Bernard and Marigold

Today's post will be about 2 gerbils we kept as permanent residents. Both Marigold and Bernard were rescued on the 6th of February 2019. They'd been kept as lone gerbils for their entire lives.

Marigold:

Marigold was a stunning dove female at approximately 1-year-old.

Our 4-year-old retired gerbil, Rita, was recently bereaved from her bonded-friend, Mario. Marigold seemed like the perfect companion for our elder-gerbil. So, we initiated a split-tank bonding process.

Once the split-tank was removed, within hours, Rita and Marigold were innocently playing together. It was lovely to see two lone-gerbils enjoying companionship again. It's rarely wise to keep gerbils alone as they're naturally social rodents who live in clans.

Vaginal Tumour:

Marigold was always a social gerbil, whenever the lid was lifted from her tank, she would usually come up to greet you. One evening, she didn't. We weren't sure why because outwardly she appeared to be ok.

The following day, Marigold had aggressively and severely started to mutilate her own genitalia and had barbered an area of Rita's fur too.

It was only now that some local tissue had been exposed that we could see a small inoperable vaginal tumour, the original anatomical location of the neoplasm within the vagina-structure was hard to determine given the extent of mutilation, however, it was likely to have been unnoticeable. 

In the initial stages, the tumour would've most likely been asymptomatic. As it grew, the tumour would've started to become bothersome - potentially causing discomfort. At a stretch, the tumour may also have impacted Marigolds ability to urinate effectively.

Once the tumour had started to cause issues, Marigold turned to "removing it" herself - no matter the cost.

Rather than allowing her to suffer and carry out such dangerous behaviour, after a clinical veterinary examination, it was deemed kindest to have Marigold humanely euthanised.

Marigold passed away on the 5th of May 2019.

Bernard:

When Bernard was approximately 6 months old when he arrived. He was extremely cautious and quick to handle - as are many young gerbils.

Initially, Bernard bonded to our recently bereaved old male gerbil, Brandon. They only lived together briefly, as Brandon quickly became ill with a possible brain tumour and potential meningitis. 

When Brandon passed away, we decided to neuter Bernard. This way, we could broaden his options for an eligible companion; he'd be able to live with both males and females.

Neutering/Castration:

Bernard's orchiectomy/castration went well. He was introduced to Metacam/Meloxicam (NSAID) at 1mg:1kg BID for 48hrs post-op, and then QD whilst he recovered.

After he recovered, Bernard found himself a friend in our elder female, Zizzi, when her cagemate sadly departed.

Partial Tail Amputation:

Several months later, Zizzi had passed away from old age. We had found another eligible friend for Bernard, and we had hoped it would bring him a friend who would stick around for a little longer.

We decided to try and bond him to Mo. Initially, the bonding process went well. Then, one morning, we came down to find Bernard had fractured and degloved his tail - almost definitely due to Mo biting the tip of his tail. The bonding process was pulled and Bernard was booked in for an emergency partial tail amputation.

Bernard recovered well from the amputation and doesn't seem at all bothered by his shorter tail. Despite that, since the trauma, Benard has understandably developed a fear of other gerbils due to the incident. 

We've attempted to bond him to males and females, even several months after, but to no avail. We haven't completely ruled out him bonding to another gerbil, but it's highly unlikely he will at this stage. 

Given his social difficulties, as we're very experienced gerbil-keepers and bonders, we believe he has his best chance of companionship here with us.

Wish him luck!