----- Original Message ----- From: "J Doe" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, December 17, 2001 6:55 PM Subject: Newbies Need Help!!! At wits end!!!
> Hello all, I am a newbie to the list. We have 2 female gerbils (just over 1 > yr. old, sisters). About 3 weeks ago, we noticed that they had red > discharge from their noses. We have had colds recently and were worried > that they may have one also. They were not clicking or anything though. We > took them to a vet who works with small animals. He prescribed tetracycline > by drops twice a day for 2 weeks. Hi, Welcome ot the list. Red and noses are very common in gerbils. Gerbil mucous is stained with porphryin (sp?) and so it is red, not clear like ours. Runny noses in gerbils can be caused by an allergy, so a change of bedding material is worth trying. Another common cause of a red nose is excessive burrowing with the nose. As gerbils are burrowers, there is not much you can do about this. If the problem is merely a runny nose, then I would not be too worried. But often the runny nose irritates the gerbil who rubs it even more and then it gets sore and even infected. At this stage, it does need antibiotics. However, it needs a topical treatment ointment rubbed directly on the affected area, not drops by mouth. My vet gives me a combined antiobiotic/cortisone ointment called Fuciderm (this is a brand name in the UK). 3 days treatment with this has always done the trick for me. BTW gerbils cannot catch human colds. These viruses are species specific. In fact, gerbils do not seem to get viral infections much at all. However, they can get lung infections caused by bacteria. In this case you will hear the gerbil clicking and may also observe it breathing faster than normal. As for the grunting. If the gerbil is otherwise healthy - i.e. she is eating, interacting normally with her cagemate and chewing cardboard compulsively - then I don't think you should be too concerned. I know of se veral people that have had "talking" gerbils and this has not caused any problems. Good luck Sue aged 45 and with 27 gerbils > _________________________________________________________________ > Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp. >
