Gerbil death

Question
Sorry for the slow response!

Well grbil #2 is now sick, starting to behave like the first, puffy, diarrhea, slowing down.... Hope this time might have time to figure it out.

Still eating and just drank the other day not sure of today.

Its been maybe 2.5 - 3 weeks since gerbil #1 showed symptoms, and 1 week since death.

Anything I can feed to try and help the diarrhea?

Any questions you can think to ask me?

Richard.

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The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
3 weeks ago I bought two gerbils for my son and daughter. They are sort of a dark grey and lighter grey with red eyes. Both were very active with a nice shiny coat.

Around one week after getting them we noted what we thought was a female (the other male) was getting heavier and larger. Now by larger I mean larger and puffier...

After another week she seemed even larger and slowing down and losing balance, we thought this was all part of pregnancy. So we started to just leave her alone and leave her unstressed.

A few days ago I thought she was getting smaller, still puffy however. I picked her up to find out she was very skinny and bony and not feeling right.

One day ago I noted diarrhea and start trying to get her to drink, she may have not been drinking enough.... we are not sure... No diet change.

As even progressed I noted her getting worse and worse and to the point I would have her out in my hand comforting her and when put back in the cage She would literally leap out of the cage and back into my hand, 2-3 times in a row! It was like she wanted the warm and companionship in her last moments....

I held her for a few hours and she passed away.... very very sad ending.

I am really wondering what happened? We got a new cage kit and it came with wood shavings, I thought they were pine, and read that its very bad for gerbils and hamsters, I could be wrong and the kit could be non-pine, I am trying to find out.... Its made by

So its a very sad turn for my daughter who thought she was going to be seeing baby gerbils and had already allotted them to friends :-(

Ashes is now buried in our back yard with a picture of my daughter in the gerbil casket.... her request.

Any ideas?


-----Answer-----
Hi Rick,

A very sad story am i am very sorry about your loss!

With gerbils it is actually the opposite. You should not actually notice that she is pregnant, and she should not change her behaviour either. The puffiness would be an idication that she was ill, as would the balance loss and slowing down.
From what you said it sounds as though she wasn't eating or drinking? And that she was cold? If you find this happens ever again you can try to syringe feed baby food as this contains essential nutrients for them, and they seem to like it too!

It is very difficult for me to tell you what was wrong with her, because there are so many different illnesses! It could be an allergy, it could be an organ failure within the body, it may have been Tyzzers Disease, or anything else. Certain illnesses are highly contagious and can be passed onto your other gerbil and so it is really important you take your surviving gerbil to the vets and make sure it is healthy and ok, it maybe that it needs antibiotics just to be safe!!

I hope this helps, and i am sorry i can not tell you more!
If you need to know anything else at all, please do just ask!
Thanks,
Charlie.

Answer
Hello again,

Ok, you must get this gerbil to the vets as it is highly unlikely you can make this gerbil get better on your own. It will most likely need proper antibiotics!!! This is essential, and a priority.

In the mean time whilst you wait for the vets, you do need to make sure the gerbil is getting enough fluid and the best way to do this is buy some Cow and Gate, Sunshine Bananna baby food (the powder type and mix with water to make a paste). This is the human baby food found in tesco's or any supermarket, and is very good as contains essential nutrients and water! You may find it a good idea to syringe feed this to the gerbil if it won't eat it, as loss of fluids can be fatal on its own!!

I do think also thatou should return to the shop where you got these gebils from and mention this to them, as there is a possibilty that they weren't healthy from the start!

I hope this helps you, and hopefully this gerbil will recover! Let me know what happens, or ask again if you need any help!

Thank you,
Charlie.