# help please



## zoe b (Apr 14, 2016)

Hi, I wonder if anyone can help guide me? Basically my 8 year old daughter has a gerbil and it has a tumour in its ear. I took it to the vet who wasn't confident he would survive the anaesthetic so he gave me some medicine to administer at home which would hopefully stop the growth. It hasn't and the tumour has grown. I know if i take him back to the vets they will put him to sleep, as the vet already discussed this but we chose to keep him happy as we can at home. However the tumour has made him loose his ear and now it looks as though its affecting his vision. But although he's lost weight and become thin, he's running round his cage still and is always eating and seems so lively still. But i can't bear the thought of him suffering (Although never having had a gerbil before i have heard him and his brother squeak sometimes when they're grooming) and he's not squealing in pain, but i know if i take him back to the vets they will put him down. What do people think as he doesn't appear to be in pain and he's always got his head in the food bowl but the tumour must be growing inside as his eye looks red today when i cuddled him. Many thanks, zoe


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## CRL (Jan 3, 2012)

zoe b said:


> Hi, I wonder if anyone can help guide me? Basically my 8 year old daughter has a gerbil and it has a tumour in its ear. I took it to the vet who wasn't confident he would survive the anaesthetic so he gave me some medicine to administer at home which would hopefully stop the growth. It hasn't and the tumour has grown. I know if i take him back to the vets they will put him to sleep, as the vet already discussed this but we chose to keep him happy as we can at home. However the tumour has made him loose his ear and now it looks as though its affecting his vision. But although he's lost weight and become thin, he's running round his cage still and is always eating and seems so lively still. But i can't bear the thought of him suffering (Although never having had a gerbil before i have heard him and his brother squeak sometimes when they're grooming) and he's not squealing in pain, but i know if i take him back to the vets they will put him down. What do people think as he doesn't appear to be in pain and he's always got his head in the food bowl but the tumour must be growing inside as his eye looks red today when i cuddled him. Many thanks, zoe


it sounds like a zymbols tumour (like rats can get). if it is it will continue growing until it misaligns the jaw meaning he wont be able to eat, it will also affect movement when it presses on the brain. he may be in alot of pain but not show it, which happens alot with prey species such as rodents, you wont know he is in pain until it is too late. tbh if the medicine hasnt worked i would take him back to the vets, this could mean pts but that may be best if it is a zymbols tumour as they are extremely nasty. 
the picture is one of my rats jerrick with a zymbols that was emptied.


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## Lurcherlad (Jan 5, 2013)

Animals are very good at masking pain and I would be very surprised if the tumour isn't painful to some degree.

I had a tumour removed from a young rat but when it came back i had her pts to save any suffering.

My vet was lovely and used gas first which is much kinder.


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## zoe b (Apr 14, 2016)

CRL said:


> it sounds like a zymbols tumour (like rats can get). if it is it will continue growing until it misaligns the jaw meaning he wont be able to eat, it will also affect movement when it presses on the brain. he may be in alot of pain but not show it, which happens alot with prey species such as rodents, you wont know he is in pain until it is too late. tbh if the medicine hasnt worked i would take him back to the vets, this could mean pts but that may be best if it is a zymbols tumour as they are extremely nasty.
> the picture is one of my rats jerrick with a zymbols that was emptied.


Thanks for your reply it looks nasty. I googled it and Max's tumour doesn't quite look so open and raw and it started off as a tiny lump right in his ear, not around it?


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## zoe b (Apr 14, 2016)

Lurcherlad said:


> Animals are very good at masking pain and I would be very surprised if the tumour isn't painful to some degree.
> 
> I had a tumour removed from a young rat but when it came back i had her pts to save any suffering.
> 
> My vet was lovely and used gas first which is much kinder.


Yes that's what worries me, they are good at masking pain. But my partner and I have both agreed if he is struggling or appears to be in distress we will have to take him back to the vets


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