I've already had one glider pass away on me this week and now Abby is ill. I think that this might be a coincidence though...
I checked on the gliders this morning and found Abby hanging out on the bottom of her reptarium and she was shaking really bad and wobbling. She also was severly dehydrated...I tented her skin and it didn't try to go down at all.
I rushed her to the vet right away. I made up some Gliderade for her to drink on the way. It took about an hour of waiting at the vet before they could see her and she drank the Gliderade non-stop for about an hour. She was urinating just as much as she was drinking though. After she had been drinking and urinating for about 30 minutes, I took her bowl away from her, because I was afraid she was drinking too much...but then she tried to drink her urine from the drop pan...so I put her bowl back in.
The night before, Pepper and Abby did not get their food, as it was left outside of their cage. Abby is a tiny glider...she only weighs in at 52 grams and she is 5 1/2 years old. She has always been this tiny...and has always been healthy as could be. After talking with the vet, we think that Abby's blood sugar was really low from not eating the night before.
They tested her urine for sugar, and there was none. They did say that her urine was very diluted. They also sub-q'd her with fluid. Abby perked up at the vet even before they gave her fluid.
We came home and I made Pepper and Abby some food and gave them some Pedialite. I filled up the bowl of Pedialite 3 times today.
Abby is acting completely normal...she's eating very healthy too. But she is still urinating a lot, and tonight when I just checked on her, her cloaca is bright red. Also, she pooped while I was holding her to look at her cloaca and she kinda hissed...but I can't tell if it was the way that I was holding her, or if it was her poop. Her poop is well formed...but I did notice that it has an orange tint...I don't know if this is from the carrots or sweet potatoes that she has eaten in the past couple of days.
Obvioulsy I need to get her to the vet again, but what do you think is wrong with her? Does she have a urinary tract infection perhaps?
I'm just really worried about her and I am also broke. I've already shelled out a lot of money on vet visits this week for all of my gliders...and I'm starting to panic as to what I'm going to do.
Please help, Katie
A picture of Abby's cloaca is attached.
Re: Something seriously wrong with Abby's Cloaca
[Re: ]
#81774 02/05/0607:42 AM02/05/0607:42 AM
Hang in there Katie, I wish I could tell you what is going on, but unfortunately I'm in the dark about this. If the vets tested her urine earlier, I wouldn't think that it would be a UTI, I would have thought that that would have shown up in the earlier test, but I could be wrong. Perhaps it's the sudden change in PH of her urine that is irritating her cloaca?????? If it were me, I'd get her in as soon as possible to get her checked. I know how hard it is when you have one animal on top of another who has to go in but maybe you could apply to the emergency vet fund to help you. You can find the website for the EVE here
Last edited by glidrz5; 02/05/0607:44 AM.
Chris Illusion, Malcom, Isabell, Annabelle, Zach, Isis, Aly & Indy AND Miss Emmy & Miss Chloe kitties
My Angels: You are always in my heart.
You've flown to the rainbow and wait there for me Someday I will join you together to be
Re: Something seriously wrong with Abby's Cloaca
[Re: ]
#81775 02/05/0607:46 AM02/05/0607:46 AM
Thanks for the quick reply Chris. I will be getting Abby to the vet as soon as possible and will be monitoring her very closely. I thought that maybe she drank too much Pedialite and that was irritating her cloaca? I don't know. Maybe the vet didn't test for a UTI and just tested for sugar in her urine...I'm so worried...
Re: Something seriously wrong with Abby's Cloaca
[Re: ]
#81776 02/05/0608:23 AM02/05/0608:23 AM
Put a little honey or even Kayro syrup on your finger and give it to her. If she has low blood sugar this should help within about 15 minutes. Usually the shaking will stop.
UTIs do not always show up when a glider is tested. Since the problem is not known I would suggest that the vet give her the standard 'shotgun' treatment of a round of Baytril and Flagyl. This combination will knock out most bacterial and parasite infestations.
Missing one meal shold not cause a big problem with the sugar level unless she was border line to begin with. I would suggest you take a good look at the diet you are feeding and maybe add some honey to it. Or more fruit. Just a thought.
Since Abby was dehydrated and has been drinking so much liquid it would be normal for her to urinate excessively. She is probably taking in more fluid because of her thirst than her body can absorb. But that is good. Her thirst and urinating should stabilize as her body returns to normal. Since the fluids are passing through her so fast this could account for the bright coloration of her clocal. And eating to make up for her loss of a meal may be causing her stool to be discolored. One thing to think of is if her bacteria level is low in the digestive tract the stool may not take on a dark color. But I would tend to think that she ate a lot on an empty stomach and a lot of the food passed through the system without the bacteria having enough time to properly break it down. This too should clear up.
Remember that her system has been through a mild shock and it takes a while for it to stabilize and get back to normal. Right now the low sugar worries me most. Try the honey tip. Charlie H Charlie H
Thanks for the replies. I checked on Abby today. She seems perfectly fine...and now her cloaca is normal colored again...it's light pink. It's noon and she is running on her wheel, which I think is odd. But, then again, she has always been the type of glider to get up at random hours.
