Deb Rebel <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote
>
>He will probably be off sorts tonight yet, and be interested in
>things tomorrow, but a little slow yet. There isn't any real
>way that painkiller that can be administered to a gerbil;
>(size and other considerations) for post surgery discomfort,
>but it will quickly pass.
>
We are currently administering a liquid pain killer to our Persian Jird
that had an ulcerated eye removed two days ago.
It is called Metacam. I am not sure it is necessary though as I have
never seen a gerbil or jird seriously affected with post operative pain.
With gas anaesthesia the gerbil is normally back on its feed eating
within a couple of hours from even major surgery.
If the gerbil is out of sorts I would suspect inappropriate anaesthesia,
or improper application of cortisosteroids.
Before finding our current vet, the various people we consulted always
used such steroids liberally, and many gerbils appeared to be
incapacitated for a couple of days as a result. We lost several gerbils
that way who would survive today.
Our current vet rarely uses them at all, and almost never with our
gerbils. We now never seen a gerbil go into shock as we used to.
If the gerbil is suppressed, for whatever reason, Deb's advice is still
important. Keep the gerbil hydrated and make sure it is kept warm. A
heated pad or hot water bottle is invaluable.
--
Julian
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
National Gerbil Society
http://www.gerbils.co.uk/
