>I was holding the babies (they are about 2 1/2 weeks old)
>and one of them jumped off my hand, landed on my leg and
>then hopped off that one too!
Two to three weeks is when they're really prone to doing that.
I sit on the floor, with the tank on the floor, and a pillow in my
lap, and have the pups out one at a time and keep an eagle
eye on them. I've had my share of them jump and end up
with permanent problems.
>Now that one is just laying still, its heart is still beating but
>it isn't moving a lot.......could it be in shock!
It probably has sustained the human equivalent of severe
head blunt trauma...like you not being belted in and flying
and hitting the dash or windshield.
Leave it with it's clanmates but keep a close eye on it that
it is getting food/nursing/water and be ready to step in with
KMR and an eyedropper if needed.
It may walk with a permanent head cant, and for a week
or so have problems with wanting to spiral one way or
flop backwards and to one side if it sits up too far.
If it does lengthwise rolls (like it has had a skewer
passed from mouth to rear and is being rotated on it)
that is extremely severe and prognosis is poor.
>I was just about to put them back and out of nowhere it just jumped.
They usually stop that about four weeks old.
Expect about a month for it to fully get right about this and
it will probably always have a head cant to one side.
>Another problem is what is the signs of a dehydrated gerbil.....
>Donte, the father, is a little lethargic and his eyes are bulging
>out a little bit........and if he is dehydrated then what can we do?
Lethargy, if you pinch some skin on his back and it doesn't
slump back immediately (it is slow to respond), cold, and
doesn't want to move much. Will sprawl nose out and flat
down. Step in with an eyedropper and some pedialyte solution
and make him take several drops (as often as 3/4 drops every
ten minutes if he's unresponsive otherwise) every few hours.
I space rehydration feedings according to how out of it the
animal is, as it comes around and improves, the interval is
longer and longer, and when it decides to hit up the waterbottle
or otherwise is acting normal, I lay off (rehydration can take
24 hours of work, a few hours of intense work and stretching
it out as the animal improves).
I would check to see if the father is 'clicking' when he breathes,
which means he needs antibiotics. And check your waterbottle
immediately to see that it's functioning properly.
Deb
Rebel's Rodent Ranch
