Urgent Advice Needed

[Cazzi]

Hi, I am sorry if this is not the appropriate place to post but I am at a loss and urgently need some advice, my story is quite lengthy so please bear with me.

On Christmas day I noticed that my 8 month old female sugar glider was starting to wheeze slightly as she was breathing, I spent the night with her encouraging her to eat, drink water from a syringe and keeping her warm and by the next morning she seemed well and happily went to sleep in her pouch. I checked on her throughout the day and she was fine until the evening when I went to put fresh food in her cage. At this time she was gasping for air, cold and lethargic and I immediately took her to the only vet in my area that had any experience with sugar gliders. She was immediately put into an oxygen tent and they administered various medications including steroids and two types of antibiotics.

Throughout the next six days she still had her appetite, was drinking from a syringe and going to the toilet but she was so weak that each was a struggle and I could see her deteriorating every time I visited her. They performed two x-rays to look for blockages or any infection of the lungs but could find nothing and the final procedure was to put her under anaesthetic to inspect her mouth and throat, they warned me of the dangers but told me that it was my only option so it went ahead. They told me that she was actually breathing a lot better under the anaesthetic which they could not explain. She survived the procedure and with all the information they had collected they failed to diagnose why she was so very ill. She never really recovered from the anaesthetic and stopped responding to the oxygen supply that she had been on continuously for the previous six days. I was told that there was nothing more they could do for her and I could either try to take her to western referrals in Swindon or they would put her to sleep. Not willing to give up on her as she had fought so hard I arrived at the vet ready to face the 2 hour journey with her only to find her flat out, extremely thin, barely breathing and unable to open her eyes, a shadow of the happy, beautiful glider she had been under a week ago.

They informed me then that there was no way she would survive the car journey when she could barely breathe with the oxygen supply right next to her nose and advised that they put her to sleep there and then. Reluctant to let her go I spent the next 20 minutes sitting in my car with my partner, heartbroken and trying to delay the inevitable. The vet came to find us then and told us that we better come inside as she was making the decision for us and fading quickly, seeing her suffering then, I knew my selfishness in keeping her alive and gave the go ahead to put her to sleep. She left behind two heart broken humans and a very lonely brother.

Since she has been gone her brother, who has never been parted from her has been alone and although we are trying to spend every moment we can can with him I know that we cannot give him what he needs. He is refusing to eat and is taking very little water and although he is very energetic at the moment, always ready for his nightly play, I am worried how long it will be until he too starts to deteriorate. The only thing he will eat at the moment are meal worms and yoghurt drops but I know these alone are in no way sufficient. I have given their room and cage a thorough cleaning but as no diagnosis was made regarding his sister I am paranoid that he is going to come down with whatever condition afflicted her and I have already spent all my savings on vet bills (Although he will be insured very soon). My partner and I have discussed at length what we should do as I know he needs companionship, but we are unwilling to re-home him as we love him just as much as we did his sister and find it unfair to send him off through no fault of his own. I realise he is going to need another glider for company, but the prospect of finding one and going through the introductory process seems a long way off and very daunting, and I don't want to put another sugar glider in danger in case what my female had was contagious.

I'm sorry that its a long story, I just had to tell it, and was wondering if anyone has experienced anything similar to this before, and if you have any advice for what I should do then I would be very grateful.

Thank you

[Mark]

Hi there, so sorry for your loss it sounds terrible.  Have the vets done a pm and had any bloods or bacterial tests done and returned, bloods can come back the next day but the bacterial usually takes a week, i think that would be your first point of call.  Carry on as you are doing with your male, he will be missing her but im sure you are doing plenty to keep him busy.  As you say what he is eating isnt the best but it still is food, maybe go and get him a few extras that are extra ripe and sweet for him like a good soft mango. 

[Rhianna]

Ditto what Mark has said. Before you can know for sure if what she had was contagious or not,  you will need a pm, and blood and faecal tests done. At least then you will know if its safe to introduce new gliders into the house so he wont be as lonely for such a long time...

He will probably suffer a loss of appetite for a while. His little friend is suddenly gone and he doesnt understand why. Just watch out for things like excessive grooming, and try and keep him as stimulated as possible.

[Amalthea]

When a glider is mourning, that's when I have always treated them with just about anything they'll eat...  Licky treats are always high on the list...  Yogurts, honey, even some Ella's Kitchen baby food, if he'll take it.  You did everything you could for your little girl and I am so sorry it wasn't enough

[Marie]

I'm so sorry for your loss  .

I can only echo what the others have said, PM and hopefully they will find something to answer your questions.

[Cazzi]

Thank you for your fast replies, I know that no blood was taken but I will contact the vet today to ask for a pm to be done, although we asked for her to be privately cremated so I'm hoping that she is still with them. I was worried about feeding him an incomplete diet, but will do so now so that he is at least eating something, thank you for clearing that up, I guess its off to the shops to get some extra tasty goodies for him.

[Mark]

did your vets not take blood as standard when you first took her in.  Its quite important to find out the cause and this should become clear when a pm is done. 

[Emma9383]

I'm so sorry for your loss hun  Can't really add any advice but just wanted to let you know my thoughts are with you. I know when I go through something as bad as losing a close one, I stop eating (not purposely or anything, just don't feel like it and when I do I just feel ill) it passes with time though as I start to grieve and heal. Thankfully I've only been through it twice. I'm sure your little fella will be going through the same and hopefully will be back on his food agin soon x

[alchemy]

Im sorry for your loss! May I ask which vet was it?