It would be great if soem gerbil shows could be arranged in the USA. We
have rat/mouse shows and many people exchange animals from accross great
distances at these events. It'd also be great to be able see different
peopels gerbils all together.
Although i do think the relay is a great idea (and this concern goes for
shows too) I wouldnt feel comfortable having the project start without first
discussing health safety.
In rats/mice there have been problems with animals who are carrying an
illness not showing symptoms (not an uncommon thing really), so thye look
healthy and are admitted to shows or relays, but end up infecting everyone
else's animals there. Soem of these illnesses are "mild", like a few days
worth of sneezing and being tired then they are better. But others are
devestating. With SDA virus and Sendai we see as much as 50% death tolls in
rodentries. This is complicated by the fact that Sendai is not rat
specific, but also infects guinea pigs, mice, hamsters etc. So these
illnesses can eb spread when a fancier goes to a show of one species, or
buys one new species froma store, then sells a different species to a
person who's animals get infected.
I know Tyzzers can be a big problem for gerbils. It also can be for mice.
Strangely though, rats though they can be infected and carry this disease,
rarely ever show any symptoms!
The ONLY way to prevent the spread of these diseases in a fancy that has so
much contact between fanciers and their rodentries, is to practice VERY
STRICT quarentines. Some of these illnesses take MONTHS to work out of a
rodentry (even thoguht he animals in it look healthy becausethey have an
acquired resistance they are still infectious to other people's animals).
Durign a quarentine you need to STOP breeding as well as stop contact with
outside animals. This can be difficult for gerbils who bond in mating
pairs.
The gerbil fancy is still pretty "young" relatively in the USA. Startign
shows and relays is a logical next step as you grow. But please take the
time to work out details first and prevent your fancy from suffering to the
extent soem of the other fancies have who did not realize what consequencies
their growth would have withotu proper preparations.
There is an article on my site about these viruses int eh rat and mouse
fancy in the USA. go to www.rodentfancy.com, then to RMFE then to MAGAZINE,
then to BACKISSUES and scroll to vol1, ISSUE 2 and read "Facing Deadly
Viruses".
I do believe sill the relays and shows are good ideas and CAN be done
succesfully, but they need plannign and preparation.
~A.g.
>From: Molly Morris <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Subject: Re: Wisconsin to Indiana Re: shipping gerbils
>Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2000 10:06:25 EDT
>
>Not only would you get gerbils, but you would also get to meet other GML
>members. Wouldn't that be more fun than shipping? It might cost a little
>more
>if you paid for everyone's gas tho.-Molly
>
>In a message dated 7/14/00 4:10:08 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
>[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
>
><< Wasnt there soemoen trying to set up a gerbil express relay thing? What
> ever happened to that??? I thought it was a great idea >>
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