R.I.P Luna
Hello again, readers,
This is a sad post about the passing of our beloved gerbil - Luna.
Luna arrived to us heavily pregnant whilst already nursing two-week old pups - she had already had another previous litter prior to the litter she was nursing as well - three known back-to-back pregnancies in total. Luna was one of ten gerbils (Luna, Fred, George, Mike, Sirius, Lupin, Zizzi, Pickley, Johnson, and Mo) who arrived in our home - It was very apparent that all the gerbils were all heavily inbred and severely neglected - some were in shock upon their arrival.
Luna successfully birthed five precious pups (three males and two females) - making it a total intake of fifteen gerbils.
Unfortunately, none of the pups from Luna's third litter made it into early adulthood all because of the physical and psychological impact of severe inbreeding.
It was clear their previous owner had no breeding experience or knowledge on the subject - this was the tragic result of their irresponsible actions.
We are pleased to say that we do still have; George (first litter), Pickley (second litter), Johnson (second litter), Mo (second litter) and Zizzi (second litter) who Luna lived with until she passed away. They're all happy and healthy and regularly feature on our Instagram.
Despite the horrendous and incredibly stressful start in life, Luna became a very mellow and loving gerbil. She idolized her daughter - Zizzi. She would spend day and night by her side - even though Zizzi was a fully grown adult - it was very sweet to see that her motherly instinct never went away.
Unfortunately, during her later life, Luna developed a RH pigmented lump on her foot/ankle area. she also seemed to have developed some respiration difficulties.
Given that Luna was a poor candidate for surgery, the lump appearing to be benign and stable (also not being something that was bothering Luna), and with the lump itself being in an awkward location, the vet decided it probably wouldn't be within Luna's best interest to remove the lump. There was a possibility that Luna could've had some neoplastic spread, but the vet decided it would be within Luna's best interest to start with Enrofloxacin/Baytril (antibiotic) and Canine Meloxicam/Metacam (NSAIDS).
Sadly, Luna had to go back to the vets again shortly after her first appointment as her labored breathing had only worsened. Luckily, the mass on her foot still remained unchanged. The vet believed Luna had ongoing pneumonia and the mass was a red herring. They decided to stop using the NSAIDS and trial Luna on a Dexadreson (steroidal anti-inflammatory) and add in the Ronaxan/Doxycycline (antibiotic) to use as a combination with the Baytril.
Tragically, when it was time to administer Luna's medication one evening, she was found dying. I held Luna close and made sure Zizzi was ok - we knew Luna would want Zizzi to be tended to as well. Luna didn't seem to be aware of her surroundings at this point, and appeared to be in a semi-conscious state. It was clear she was going to be leaving us soon. Within the hour, Luna passed away peacefully in my arms surrounded by love and reassurance. Us and Zizzi said our painful goodbyes to one of the most beautiful souls we've ever had the pleasure to look after.
Luna crossed the rainbow bridge on 10th April 2018.
This is a sad post about the passing of our beloved gerbil - Luna.
THIS POST CONTAINS UPSETTING CONTENT WHICH SOME READERS MAY FIND DISTRESSING
Luna arrived to us heavily pregnant whilst already nursing two-week old pups - she had already had another previous litter prior to the litter she was nursing as well - three known back-to-back pregnancies in total. Luna was one of ten gerbils (Luna, Fred, George, Mike, Sirius, Lupin, Zizzi, Pickley, Johnson, and Mo) who arrived in our home - It was very apparent that all the gerbils were all heavily inbred and severely neglected - some were in shock upon their arrival.
Luna successfully birthed five precious pups (three males and two females) - making it a total intake of fifteen gerbils.
Unfortunately, none of the pups from Luna's third litter made it into early adulthood all because of the physical and psychological impact of severe inbreeding.
It was clear their previous owner had no breeding experience or knowledge on the subject - this was the tragic result of their irresponsible actions.
We are pleased to say that we do still have; George (first litter), Pickley (second litter), Johnson (second litter), Mo (second litter) and Zizzi (second litter) who Luna lived with until she passed away. They're all happy and healthy and regularly feature on our Instagram.
Unfortunately, during her later life, Luna developed a RH pigmented lump on her foot/ankle area. she also seemed to have developed some respiration difficulties.
Given that Luna was a poor candidate for surgery, the lump appearing to be benign and stable (also not being something that was bothering Luna), and with the lump itself being in an awkward location, the vet decided it probably wouldn't be within Luna's best interest to remove the lump. There was a possibility that Luna could've had some neoplastic spread, but the vet decided it would be within Luna's best interest to start with Enrofloxacin/Baytril (antibiotic) and Canine Meloxicam/Metacam (NSAIDS).
Tragically, when it was time to administer Luna's medication one evening, she was found dying. I held Luna close and made sure Zizzi was ok - we knew Luna would want Zizzi to be tended to as well. Luna didn't seem to be aware of her surroundings at this point, and appeared to be in a semi-conscious state. It was clear she was going to be leaving us soon. Within the hour, Luna passed away peacefully in my arms surrounded by love and reassurance. Us and Zizzi said our painful goodbyes to one of the most beautiful souls we've ever had the pleasure to look after.
Luna crossed the rainbow bridge on 10th April 2018.
You can keep up with our residents on our Instagram.
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