Have you ever seen a glider spit up or throw up after drinking water or juice? A week or so ago he kind of had soft poo and it smelled pretty strong. That was only for a day or so, and we thought he was okay. Then two nights ago, he spit up while we were in the tent playing. It wasn't a lot, but he did it after drinking some apple juice. I was wondering if he was eating or drinking too quickly or too much.
Tonight he spit up again after drinking a few sips of water. Have you ever seen this before? Our other gliders are doing very well, and we have never seen this problem before in any of them.
Gizmo has been eating and drinking normally. He has tons of energy, runs on the Stealth wheel and plays. I will be taking him to the vet tomorrow for a check up.
If you have seen this situation before and can help, please let me know!!! Our baby Gizmo will be one year old this May.
John and Jennifer
Gucci, Gizmo, Molly, Ringo, Houdini and Miss Fluffy
it is not normal get to a vet asap and have then run a fecal float and fecal cytology. it could be clostridium or giardia or another type of parasite. i would also do a fecal culture and you can run a urine culture and sensitivity these tests will tell you everything from parasites to bacterial issues. and which the right med is to treat whatever is the ailment. but, dont wait. the soft poo means something is brewing that needs to be checked.
Vomiting or spitting up is definitely NOT normal for gliders. I am glad you are taking him in to the vet for a check tomorrow. I agree, I would have tests run to figure out if there is a bacterial/parasitic infection going on, as many parasites can cause soft stool and nausea/vomiting.
Please let us know what the vet finds out tomorrow.
~Gretchen
If we never loved, then maybe we would never feel pain. Love anyway. It's worth it.
Gizmo has coccidia. The vet did a fecal flotation for parasites and found microscopic bacteria (parasite) coccidia. She wanted to rule out any other problems such as if he inhaled or ate something bad or had a blockage of some sort. So she also did a couple of x-rays. She showed me on the x-rays that he has gas in his tummy and intestines. She said when he gets excited or stressed that he would feel bloated so that is why he would vomit. And drinking the liquid would instigate the response to throw up. She said that coccidia is often something that gliders are born with... they can be carriers and never even develop symptoms.
She prescribed an antibiotic called SMZ/TMP suspension which we will give to Gizmo twice a day for 11 days. Dr. Cromer says he should be fine and should not be vomiting in 5 days or less. His weight was down a few grams (about 4 since the last visit), but it is because he had diarrhea/soft stool and got sick last night. He did drink quite a bit of water this morning before I took him to the vet. She checked his teeth and gums, and inside his mouth to make sure he was not dehydrated. She says he is not and did not want to prescribe sub-q fluids. However, he will also be given one drop of Bene-Bac gel to help normalize his digestive system. I got that at the Banfield Pet Hospital at Petsmart.
We're going to start the meds and see how it goes. The good news is that we can treat him (woohoo!!!!) and that he should be fine. One thing the vet said was that Gizmo was probably born with the coccidia in his system but that it would only flare up in times of stress or excitement. We are also treating the other babies as well, even though they are not showing symptoms.
My suggestion to all of you is to watch your gliders, and if they have gas or soft poo, get 'em checked at the vet asap. We didn't know the gas was related to this problem and only took Gizmo in when he started to vomit. Don't wait! Gliders are so fragile and they need your help.
Thanks again for the advice... you're right on the money glider angel and sugarlope!
John and Jennifer
Gucci, Gizmo, Molly, Ringo, Houdini and Miss Fluffy
Yes, there was a thread recently about several gliders that had it, all were being treated, none died
Keeper of Handprints on my Heart, You left your Footprints on my soul. My precious loves that left to quickly, Peanut, Katie Isabella, Kiwi, Bonnie and Monroe.
Spread your wings and glide free of pain, Until the day I see you again.
That's the best news ever! I know it will be some work to get Gizzy back to normal, but my vet said that Gizmo should be okay. He is on SMZ/TMP and should be fine in a few days.
Have a great evening.
John and Jennifer
Gucci, Gizmo, Molly, Ringo, Houdini and Miss Fluffy
Make SURE you clean the cage every day! It's best to change the pouch every day and wash all toys. Make sure the bottom grate is washed everyday and CHANGE the WATER EACH day...disinfect the bottle! Keep toys to a minimum right now until you get the "all clear".
Keeper of Handprints on my Heart, You left your Footprints on my soul. My precious loves that left to quickly, Peanut, Katie Isabella, Kiwi, Bonnie and Monroe.
Spread your wings and glide free of pain, Until the day I see you again.
I have never had a glider with it but my labrador puppies in our last litter had it. We had 5 puppies, and 2 had it and were treated... they had ALL 5 take the meds just to prevent the others from getting it from the 2 infected ones. On the next check, the two who had had it originally were clean but two of the other thrww now had it! It was a PAIN to get rid of and a MESS because of the runny poo... I'd HATE to see my glider babies get it!
Julie Hubby: George Kids: Ayla & Michael Grandsons: Trysten, Dayton, KJ & Nathyn The Zoo: Midnight, Severe & Nala - Claude, Pixie, Tippy & Chili - Scout & Soluna, Theo & Deegie
Ok, just another question here....what should she do about the tent being used for tent time, I would think that would be infected also and how can she disinfect that??
A 1 to 10 (1 part bleach 10 parts water) bleach solution will kill everything. That is what my vet has advised me to use for sanitation. I clean everything with that now.
Last edited by Adri; 01/25/0903:01 AM. Reason: clarification
Adri
Mother of 2 Adrian, Sofie Slave to many glidin' gliders
I want to pass along a super update on little Gizmo. This is day 7 of his meds, and he is doing fantastic! Our vet agreed that all of our gliders get the medication, so I have been giving it to each of them twice a day. I ran out and even had to get more. The medication is actually a pediatric prescription, so my vet called it into the Walgreen's pharmacy. The pharmacist thought that was funny... so we had a good time with that.
I took your advice and used the 1 to 10 bleach ratio to clean the cage. It worked like a charm. All of our gliders are doing MUCH better. Everyone has normal poo now, and they seem very happy. Gizmo has become a different glider. He is so mellow now and very relaxed. He used to be stressed out, but we didn't know why. His tummy must feel so much better!
I have a follow up at the vet on February 16 to recheck everything. We'll also take the other gliders, too, to get them a quick check.
Thanks again for all of your comments. i appreciate the great support everyone on GC gives. You guys rock!!!!
John and Jennifer
Gucci, Gizmo, Molly, Ringo, Houdini and Miss Fluffy
One more thing... we have also been cleaning the tent as well. The vet told us to be very careful and try to pick up after Gizmo if he had to poo so the other babies wouldn't step in his poos. We're well on the way to a full recovery.
John and Jennifer
Gucci, Gizmo, Molly, Ringo, Houdini and Miss Fluffy
The photo of Gizmo is ADORABLE! I am so happy to hear that he is coming along and all your other babies. Your doing a fantastic job with their care. Good Luck, and give them all hugs kisses!
Great news! Glad to hear Gizmo is so much better. It's great to see good glider parents doing whats right by their babies! And yeah I second Linda, Gizmo is too cute!
Adri
Mother of 2 Adrian, Sofie Slave to many glidin' gliders
I just want to update you on Gizmo. We took him for his follow up check up on 2/16. He is free and clear of parasites and ALL BETTER! Thank you Dr. Cromer for helping us fix our little Gizzy!
John and Jennifer
Gucci, Gizmo, Molly, Ringo, Houdini and Miss Fluffy