Gerbils or some people call them desert rats aren’t very popular pets. Compared with other pet such as hamster, cats or dogs, then gerbil might not as popular as them. Some people might not even know what is gerbil and only heard them once in their lifetime. It is pretty rare pet and some people might even consider gerbil as an exotic pet, unlike hamster, cats or dogs. If you still don’t know about gerbil at all, then let us introduce you to this exotic desert rats. Even gerbil is a kind of rats, not so popular pet like its cousin hamster or ground squirrel and might not be considered as the best pets like cats or dogs, gerbil can also be a good pet. Gerbil can be lovely and become quite really good pet to have. Let’s talk more about gerbil shall we?
So, for those who don’t know about gerbil, here are some general information of gerbils that you might want to know. If you are animal lovers, then some of these facts might have already lame for you and you have already well known about it, but if you are still amateur animal lovers and don’t know a thing about gerbil, then these information might be interesting for you.
Gerbil, also known as desert rats in some places of the world are species of Rodentia that comes from a family of Gerbillinae. This species of desert rats, hail from arid desert of Arabian peninsula, some part of Africa, and certain gerbils are also live in goby desert. These desert rats are hardy creature that have been adapt in rough desert terrain. In the wild, they live in colonies together and they work together in a burrow, work together to search for foods that are very scarce in desert and survive together in the rough terrain. Even though gerbils are considered as rats, well they are actually quite cute and can be a very good pet. No wonder that in 2000s gerbil become quite a popular pet in many countries and therefore becoming pretty popular. However, their popularity is out shadowed by their little cousin such as hamster. Hamster is far more cheaper and affordable than gerbil and hamster is also easy to get unlike gerbil since gerbil is pretty rare and considered as exotic pets.
Today, we are going to talk about gerbil care guidance and tips. Gerbil, just like any other pet of course can suffer from many diseases and complications. Gerbil disease might be similar with hamster, but there is a disease that gerbil might get. Plumbism is a gerbil disease that are pretty rare, however quite complicated to cure of. What is plumbism and how to take care of it on gerbils? Today, we are going to talk about plumbism on gerbil, The Causes of Plumbism on Gerbills and the way to prevent and take care of plumbism on gerbils.
What is plumbism? How to take care of it and what might causing them on gerbils?
Well, the word plumbism might be alien for some people, and you even might never heard of it, but actually it means that something much simpler. Plumbism means lead poisoning, as for lead poisoning is a word that many people have already aware and know of. Lead is a metal that can be poisonous if inhaled or ingested by creatures, not just gerbils but also even human also known to have lead poisoning. Lead is a metal that can be used as construction materials and very much well known for its sturdiness, cheap and easy to found. However, if consumed, lead can be quite poisonous for creature and it is very dangerous poisoning too. It is very dangerous, so as a pet owner you might want to know what is Plumbism, what are the symptoms and how to treat it. Today, we are going to focus on plumbism case on gerbils.
- The symptoms of lead poisoning on gerbils
Plumbism as you might already aware of is quite severe problems for gerbils and it could lead to severe condition and even death on your gerbils. If you notice it quickly, it will help your gerbil to recover quickly and to prevent any further damage for your gerbils. To make sure you know when your gerbil might suffer from plumbism, here are some symptoms and signs that your gerbil can show when it is suffering from plumbism. First of all, lead poisoning will always resulting in vomiting and diarrhea, then loss of appetite on gerbils and dehydration also sometimes shown on gerbil. Loss of coordination on gerbils and confusion for your gerbils. If didn’t cared quickly, all of it might result in death of gerbils.
- What might causing gerbils to swallow or inhale lead
Gerbils might inhale or swallow lead when they gnawing on any object that contain lead on it. Some object in household that can cause plumbism might include, lead pipe, object that have painted with lead, batteries, Linoleum, plumbing supplies and materials, insecticides and metal cage that have been reinforced with lead. Gerbil is curious animal and they love to chew on everything to make sure their teeth is not too long. That’s a short list on The Causes of Plumbism on Gerbills. If you know what other thing that might causing plumbism on gerbils, then don’t hesitate to mention us in the comment section to share your knowledge.
- How to take care of plumbism on gerbils?
Well, if your gerbil might show any sign of plumbism, then you might need to contact your vets quickly. Any medication that will help your gerbil to vomit that lead will help and your vets might have a medication that could take out any lead that end up in your gerbil stomach. The best way however is to prevent any possibilities of lead poisoning in the first place. Avoid using any lead paint near your gerbil, prevent your gerbil from gnawing on your lead pipe and make sure that your house is already gerbil proof.