Charlie...I don't think her blood sugar is low anymore. She is very alert and playful.
The vet tested her urine yesterday for sugar, but I don't know if he tested her urine for anything else. A fecal float was not done. What should the vet be looking for in her urine?
I just checked on Abby again...she appears to be eating and drinking normal...but she is still dehydrated. I tented her skin and it stayed up for awhile. It didn't just stay and not go back down like yesterday, but it did stay up today. I have given her some more Pedialite and will make her up some Gliderade. She seems normal except for her dehydration.
Okay, one more update. I noticed that Pepper was not sleeping in his pouch. He was asleep in the coconut house that I made him, which he never does. I felt the pouch and it is very wet with urine. This worries me...that maybe Abby is urinating uncontrolably.
I would definitely get her back in Katie. Something may be going wrong with her kidneys. Or possibly even her bladder. If you need the number to my vet to have your vet call and consult let me know. But whatever you do, please keep us posted. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hug2.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hug2.gif" alt="" /> Prayers going out to you as you know my friend. Call me if there is anything I can do.
Hi Peggy, yes, will you please email the number to your vet. I like my vet, but sometimes I don't think that they know all they should.
Abby is still up...she drank all of the Gliderade I made her and licked some honey off of my finger. I noticed that her cloaca still has a tiny red spot...and I can see the irritation more when she poops. She doesn't appear to be having a hard time going poop and her stool is well formed.
Have the vet do a urine test and also a culture and sensitivity. I also would request he do a direct fecal smear. If nothing by chance is found... if there is a UTI it will show up in the culture.
Suggest treatment as Charlie mentioned if nothing can be found wrong with your glider for now. The C&S of the Urine will take from three to seven days usually for the results.
I second Judie...also, a UTI can also precipitate more urination than normal, thus more drinking. A vet visit really needs to be arranged as soon as possible. Shotgun treatment with antibiotics, like Charlie suggested, isn't going to hurt, and will start helping anything that might be present that shouldn't be there. Keep us updated.
Jen/Colin Commander Riker 12 16 02-10 04 12 you will be FOREVER missed Sinbad, Gabby, Baby, and Alley
So strange the way this is going, Katie. I agree with Peggy in worrying about her kidneys, but hopefully Charlie is right that it's just taking some time for her system to stabilize.
Call me if you need anything.
Re: Something seriously wrong with Abby's Cloaca
[Re: ]
#81787 02/06/0602:27 AM02/06/0602:27 AM
You can use a tad bit of Vasoline (never could spell) to put on her cloaca to help with the burning for now from the urine. Keep forcing fluids. Something with Cranberry juice may be a temp fix for tonight to help with flushing the kidneys.
Abby is doing well. The vet did a fecal float, smear, urine analysis and culture and sensativity. He looked at her feces and said he did not find any parasites in it. He did say that he saw something that looked like yeast in her stool. They were also having a difficult time getting enough urine from her. He went ahead and prescribed her some Baytril and I am to give that to her twice a day for 10 days. I should hear back in about a week as to what the culture and sensativity results are.
Come to think of it, I was so worried about Abby and so anxious to see her and get her home that I didn't ask the vet how the UA went. Oh geez...I'll give them a call tomorrow morning.
I feel like such a flake.
Abby really likes the Baytril...she was trying to lick the remants out of the syringe tip...now that was a sight to see.
So far, so good.
The vet staff loved Abby. They said she was the sweetest glider they have ever worked with. That's my Abby.
The vet called on Saturday (while I was at the Sugar Glider Retreat) to let me know that the Culture and Sensitivity came back for Abby. She had high levels of Prodia and E-Coli. He said the Batryl should take care of it. So I'm glad that I pushed for the Batryl a week and a half ago. Abby's last dose of medicine will be tomorrow morning. Hopefully this is all that she will need to knock out the bacteria.
Re: Something seriously wrong with Abby's Cloaca
[Re: ]
#81794 02/16/0603:25 AM02/16/0603:25 AM
Great news! I am a believer in giving a glider Baytril when you know it has a problem and the vet can't find the cause. The so called 'shotgun treatment' has saved a lot of gliders lives. Charlie H
I'm so glad to see thsi update!! Is there any chance that Pepper might need to be treated as well? Kisses to them both <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
Re: Something seriously wrong with Abby's Cloaca
[Re: ]
#81797 02/18/0602:35 AM02/18/0602:35 AM
I've been keeping a close eye on Pepper...thinking the same thing...but I think that he is going to be okay. I haven't tented him, since he is a mega-biter...like bite your finger off type of biter, so I'm afraid to touch him because he's so quick and he'll latch on for a good 30 seconds! Anyway...I'm thinking maybe since it was a bacterial infection and not a viral infection, that he should be okay...but like I said, I have been, and will continue to monitor him closely.
Charlie~ Thanks so much for the help with my Abby girl! I'm so glad that I asked for Batryl.