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Post by gerbilgal on Oct 11, 2010 9:37:57 GMT -4
I know many of you have experienced this. Well....I experienced it this past weekend. My two senior boys Little Bear and Spot have declanned. The complete story is on my blog. hhgerbilry.blogspot.com/One of my AGS friends is conducting a survey on declanning. Please click on link and fill it in on your latest declanning. Delcanning Survey www.surveymonkey.com/s/8S93WYQ |
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lyn
Rodent Retreat Lover
Just taking life one day at a time.
Posts: 307
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Post by lyn on Oct 11, 2010 10:16:58 GMT -4
I'm very sorry to hear the bad news Diane. If being sick wasn't enough for you to deal with now you have this worry. I'll be saying prayers for Spot.Do you think he will need to see the vet? What is the cause for this, sibling rivalry? Please excuse me if I sound like a dummy, but I've never heard of this until today. Do hammies do this too? Please take care of yourself and Spot , and give Little Bear a rub on the head. Thank God they weren't alone when it happened. Love and well wishes all around.
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Post by gerbilgal on Oct 11, 2010 11:49:28 GMT -4
The cause of declanning could be anything. A strange smell or sound. Territorial. Something the smells different in the tank after a clean. They could be fine one minute and the next, they are in a ball fight for some reason. Little Bear has always been a bully. He is the bigger gerbil of the two.
That's the thing. They were cuddling just hours before.
But I think deep down Steve and I saw this coming. They have been swabbling on/off for the past few months.
Spot's swelling on his paw has gone down so now I can see the wound. It is a bite just above his front paw. He is recovering well. He is eating normally. Chewing. Running on the wheel. I am using a wheel that won't hurt his feet.
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Post by Andrea on Oct 11, 2010 19:49:10 GMT -4
I was going to fill the survey But I've not had a de-clanning in a long time, as all my gerbils but one are still around.
I had a LOT of issues with de-clanning, and when i cleaned the tanks I left bedding/nests in, I cleaned my hands between tanks and such but whether male or female, old or young I had issues.
I have found that some olders de-clan when one is ill. I've had a couple declan before one get's sick and dies.
I wonder if the declanning was also because I had a room filled with gerbils, though not in contact with each other, still sharing the same room/air etc.
I have had a dwarf hammy 'de-clan' it never got vicious as I removed the disgruntled male. There were 5 all together, then the 4 all lived happy for many years into old age.
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Oct 11, 2010 21:06:54 GMT -4
Go to page 9 of the Gerbil forum and look for my thread about the "Gang of Four". Then go to page 7 and look for my thread "Tragic End to the Gang of Four". That says alot about declanning. Chrissie was their sister. She was in with Crystal, Their photos can be found in the 2004 pages of the Gerbil forum, and the Memorial forum way down the scroll. One day, after over a year of nice behavior, when in my hand she clamped down HARD on my palm! Severla hours later with cleaned hands I tried it again. . . it was like a pliers grabbed me! Ouch. Got a bruise. Why she suddenly "declanned" from me I do not know. Anyone?  |
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Oct 11, 2010 21:15:05 GMT -4
I took your survey; described the Gang of Four.
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Post by gerbilgal on Oct 12, 2010 16:31:29 GMT -4
Spot Update:
Spot is doing well. Acting pretty like is normal self except for being alone. I can now see the bite. It is right on his wrist going across. Eventually I am thinking of getting a couple of young pups 5-6 weeks old to intro to Spot. He is so mellow that I think he would be a good dad/uncle to the babies.
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Post by gerbilgal on Oct 18, 2010 13:24:51 GMT -4
Spot Update:
Spot is back to old self and is doing great on his own. he is so happy that he can eat when he wants and run in his when he wants to. We are also handling him everyday. He seems to be enjoying that also. We are doing the same for Little Bear since he is on his own also. So Spot should be in good shape for the gerbil show in May. He needs second place or better to get his champsionship.
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Post by Andrea on Oct 18, 2010 17:48:21 GMT -4
is Spot older?
I had an older deaf gerbil who was an amazing 'Dad' to two small male pups. He lived out his days caring for them.
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lyn
Rodent Retreat Lover
Just taking life one day at a time.
Posts: 307
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Post by lyn on Oct 19, 2010 9:08:22 GMT -4
Sometimes I worry about my Robo babies. The bigger one will sometimes corner the little one. They might just be playing around but now that I know about declanning I feel a bit more paranoid.
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Post by gerbilgal on Oct 19, 2010 12:05:20 GMT -4
is Spot older? I had an older deaf gerbil who was an amazing 'Dad' to two small male pups. He lived out his days caring for them. Spot will be 3 years old October 31st. He is the mottled black in my sig tag. His former partner Little Bear will be 3 years old also on October 22nd. Since he was the more mellow of the two. I think he would benefit more from pups. He is still a very active little guy. He has the droopy eyes but that is because of his age. Lyn....Don't get paranoid. Just watch them carefully. |
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