My two gerbils.

[Janay]

Hi all, as promised, here are my two gerbils, Brownie and Parker.

It's after midnight now here in the UK, which means we got Brownie exactly one year ago today. Our local pet shop runs an adoption scheme for unwanted pets, giving them a chance to be re-homed. When me and my boyfriend went into the pet shop that day - we didn't know exactly what kind of small rodent we were going to get - we just knew we wanted a little fury rodent friend, and I definitely wanted it to be a rescue pet who needed re-homing. I had never had a gerbil before, but Brownie was so lovely we had to take him home.
The staff didn't know how old he was, but he seemed like a young adult to all of us. His previous owner had given him the name "Mr. Brown" - and I didn't want to change it too much as I knew he was probably used to his name, so he became Brownie.

We were told by the man in the pet shop that gerbils are very sociable animals, and that it makes them a lot happier and healthier to live with other gerbils of the same sex, but we were also told that it can be very difficult to introduce new gerbils to each other (without the possibility of a lethal fight ensuing). So the next day, after giving it a lot of thought, we went back to the pet shop and bought a younger gerbil - who my boyfriend decided to name Parker (after Peter Parker from Spiderman). Me and my boyfriend hoped that if we got a gerbil who was a bit younger than Brownie, he might sense that the newcomer was younger/weaker and not a threat to his dominance, therefore accept him a lot easier. I was so nervous about introducing them, because the pet shop guy told us that if we don't do it the right way, they could get very violent with each other, and the thought of that terrified me. But thankfully, the way that we introduced them went well, and they accepted each other instantly. They were actually curled up sleeping together by the end of the day. They were obviously meant to be together.

My boyfriend works a lot, and Brownie and Parker have completely saved me from loneliness. They are both little joys to have around, and they mean so much to us.


           

[Catherine]

I am glad to hear that your local pet store has an adoption scheme. It gives unwanted pets a chance at a good home.

Your boys are beautiful. I have heard that gerbils like company. I am glad you found two boys that get along. You must have introduced them just right. In the picture they look very close to each other.

You have a really good cage for them. Interesting about the names. I don't like to change names either. If I can keep an adopted pet's name I do. Brownie is a good adaption of Mr. Brown. Parker is a good choice for a gerbil. They can climb right up the walls of their cages.

I can see why they are good company. Gerbils are perky active little guys. They seem to be always busy and up to something. They must keep you constantly entertained.

[LPC]

Lovely to see the photos. Feel free to add more as and when you feel like it. Any pet provides company and love and I'm glad that you are enjoying having them.

[Janay]

Hi all.

Sorry I haven't been on the forum for so long - I have only just seen your replies, thank you. The reason why I haven't been online much recently is because I have been going through a really rough patch. My job has been really stressful and it has really been affecting me, I've had other stresses to deal with aswell, but the first thing was the loss of one of our small family members.

Six days after I posted this thread - Brownie passed on.
It was very sudden and unexpected. He didn't seem to be ill at all, the day before he passed away he was eating normally, playing around the living room floor in his exercise ball, he seemed perfectly fine. It was a shock to loose him so unexpectedly like that and it really affected me and my boyfriend. I couldn't believe it for several hours. It was so sudden and random that it just didn't seem real.
The only comfort I have is that, as our vet pointed out to us, at least he was happy and comfortable right up until the end of his life, and didn't suffer for long.

As he seemed to be completely healthy, the only thing that we can think of is that is must have just been his age. As I mentioned before, we adopted Brownie, and we never knew his real age. We knew he was a fully grown adult when we adopted him, but we didn't know exactly how mature he was, as it is often quite hard to tell with gerbils.
Part of me always had a feeling he was older than we thought, as he had such a gentle laid back mature personality. He was so lovely.

Gerbils are very sociable animals, and they often get stressed and depressed if they don't have a companion to eat/sleep/groom with - so I was really worried about Parker.
So a few days after Brownie passed on, I started to call around my nearest Pet's At Home stores (the same place where we adopted Brownie and bought Parker) to see if they had any gerbils who were up for adoption. We were told about two brothers who were about to be put out onto the shop floor for adoption. We went there and adopted them the next day.

