Posted by: TammyH<BR>Subject: Sad Lesson Learned<BR>When: 8:43 AM, 01 Nov 2000 <P>BACKGROUND: My Beau was fixed January 1999. Three months later he had a 180-degree attitude/behavior change. He used to be a social happy glider that loved glider family playtime and us. Then changed to an antisocial glider who began to gain weight and didn't want ANYONE to touch him (not his mate, his children or us) and would hide during playtime or just not come out of his cage/pouch at all. <P>I just chalked it up to attitude -- lots of animals experience personality changes after being fixed -- sometimes to the better (like my other male Busy). So I let him get away with it. <P>THE STORY: I decided Thursday 10/26/00 around 9:30pm that Beau was coming out to play with his family -- like it or not -- so I went to get him out of the pouch. When he didn't crab, cling to the pouch or try to get away I thought something was up -- Boy! Was it ever. <P>He was on his back, eyes open, lying still as the night (but breathing); however, I noticed that his little pink nose was dry and colorless with lint stuck to it. OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD -- not my precious baby -- PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let him be okay <P>I cleared the lint from his nose, took him to the kitchen and began giving him water off my fingernail -- which he was glad to take. Suspecting dehydration, I pinched the skin on his back. It did not go back -- which an indication that he was dehydrated (not to mention the dry colorless nose) -- so we moved on to pedialite. Since he was taking fluid and even "trying" to eat (he'd take food but would spit it out) I didn't take him to the local night
vet. <P>By 12:30 he could barely take any more fluid and was now having shivering convulsions -- So I finally decided to call local emergency
vet for help -- she had left duty at midnight -- <P>I then spent the next 30 minutes on the phone frantically trying to find another -- SUCCESS, but we had to drive 45 minutes to the one we found. By the time we arrived, it was too late -- he was pronounced dead at 2am. <P>At first I blamed myself -- thinking that he had been caught up in the pouch and I didn't find him in time -- then I realized he wasn't stuck when I got him out -- So what then? Depression? <P>I had read glider can die from depression -- But everything was related directly to loneliness -- and he certainly wasn't lonely. (In addition, and this is really ignorant of me, it didn't occur to me that the death would be because the depression caused them to just STOP eating/drinking -- DUHHHH <P>I THOUGHT I was experienced enough with sick animals to handle this -- WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG. Not Gliders -- the
vet said he needed an IV of fluid and his mouth and throat tissues were to swollen to eat or drink -- which was why he kept spitting out the food. <P>He may have been depressed and ill from self-induced starvation; but he probably died because I didn't get him medical attention in time. I will not EVER EVER let this happen again. I have come to realization that I am not a Dr Doolittle.<P>I am posting this story as a reminder to myself that my over-confidence/ignorance cost Beau his life. <P>Please, for the sake of your babies, always remember that changes in behavior and animals in distressed need to be handled the VERY MOMENT it is discovered -- regardless of experience (unless you just happen to be a
vet)<BR><P>------------------<BR>Tameron R Howard
