Mr Kipling . She's really enjoying chewing that box isn't she? Amazing how well she seems post surgery. It's very cute seeing Peanut weaving around her as well.

Well done Twiglet. I'm sure her recovery will go well and fingers crossed about the histology.

Does Twiglet like baby food? I usually put metacam in that.

She's never had baby food before but she might like a fruit-based one. It might mask the sweetness of the Metacam too. I don't think it's because it tastes bad that she doesn't like it, it's just because it's new, and gerbils are weird about new foods.

 

[Maz]

The fruity chicken ones have gone down well with my hamsters. I think it was pumpkin and chicken or sweet squash and chicken (one is one brand, the other is a different brand). One was a hipp organic brand.

I put about quarter of a teaspoonful on a jar lid, drop the metacam on top and then kind of stir it in a bit with a cocktail stick, But I don't stir it too much as want it to stay near the top and get eaten Sometimes they'd eat a bit of it and then finish it off later at night, so perhaps the dose got spread out a bit but usually it was eaten straight away, if you give a small enough amount.

Does she like Peas? The Peas peas peas one might be easier as it comes in a pouch.

 

[Daisy]

She won't eat anything with chicken in it unfortunately. Gerbils are weird about meat (aside from insects) and will very rarely eat it.

She probably would like the peas one though

 

[Maz]

I didn't know that But then gerbils are very different to hamsters. Will gerbils eat slugs? (You might remember Raffy ate a slug).

 

[Daisy]

I didn't know that But then gerbils are very different to hamsters. Will gerbils eat slugs? (You might remember Raffy ate a slug).

How could we forget! Gerbils might eat a slug. They definitely eat spiders. It's just non-insect meat they're funny about.

Astra used to eat minced beef and tuna but that was exceptionally unusual for a gerbil, and she's gone off them now.

 

[Maz]

I suppose hamsters can eat spiders too but I've never seen a hamster eat a spider (although heard about it).

 

[Zara]

Great to hear the procedure went well for Twiglet, she’s looking happy chewing her cardboard and Peanut looks pleased she’s back. Hope any results you receive are all good news too. Sending speedy recovery wishes to Twiglet.

 

[Daisy]

Twiglet has been doing really well this week. Her incision doesn't seem to bother her at all. She had her first post op check today which went well, and she has to go back for another one next Friday.

I got the histology results which showed that she had a benign tumour of the scent gland (adenoma) so that's good news too. Now that the gland is removed, she should have no further issues.

 

[Maz]

I was wondering how she was doing That is great she's doing so well at her first post-op check. And really good news about the biopsy! That must be a relief. And shows it can be worth having a biopsy just to know if it's benign or not so there's less worry.

 

[Daisy]

Sadly Twiglet died earlier today. She had recovered so well from the surgery, but on Saturday she suddenly developed symptoms of congestive heart failure. She was treated with diuretics for a short while, mostly to give me time to come to terms with losing her, and these helped only a little, so she was put to sleep. Congestive heart failure tends to progress rapidly in gerbils and it ends in one of two ways: either the gerbil is put to sleep or the gerbil dies a very distressing death (which having witnessed once before, I never want to again).

She was only 2 years and 2 months old which is not old for a gerbil, so this really came out of the blue. I'm really devastated to have lost her.

 

[Maz]

Oh Daisy I'm so sorry. That must be such a shock and when she's not that old. It seems very unfair when she'd just recovered well from surgery to have this happen. Play well over the Rainbow Bridge Twiglet. Big hugs Daisy

 

[Socks' Mum]

Very sorry to hear this sad news. She was such a character and was so good with the little gerbil she adopted.

 

[Daisy]

Very sorry to hear this sad news. She was such a character and was so good with the little gerbil she adopted.

It's very sad for Peanut and she is struggling being on her own. But hopefully it won't be for long.

 

[Socks' Mum]

Sending comforting wishes to you both and wishes for a nice cage mate to complete your little gerbil family.

 

[Daisy]

I decided to split up my other pair Astra and Luna and introduce Luna back to Peanut (they are sisters). The reason was that there aren't any adult females available near me currently so I would need to get a pup from a breeder. That would mean Peanut taking a dominant role in the pair, and she's a very submissive personality so I'm not sure that's right for her. Astra and Luna, on the other hand, are both dominant personalities and they have little squabbles here and there. A pair can work out even when both gerbils are a bit bossy, as long as one is willing to be submissive, albeit grudgingly, so I wouldn't normally consider separation over minor squabbles. But here I had a situation where one gerbil wanted to be the boss and the other wanted to be bossed around and needed a friend, so the solution was obvious really.

I put them in the split tank on Thursday and all the signs are good so far. You can never really tell if an introduction is going to work out until you actually remove the divider. Sometimes gerbils give off great signs and then fight when you remove the divider. But since I know these gerbils' personalities quite well, I'm optimistic for a good outcome.

Here they are in the split. Unfortunately the small size and lack of enrichment is a necessary part of the process but with these two, it hopefully won't be for long.





I'm going to be getting a young pup to introduce to Astra.

 

[Maz]

That makes sense Daisy - having the two older ones together and getting another younger one for Astra Fingers crossed it all goes well.