And no, I’m not subjecting it to deviant gerbil practices. She does have hairy paws, but I think it’s unrelated to her failing vision.
What’s wrong with the little rodent? She’s a little over a year old and escaped from her cage one day. When we finally corraled her we could tell right away that something was amiss. Her right eye was larger than her left eye, she held her head sideways so that her right eye was facing orward, and when she ran around the cage she ran in circles or basically did barrel rolls to move forward. She was actinglike our old cat does when we put him in the easy chair and spin him for several minutes.
There is no aparent injury to the left eye although it doesn’t bug out the way the right eye does–it’s as if she’s not using it and so it stays relaxed in it’s little gerbil orbit. And her left ear does rotate in response to a sound like her right one still does.
Could she have smacked her little gerbil head on something when she was out running around? Do gerbils have strokes? Is there a type of geril brain injury that could affect muscles and vision on the left side ofthe face but leave all other motors in tact? She’s eating & drinking just fine, and she wants to run on the wheel but is a bit off balance with her head cocked to the side.
And you know this how?
It does sound like the gerbil was injured on its day out. But what happened is hard to say. What do you mean by “the right eye is larger”? Do you mean the pupil is dilated or is it physically bulging? Is there a pupil response on the left side when you shine a penlight at the eye?
Where did it go while it was out of the cage? Is there any chance that it could have encountered any toxins? I’m thinking specifically mouse or rat poison which are often anticoagulants and which I guess could conceivably lead to a stroke if ingested. Could it have been attacked by a cat or other household pet? Has it shown any signs of improvement since the original trauma?
No animal poisons in my home. Not even a can of raid. She couldn’t have gotten into any detergents and I didn’t notice any of my homemade grain alcohol missing
I have 3 cats, but they’re kind of like G-rated mafia when it comes to mousing: all big & oblique talk, but they’d never lift a paw against another living thing. Apart from spideys, they kill the bejeezus out of spideys. Which is fine by me. But they’re very familiar with the gerbils.
In fact, one time the other gerbil got out and our tomcat (the one who got run over a year or so ago) caught her and brought her to my oldest daughter–totally unharmed. Just rolled up to her and did that little “meaow?” as if to say, “Would you mind keeping this filthy thing locked up?”
Where was I… As far as a busted headbone I’d have to say no. She doesn’t act particularly tender and she’s quite active now, a couple days later. She just doesn’t seem to use her left eye and took a while getting adjusted and overcoming a serious enui. Took about a day before she was romping clumsily around her habitat and crashing into stuff. She still loves to be held and played with. It’s hard to tell on a gerbil if their eyes are dilated oddly because their eyes are, well, black. It’s hard to tell if her right eye is a bit bulgy or if the left is deflated. But as I said there is no apparent injury. No tenderness on her noggin, no cat marks, no gerbil-accessible toxins that I could ID.
I’d say “take her to a gerbil doctor” but my past experience with animals indicates that not all vets take small rodents seriously, and some want to euthanize first and ask questions later. Not all - but some.
Anyhow - gerbils can go blind for all the reasons humans do - injury, illness, genetic problems… And there’s no way to really be sure over a message board.
Yes, gerbils can have strokes, although, given the gerbil lifespan yours seems a bit young for that. But yeah, that could be it. Doesn’t mean the animal is suffering horribly, or is even in pain. Probably some distress from having trouble getting around but that will likely improve as the animal adjusts. I had a bird once who suffered a stroke that left one side very weak and erratic - it took about 3-4 months but he eventually got back to flying around and lived several more years of good quality life, so I’m glad we didn’t just automatically put him down.
As owner, this is your decision: take the darling to a vet, or not? (And there may or may not be anything a vet could do in this case). Observe the animal - is it in pain or truly suffering, or just having a hard time getting around during a healing process? If the animal isn’t suffering horribly then a safe cage environment and time might be sufficient. Animals that go blind, whether on one side or both, can still be good pets and have an enjoyable life.
Is there an exercise wheel in the cage? Is is solid or wireframe? I used to keep gerbils and one of them used to run like crazy on the wheel, then trip and tumble in a way that seemed comical until one day it resulted in injury and partial paralysis.
heh. While most people with small rodents do not elect to spend large sums on their pets, I have done some cool things when funds are available. I removed a cancerous kidney from a guinea pig, done c-sections in guinea pigs, and fixed fractures in hamsters and gerbils. I have done mastectomies on pet rats (male and female) and have removed tumors from hamsters, gerbils, etc.
Typically the problem is financial.
As far as diagnosing the OPer’s gerbil’s problem, it is really a “hands on” type of thing. Inigo, if you email me I might know someone in your area who sees small rodents.
