HELP PLEASE! 3-4 year old Gerbil in death process

[NorthernAutumn]

What do I do with this?

 

[TinysMom]

You have a PM...

 

[NorthernAutumn]

Thank you everyone for your prayers and kind words over the last 24 hours.
Shreddie hit the Rainbow Bridge with all four feet a-running, at 5 am this morning.

Though I wish he could have passed in his sleep, I am thankful I was with him. He looked like he was smiling, with those funny little teeth...

Here is a picture of my little guy:
Thank you again for all of your thoughts. I am thankful to have all of you as my friends:hug1.

 

[missyscove]

:hug2:

I'm sorry.

Gerbils seem like awesome little critters. They're illegal in CA though.

 

[Becca]

So sorry for your loss

I have a gerbil and she is 3, shes a wild little gurl though, hates being picked up and stroked so theres not much communication between us - I am so so sorry

 

[undergunfire]

I am sorry about your loss .

I do not have gerbils, but I do have rats. I have seen them slowly dying and some have been sudden, at all ages. With rats, I like to let them decide when they want to go to rattie heaven. A lot of people are so quick to euthanize, but I think it is a very scary process for them...I'd rather they die at home in their hammocks with their buddies.

Ralphie (my hairless rat) hasn't been looking or feeling the best lately. I almost had him PTS last Thursday, when his son's went in for their neuters. I just couldn't do it. Why? He may look terrible and his breathing is not food at all, but he is still walking through the cage and eating. He will gladly take food from me. I am keeping him going by giving him some Metacam and baytril/doxy combo. I do not think he will pull through this, he will eventually pass on from respiratory illness (like many rats), but he is holding on and I can't be the one to say "Okay, Ralphie, it's time for you to go".....it is his choice. Now, if he was suffering/limp/not eating/in obvious severe pain, then of course...I would help him cross over.

I hate being the one to decide for my pets to "live or die". I have had to do this only once, and that was for my first pet rat. So far, I have had 3 rats die happily at home with their buddies in a hammock...and that is the way I want it to be.

 

[irishlops]

same with my rabbits, but keep death far from there hutch door..

 

[SnowyShiloh]

So sorry to hear about Shreddie, it's hard when you know they're dying but you can't do much but watch. My last rattie took a day to die, I could tell she was on her way out and I put her on an extra fluffy blanket and surrounded her with her favorite foods and drinks so she could at least enjoy them. RIP Shreddie, you were a cutie!

 

[Boz]

Aww RIP Shreddie. He was gorgeous! ink iris:

Gerbils are great pets, in my opinion. I fostered a pair of girls for 3 months (till they were adopted) at the end of 2008/beginning of 2009. They were afraid of my hand and would avoid as much as they can. I moved them from a crittertrail cage, which they were in at the shelter, to a 20 gallon tank at my home. Just a housing change made them more confident and less frightened of my hand! In that little time they changed and were jumping into my hands for treats and running up my arms by the time they were adopted.

 

[tonyshuman]

I'm so sorry. I had gerbils as a child and hamsters now and it can be such a powerless feeling because they can be so fragile. Shreddie had a wonderful 3 years with you and it sounds like he was enjoying his last moments as much as possible. RIP, Shreddie.
:rainbow:

 

[NorthernAutumn]

Thank you so much for your good wishes, everyone.
It makes me feel better He had a longer, better life with me than he would have at the lab.

 

[Luvmyzoocrew]

i am so sorry. RIP

 

[JadeIcing]

So sorry for your loss.

 

[DeniseJP]

Hugs to you - it had to be hard to watch Shreddie in his last hours but I am sure he appreciated all you had to offer him.

My son Benn wanted a hamster and got one - he saved his money for the cage, the supplies and "Buffy". I was not a hamster person but Buffy was a character and we miss her a lot.

A few days before she passed at age 3, she escaped from her cage. I was in bed and hubby said "There's a mouse in the room, I can hear it chewing." I turned on the light and Buffy appeared, wadding something in her cheeks - most likely the sunflower seeds hubby had in his pockets. I returned her to her cage and locked her in. We had two cats and two dogs in that section of the house and how Buffy did not manage to get them going is beyond me.

RIP Shredder... hopefully Buffy can show you where the sunflower seeds are over the Rainbow Bridge...

Denise