>shocked by the sheer volume of blood that there was. I asked the vet who >examined her exactly how much blood was in a gerbil and he showed me >approximately with a syringe (I don't remember the exact volume- could it >be about 10cc?) >So I agree- there's quite a bit more in than you would expect. >Jill >From fishkeeping, when figuring tincture dilutions (back in the days of having to do it yourself instead of getting a bottle of something at the pet store)... 80,000 drops to the gallon [Innes, 1965 edition]. So 20,000 to the quart, and 5,000 to the cup. 625 to the eighth cup or 29.6 ml. One mililiter is one cubic centimeter. 21 roughly to the CC. In that scale, a gerbil has about a tablespoon or so of blood. Ok...now that I did that... If you've ever had a nosebleed that just dripped a few drips, or scratched that thing on your back and got a nail full of blood...you lose just a few drops and it seems like gallons if you don't have something to blot it up. Blood because it is viscous and red and staining seems to do that...a little seems like a lot. I admit, an animal that weighs just a few ounces doesn't have much blood (2oz is about 56 grams, and that doesn't leave much room for blood), but a few drops seems like a lot on that scale. I've had animals jump or otherwise fall (both dwarf campbell hamsters, which are smaller than gerbils, and gerbils) and they break their nose as far as I can tell...they lose what looks like 5 or so drops, and it seems TERRIBLE. The animals I mentioned, recovered and did fine afterwards, it took them a few days to get back to being active and normal. If your gerbil loses several drops of blood, it is not good, but it is far from being harmful. The animal would have to lose over twenty percent of it's blood before it has problems... same reason why you (who has average of 5 quarts as an adult) are not badly off unless you lose 2 pints or more. A lot of surgeries, they will not give you blood suppliment unless you lose more than that...a pint and a half dehydrates you and you get the tremors for a few hours...a day in bed and some IV fluids and you are fine. [been there done this several times] Consider the same for your little one. Blood is not good, but a little blood loss will not harm them. Lethargy, dehydration, and greying of the tissues (especially of mouth and other pink areas) are not good signs. If they are injured, such as the tail de-gloving we've been discussing, there will be some blood loss and it will seem like a lot. Fresh blood still flowing freely after five minutes or so is a problem, as well as anything that seems to spurt in rthymn. Adding Julian's comments, that there is 6.5 to 7.8 cc's of blood in a gerbil. This equates to 1-2 cc loss before it's serious...and this will seem like a lot more blood than it actually is. Again, if the animal stays warm and hydrated, there should be little problem. From my own surgical experiences, at 20% blood loss they would have given me more (2 pints loss). For one surgery they did type me, in case they had problems (with the case history the chances were good enough that they did reserve three pints just in case). They said I lost 1.5 to 1.75 pints...this caused tremors and a feeling of being cold for about four hours; two iv bags on a good rate for the next twelve hours fixed all that. After that I talked them into taking the iv out, and drank extra fluid for another 24 hours. So. Under most circumstances, your little one will look like the injury is worse by the blood loss; a little blood always looks like a lot; and some good care after an injury to bolster the animal and letting nature take it's course, often does the trick. Deb Rebel's Rodent Ranch