So now we have two more little gerbies, who I will introduce properly a little later on. They are lovely. When we tried to introduce the new brothers to Parker, one of them didn't hit it off very well with Parker (dominance issues), so for now we have two cages set up next to each other, and I am very slowly attempting to do a "split-cage" introduction method. But even though they are in separate cages, the 3 of them can still see, hear, and smell each other, and I think that they all appreciate each other's company.


Thank you again for your replies, I am very proud of Brownie and Parker. And of course, my two new little ones aswell.


Janay


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[Catherine]

Welcome back. I was thinking about you. You got us involved in the Gadhimai slaughter. We have been following the event and signing any petition we could.

I am so sorry about Brownie. I feel for your loss. I know he was precious to you. Sadly when you adopt an older pet, there is no way to know how old they are. Your vet is right, he lived surrounded by your love and then he slipped away quietly. You gave him the best life possible.

I am glad Parker is still okay. Sometimes pets are so attached that they cannot live without each other. I am sure the new gerbils help him to feel less lonely.
I look forward to hearing about them and seeing their pictures.

I am sorry you have had job stresses. You can always come on the forum and rant to us about it. We do understand. Even if you have a good job, there are always issues.

The Forum celebrated its first anniversary on Nov 28.

[Tobi]

It's nice to see you again, Janay.
I am sorry about dear little Brownie. But the vet is right. He had a lovely life with you. It was simply his time to move on 'home' into Spirit. He could have been very old. I guess it's hard to tell?

I had a mouse once, who passed away over 2 years old. The vet said he was very old for a mouse. But the day before he went, he was happily eating and running on his exercise wheel.

I hope Parker will get to be good friends with his new companions.

[Janay]

Thank you Catherine. It's nice to know that I can always have a rant here, I will definitely keep that in mind when I'm getting to bursting point. Everyone on this forum is lovely and genuinely caring. That's why this forum stands out to me so much compared to others.

(12-11-2014, 03:10 AM)Tobi Wrote: I had a mouse once, who passed away over 2 years old. The vet said he was very old for a mouse. But the day before he went, he was happily eating and running on his exercise wheel.

It's strange - that sounds exactly the same as Brownie's situation. I read quite a bit just after Brownie passed, trying to get some anwsers about what it could have been, and part of me wonders if when little rodents pass suddenly like this it is due to a heart problems or a stroke. I'll never know for sure, but from what I've read, that seems to be the main cause of small pets sudden passing when there are no other noticable symptoms.
It is quite hard to tell an adult gerbils age, whenever I have asked a vet if it's possible to tell how old Brownie was, they always just told me that once they reach adulthood - their physical state tends to stay the same, so there's no real features that give away how mature they are beyond that point, apart from energy levels and fitness. Brownie was very fit and active, although he was also very gentle and less figity/squirmy than Parker, especially when being held, which is why I always sensed that he was an elderly gentleman. Bless him.


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[Catherine]

I bred dwarf hamsters for years and the usual causes of death were heart, stroke and cancer. You can see the cancer because the tumors are visible. If it is heart failure the animal slows down and develops breathing problems before death.
Sudden death is always heart attack or stroke. A sudden heart attack stops the heart and then the animal dies. Usually there is a bluish or grayish colouring around the mouth and tongue(anywhere that is normally pink). If the there is a sudden fatal stroke the animal dies while the heart is still beating. The animal tends to look like it is asleep and the colour stays pink because the blood will still circulate for a short time after death.

If Brownie looked quite natural at the time of his death, it was probably a stroke. It would have been fast. If he was awake he might have had a flash of feeling, but death would be quick enough that he would not have been aware of passing. Even the heart attack is fast.

It is had to lose a pet like that, but you had Brownie living like his old self right up to the end. He was never sick or old and frail. That is how it is with the little pets and I think it is kinder that way. They have such short lives, they get to enjoy every minute of them.

I hope that helps you understand what happened.

How are the new gerbils doing?

You can always rant here. You are among friends.