I have a glider, Clyde, that is old, he is 11+, almost 12. And I've made some posts in the last few days in the Health section. But, I think this is more of a special need, than an ongoing health issue.
I know Clyde isn't the only older glider out there, and I know we have members who have older gliders across the bridge. I am asking all of you with this experience to pass it on.
Clyde is acting like he has trouble seeing, but with no signs of cataracts. He has been very slowly losing weight over the last year. His activity level has decreased.
What should I watch for? What other changes will I see? Is there anything special I should be doing? What do I need to know?
Shawna Who are you networked with? Networking could save your gliders life. Create one now.
I just had to put down my 2 oldest girls. They were about 13 years old. Flo had a neuro episode about 2 years ago and had permanent disability from that. Ollie was healthy until about the last 3 months of her life. She had always been the bigger of the 2 (about 130g). She had had perio problems resulting in a few dental extractions and I had to modify her diet to be pureed after she lost her incisors. She still did well, but started to lose weight slowly. Her activity level started to decrease also. Instead of scampering around the glider room, she would stick closer to me. Her eyes started to lose their brightness and she just didn't seem herself to me. She stopped using her wheel and preferred to cuddle w/Flo. I moved them to a reptarium and added hammocks in case of a fall. Flo never climbed after her neuro incident, but Ollie still would. About a month before she died, I noticed she stopped climbing. She used to love sitting in a hammock near the top of the rep, but stopped using it. The weight continued to go down a few grams at a time. She was down to about 113G when I put her to sleep. The final changes I saw began w/lack of appetite. She used to be a good eater, but the few days before her death, she only ate a little HPW. I tried handfeeding, but she just wasn't interested. I think that's when I knew the end was getting closer. There were a few days where she just wanted to be in my shirt or sit on my shoulder and be loved. I woke up one morning and found a full food dish in their rep and Ollie was hanging on the side of their clam bed. She couldn't upright herself and was very disoriented. I called my vet and he came in and met me at his office. He took one look and told me it was bad. She was displaying obvious neuro signs. She could barely walk and when she did it was very uncoordinated. She didn't seem to know where she was. I held her while he put her to sleep. I lost Flo about a month later. She suffered from respiratory problems secondary to teeth extractions. The infection had perforated the sinus and she never seemed to get over that final illness. The lack of appetite, w/no other cause, was my realization of the end. I hope this helps some and I hope Clyde improves and has some more years w/you.
Kate, thank you for posting that, I know it must be very hard to talk about. Just kind of having an idea of what to expect out of him, normal vs. abnormal, so I don't get in a panic over every little thing. I know others will be looking for this information, too. So, I figured if it's in here, someone can find it.
Shawna Who are you networked with? Networking could save your gliders life. Create one now.
Re: Geriatric Gliders
[Re: USMom]
#561723 06/01/0809:23 AM06/01/0809:23 AM
I panicked a few times for that same reason. I didn't know if it was the end or just a bad day. There were a few times in the 3 months before putting Ollie to sleep that I was sure we'd be on the way to the vet shortly. It was so hard to let her go (she and Flo were my first) but I wouldn't let her suffer. It's in hindsight that I can say the loss of appetite was my big sign. Other than that, it was just a gradual slowing down. We did fecals to make sure there were no obvious infections, but I knew it was age related. If there's anything I can ever help you with, call me, Shawna. I'll pm you my number.
Clyde seems more active tonight. Here are a couple of pictures. One is from 3 years ago, so you can see the difference in his age (all taken with the same camera). The last two pics are from tonight.
Shawna Who are you networked with? Networking could save your gliders life. Create one now.
Re: Geriatric Gliders
[Re: USMom]
#562756 06/03/0806:19 AM06/03/0806:19 AM
He looks good, Shawna. Ollie had a different "look" to her in her last few months. You'll probably see him go through phases of more and less active and I'm definitely happy he's perking up.
Shawna- about his eye sight, it could be possible he's getting the nuclear sclerosis. Their not suppose to totally lose their eye sight but it I saw a big difference in Jack especially when both lenses had it. With Jack it was only noticeable at certain angles.
Ñancy ~Always on my mind & in my Jack, Sally & Serenity~
Nancy, what did that look like? Does it resemble a cataract in appearance?
Not so much. Cataracts have a cloudy appearance over the entire eye usually.Though they are mistaken for cataracts to those who have never seen ns. Nuclear Sclerosis looks like a white/grey circle in the center of their eye (their nucleus). There are times it's not even noticeable, just depends on what angle the lights hits the nucleus.
From one angle in one of Shawna's picture, I see a white reflection in one of her glider's eyes, not sure if it's a red eye angle but could possibly be the ns. It's pretty easy to detect once you've seen it, atleast for me.
Ñancy ~Always on my mind & in my Jack, Sally & Serenity~
I know it is a little late but I have a 16 (at least) year old glider who seems to be doing well. I don't know how Clyde is but I am happy to try and help. Feel free to contact me at irie888@yahoo.com.
Erin (Mom to)
Pixie, Bell, Otto, Helo, & Skids, Kizmet Uqi
1 Crazy Dogs Weim - Irie
Aspen at 20 years old was still too soon to leave me, Keto, Zucgar & Echo
Clyde is actually doing rather well right now. He cycles, and he is on an upswing. He goes up and down weight wise, but is gradually getting smaller. His activity level is steady, but I can see that it has declined over the last year. He still comes out for treats and is the first one up for dinner. He isn't as steady as he was a year ago, but no falls yet. We have moved his pouch to the lowest part of the cage, and added some hammocks, but he doesn't climb much anymore. We love him very much, and I get real sad thinking about him getting old. I know he won't be here forever, and I hate it.
Last edited by USMom; 05/14/0910:50 PM.
Shawna Who are you networked with? Networking could save your gliders life. Create one now.
Dexter is my old timer here, over 12. He is still doing great but has slowed down some. I added ramps in his cage (they are about 3" wide and go all over the cage and to differnt shelfs and such) so he doesn't have to climb so much and he is still pretty active. He doesn't jump anymore and he is more cuddly then ever. He does still run on the wheel but doesn't do the acrobats in it like the younger gliders.
620-704-9109 Judge not until you have walked in their shoes and lived their lives. What you see online is only part of the story.
I could have missed the pain But I'd of had to miss the dance
The soul would have no rainbow if the eyes had no tears.
Re: Geriatric Gliders
[Re: Dancing]
#779655 05/15/0906:32 AM05/15/0906:32 AM
Darwin is about 11 years old now He is starting to slow down a bit and is not as agile anymore. I haven't had to make cage accommodations for him yet, but I'm sure I will need to in the near future
I give all of my gliders milk replacement mixed in with their vitamins. It gives them an added calcium boost and makes it takes better. I believe that is one of the things that has kept my old girl Aspen (16 years old) going strong.
Erin (Mom to)
Pixie, Bell, Otto, Helo, & Skids, Kizmet Uqi
1 Crazy Dogs Weim - Irie
Aspen at 20 years old was still too soon to leave me, Keto, Zucgar & Echo
Re: Geriatric Gliders
[Re: USMom]
#780678 05/18/0906:09 AM05/18/0906:09 AM