I was playing with my 5 1/2 week old gerbil when he suddenly bolted out of my hand. I was on my bed, but as soon as he got away from me he jumped off that too. Now, he limps around, not using his right arm and just tucking it under his body. When I picked him back up he squealed in pain. I also noticed that his tiny paw is bent backwards. I feel so bad for the little guy. I would take him to the vet but the only one who except small animals around is closed until Thursday. What can I do until the vet gets back? Or better yet can I take care of him myself and not take him anywhere?
Thanks in advance~ Abbie


ps. Should i wrap it in a cast? How long does this take to heal?

Uhm. SSorry about the incedint. I'd honestly say theres nothing you can do to help by urself. Though untill thursday, as hard as it may be DON'T TOUCH HIM, leave him in his cage with adequate food and water. and leave him be. Cover the cage if you have to with a towel. and try to be as quiet in his environment as possible. the when its thursday IMMEDIATLY make an appointment. sadly though, honey, theres probably not going to be much they can do either, as he's very small and difficult to work on. . .

I work at six pet stores, with 2 gerbils, and 17 Rats. (I breed)

Hi,

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I'd definitely recommend taking him to the vet asap - when they open. Sounds like he's broken or fractured his paw or leg. With him being so small there's absolutely nothing you can do yourself. If it heals without complications I'd expect it to of fully healed within 6-8 wks max. Gerbils aren't overly keen on a lot of handling,ideally they do best in pairs or groups too.

Good luck xx

Owns gerbils

no go to the vet you dont have training to know if it is done rite GO TO THE VET on thurs mean while do not touch him

Just take it to the vet!

But, here is some info:

I am not a Vet and this information is only for guidance and identifying the problem. If you are concerned about your gerbil then take him straight to the vet. A good vet will charge very little to see a gerbil - usually around a tenner and there is no excuse for not seeing a vet with a sick animal. Charges can vary so ring around and ask what they charge. If you are really hard up the PDSA will treat the pets of people on benefits for free. When you take a gerbil to the vet take its cage mate(s) with you as it reduces stress and sometimes reintroductions can be a problem if the gerbil comes back smelling funny. It also seems to improve survival rates after operations to have your mate standing on your head! copyright 5d2d.comPets Questions and Answers

The best advice that I can give about keeping your animals healthy is to handle each of them every day and to watch them carefully. For example gerbils stop chewing cardboard before there is any physical signs of problems with their teeth. Loss of weight in gerbils should always be taken seriously. This is one reason why owning a lot of animals is a bad idea - it is difficult to check that you have seen each of them every day and problems can go unnoticed for several days. It is also essential to feed them well and provide them with plenty of exercise, either a wheel or a deep tank to dig in and plenty of toys to destroy. Make sure that they eat all of their food and not just the bits that they like best and feed them small pieces of fruit and veg (paw sized) as treats rather than fatty or sugary treats.

Missing Teeth.
Gerbils can sometimes lose teeth. If this is due to an injury then the teeth will grow back. However we had some of our older gerbils loose teeth that just fell out again each time they grew back. There are a number of possible causes - lack of calcium, lack of vitamin C, a genetic weakness, infection and even lack of sunlight.It is important to make sure that gerbils fed on a mix eat as much of it as possible, rather than just picking out the bits that they like. If you do not get a chance to look at your gerbils teeth the first sign of this can be that the animal looses weight due to not being able to gnaw their food - they will stop chewing cardboard quite a while before this so if your pet is not destroying cardboard boxes with it's normal enthusiasm have a look at its teeth.

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If your gerbil looses one or more front teeth it is essential that any remaining teeth are trimmed by the vet every 2-3 weeks. Do not attempt to trim a gerbil's teeth yourself.The gerbil will also need to have it's food ground up smaller in a mortar and pestle so that it can be eaten more easily. If the teeth do not grow back normally you need to discuss quality of life with your vet. We had one gerbil Biscuit who survived for the whole last year of her life with one front tooth. We just took her down the vets every 3 weeks and had it trimmed and fed her crushed food. She was quite bright and had worked out not to try to gum her food but to shove it in the back of her mouth and chew with her back teeth. However I am unsure about how kind this was as it is difficult to know how much pain the clipping caused and may have been damaging the root. It is generally advised that teeth should be trimmed with a dental burr these days.