Troublesome Teeth

In June 2009, D'Agosta stopped chewing on cardboard tubes.

I knew instantly that something was the matter, since D'Agosta and Pendy would never refuse a toilet paper tube! The little guy would sniff the tube and then ignore it. I also noticed that he was yawning frequently, and his paws were constantly at his mouth.

After phoning several veterinary offices, looking for a doctor who was familiar with gerbils,  we took D to the Maritime Animal Hospital. The staff was beyond friendly and helpful, and I would recommend their services to any gerbil owners in the area. Upon investigation, it seemed as though D's teeth front teeth were too long, and were preventing his back teeth from touching. A quick tooth trim, and D was sent home, no worse for the wear.

A few days later, D was back to pawing at his mouth. When I looked into his mouth (which is a little challenging with a squirmy gerbil) I saw that one of his front teeth was hanging a little crooked. We went back to the doctor's to have it checked out. When the doctor trimmed his crooked tooth - surprise! - the tooth fell out! D apparently had a loose tooth, which was what had been bothering him all this time.

D's behavior improved quickly after that. His tooth grew back, and he was eating again (although he was very spoiled from having Mama shell all of his seeds for him when he couldn't chew!) And most importantly to D'Agosta, he could chew on his beloved cardboard tubes once more!

Little did I know then, but this situation prepared me for what happened to Tig in the first few days we had him home. Tig was not eating, and did not seem to be interested in chewing on anything. I first chalked it up to him being in a new environment, and I wondered whether he favored a different brand of food. After some observation, I then noticed the same yawning/pawing-at-the-mouth behavior that I had seen in D'Agosta.

Upon inspection, Tig was missing one tooth, and the other tooth appeared to be loose. We spent the next day feeding him through a syringe, softening up his food with water, and watching his mouth to make sure it did not show signs of infection. Luckily, Tig's teeth grew in quickly, and he has already put on a few healthy pounds with all the food he's been eating :) I feel like I could be a gerbil dentist!

Detective C Is On the Case!

Last night, during his evening run, Tig had a wee accident on the bed! C took this as a sign to put on his aviators and investigate the incident, Lt. Horatio Caine-style...

Splitting the Tank

To ensure that Pendy and Tig did not fight to the death on their first night together, we divided the "gerbilarium" in two with wire mesh and wood. We chose a mesh small enough so that the gerbs would be able to smell each other without being able to stick their paws through to scratch each other.

We then created a wooden border around the mesh, to ensure that the gerbs would not injure themselves on the edges of the wire mesh.

Once finished, we wedged the new tank-splitter into the "gerbilarium", and made sure that a full-grown gerbil would not be able to move it (or climb up over it). Pendy was our test subject! Of course, being a curious gerbil, Pendy immediately made a beeline for the top of the tank.

To prevent Pendy and Tig from escaping, we placed pieces of wood over top of the tank-splitter. The wood was wide enough to prevent the boys from reaching over and pulling themselves up to the top of the tank.

As a gerbil "Mom", the most difficult part of making the split-tank was taking Pendy's toys away from him. Since a split-tank has to be "nothing but the basics" (food, water, cardboard tubes), we had to remove Pendy's favorite toy - his wheel! I think this was more upsetting to him than the idea of a new tank-mate.

Even placing the "basics" around the tank was a challenge. We had to find a safe place for the food and water dishes. Pendy and Tig spent much of their first night climbing up the mesh and jumping off, and we did not want them to fall and hurt themselves on the dishes.

On the first night, Tig managed to reach over and take a swipe at Pendy! Tig's arms were so small that he was able to fit through the mesh. The next time we create a split tank, we will likely create a double layer of mesh to prevent injuries like this from occurring.

This was challenging in many ways. D'Agosta had just passed away that week, and we were both still devastated over his loss. Pendy was stressed because he had not only lost a partner, but half of his tank as well! Tig was stressed due to his brand-new surroundings, and the fact that he now shared a tank with a strange gerbil. WE were stressed because we wanted the boys to like each other, we wanted Tig to feel at home, and we were worried about something happening to either one. It didn't help that Tig was having tooth problems, and was skin-and-bones, but that is a story for another post.

I think it'll be worth it. Pendy was very lonely without a gerbil buddy, and it may take a while, but I have a feeling he and Tig will be close pals eventually.

Twin Squeaks is my favorite resource for everything gerbil! Visit the site for more split-tank "tails" and advice.

My Gerbils, Past & Present

Al, George, and Scratchy: I adopted these little guys from my Grade 11 Biology classroom. I named Al and George after Al Gore and George W. Bush, as the 2000 US Presidential Election was happening at the time. My brother gave Scratchy his name after his favorite habit - to dig and scratch! They lived (happily, I hope) for about 3 years. I wish I had taken pictures of them!

Pendergast - Pendy is a wild little 1.5 year old guy! He and his brother D'Agosta were a Valentines gift from my fiance. Instead of buying each other gifts, we decided to invest in two furry creatures. Pendy is adventurous and brave. He catches on to things very quickly, and is very observant! He has made several escape attempts during free-run time outside of the tank. We love him for his ability to make us laugh, and how excited he gets to see us every morning!

D'Agosta - D is Pendy's quieter, chubbier, blonder brother. They are both named after characters from the novels of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. What a sweet little guy! D was always cuddling into us, and he loved grooming us and giving us kisses. He never turned down a treat! We also think he was training for the Olympics. See the video evidence here! We were devastated when D fell ill with liver complications. We tried two different types of antibiotics, but to no avail. We were with him, cuddling and holding him up until his death. He passed away at 1.5 years in the arms of his Mama and Daddy, and I hope this gave him some comfort. We miss him so much, and his brother Pendy does, too!

Tig -  Tig is named after the character of the same name in the television series "Sons of Anarchy"! Tig is short for "Trigger", and that suits Tig just fine. Tig came home to us at around 6-7 weeks with one tooth missing and the other tooth loose. The first few days were spent nursing him with a syringe and making sure he had enough nutrients. He seems to be loving our home, especially the areas where he can have a free run! He is pretty focused on removing Pendy from the picture, but he may just be trying to prove himself as the "alpha male". Whatever the case, Tig is a riot to watch, and we are hoping that he and Pendy eventually become the best of friends.

Day 6 of Our Split-Tank Adventures

When our beloved gerbil, D'Agosta, passed away, my fiance and I decided to find another tank-mate for our lonely gerbil, Pendergast. We found Tig, and brought him home to meet his new brother-from-another-mother. This is our first foray into using a split-tank!

Pendy seems to be getting used to Tig, which is a surprise because we had thought Pendy would be the difficult one. Pendy is very territorial and jealous when it comes to his tank, and to us! However, Pendy has made the first move towards friendship by attempting to groom Tig through the mesh divider.

Unfortunately, Tig is still in "attack" mode, and there have been several attempted assassinations during supervised play time! Tig was abused by his litter mates before he came home to us, so this may be influencing his current behavior.

Whatever the reason, it seems as though the boys will be in their split tank for a while longer. We are also going to have them switch sides more often. This allows Pendy and Tig to get used to each others scent, and helps prevent them from becoming too territorial. Fingers crossed that this works!