Hi Cindy,
To treat respiratory infection...
As soon as the pup's fur looks puffed up you need to
treat it. Other signs are that the pup is light
weight (or becomes smaller than the rest), has a
skinny tail, and eyes are not fully open and lose that
clear black look. Also a pups with respiratory
infection makes that clicking sound when it breathes.
See a picture of pups that need treatment at:
http://www.geocities.com/abcgerbils/weanfailur.html
If you are in the US, you can get Ornacycline (with
active ingredient tetracycline) in the bird section of
a pet superstore, such as Petco or PetSmart. You give
the canary does in the water. I break up the pills
since you have to replace the water every 24 hours and
gerbils just don't drink that much. So if it is 8
ounces for a full tablet, I use 2 ounces of water with
a 1/4 tablet or 4 ounces of water with 1/2 a tablet.
I put three drops of the treated water directly on the
lips of the pup at least twice a day. I medicate the
water for 2 weeks.
The second part of the treatment is also critical.
That is to supplement feed the affected pups with KMR
(Kitten Replacement Milk). Buy it in a powder so you
can mix up a tablespoon at a time. I feed using a
infant medicine dispenser which I get for free from
the pharmacist in the drugstore. Feed at least twice
a day. See
http://www.geocities.com/abcgerbils/breeding_kit.html
for a picture of supplemental feeding a pup.
The third part is nice for the pups because they feel
chilled, but it is not necessary. And that is to warm
up JUST ONE corner of the tank to about 85 degrees.
My experience with respiratory infection is as
follows:
The pups always get it at 3 weeks.
The first time I saw it, it was one pup in a litter of
5. I did not treat, the pup stopped developing at
three weeks and died at 4 weeks.
The next time I saw it, it was 5 of 6 pups! I gave
all of them the Ornacycle. I supplement fed the 3
worst. They all 3 got better by 4 weeks. The two I did
not supplement feed took a turn for the worse at 4
weeks. One allowed me to supplement feed, he got
better. The second refused the KMR and he died at 5
weeks.
Since then I have seen this several time in 1-3 pups
of various litters. I start with the KMR and
Ornacycline right away and have had 100% success in
treating the respiratory infection.
Please let me know how this works for you.
Donna
--- Cindy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: <snip>
> Donna,
>
> Tell me EXACTLY how you treat this.
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