Little Bear's Time is Short

Little Bear's time is winding down soon.  He barely ate anything this morning. We had him in his cozy on our lap this morning before work. He is so tired. It takes all his energy just to eat a small pea. We even took the skin off for him. Medication doesn't seem to helping much now even the Metacam.  I will be surprised if he lives to the weekend. He is the senior gerbil of  the group.  You should have seen him last night on Steve's lap. He took a long nap in his fleece cozy. Steve radiates heat. Little Bear loves it. Little Bear got some energy and climbed all over Steve. Nose twitching to the sounds of the other gerbils. I know that comforts him.  He knows that he is loved.   This hammock was a craft swap item that I received recently. Little Bear loved climbing on it and just rocked and bonked his head on it.

Little Bear

Little Bear is over 3 1/2 years old. His birthday is in October. He is currently on his third round of antibiotics for his heavy breathing. I know that his condition is probably chronic. I also give him some Metacam every other day to help with any pain. He recently took a fall off Steve's shoulder. Steve was kneeling so it wasn't that far. He hurt his one shoulder. He is still hobbling around. It is slowly getting better. We let him run around the floor this morning. surround by us and other stuff. He can't go that fast. He has fun. He always came back to the towel and his cosy as his safe point. We are just enjoying him day by day. We know his time is limited. There is only so much we can do. He is still fiesty doing normal gerbil stuff.  Eating, drinking and chewing. We are supplementing his diet with small amounts of fruit and vegetables that he loves.  He knows that we love him dearly.

 In the picture above was taken two days ago on Steve's lap. Little Bear loves to lay in his cozy now on Steve's lap because it is so nice and warm.

Dexter is Going to the Vet Tomorrow

Dexter is going to the vet sometime tomorrow. I noticed that he was acting rather lethargic. I was able to pick him up which is not normal for him. He has had a sore on scent gland for awhile. It has not gotten worse until now. He has really started licking it alot to the point of an open sore. It must be itchy to him. I gave him a little Metacam to help with any pain. I also put some of the salve that the vet gave me to help it a little. I know he is going to have to have surgery on it. There is no choice. I have seen this before with Buddy.

The vet office will call me in the morning for an appointment. I will keep you posted on what happened at the vet.

July 6, 2011 Update:  Dexter had 'minor' surgery. His little nipple sore (that he had for awhile) was lanced off. For some reason this time it was really bugging him causing him to lick and bite it. So no major surgery needed. Thank goodness. Dexter is a happy little gerbil now. Sleeping next to his buddy Toby. Vet said that sometimes this happens in male gerbils. Sometimes males get a nipple and becomes inflamed.