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Case #1:So we normally do not do small animals such as rats, gerbils, guinea pigs etc. But we will on the occassion for existing clients. A few weeks ago we had a client come in with a newl purchased gerbil that his back leg was not "working". Soon to find it the leg was not broken ( and me getting a slight bite on my finger from the bugger) the Dr. deduced it was a neurological disorder. At this point the mother had to make the young daughter aware of the situation- with a few tears for her new friend the O ( owner) elected to euthanize. Now the pet could have lived quite a while with this problem- but you have to think of the quality of life. The gerbil would have gotten his foot stuck in the wheel or the other gerbils might have done some harm as well.
_____________________________Gerbil shirt! ______________________________Case #2: When vets usually see the smaller animals it is usually due to eating problem because teeth are overgrown. Many times you never have to trim a guinea pigs/rat/ hamsters teeth if the chew on a wood block or wear down naturally. When we get them in it is a pretty simple procedure of just using nail trimmers to cut of the excess tooth since there is no nerves in th
e teeth. We had a 2 yr old Guniea come in with those exact problems. One tech says its easier to just knock them out with gas ( anestesia) others opt not to due to how poorly these guys do with it. The Dr. elect to go without gas. Pet was doing great until we were completely done and then he goes limp. This guy just might have had a heart attack due to the stress! We immediately put him on O2 and start stimulating him and within less them 10 seconds he is breathing again and fine. That pet is not getting teeth trimming for a long long time!Discussion:For you future vets out there- are you interested in our small animal population? Any experiences with these little guys?
Future: Bday this weekend and off to Orlando!
that gerbil shirt looks pretty cool!! LOL
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