Dehydration is a SYMPTOM

So often I see this in threads, and it breaks my heart.

If you have a glider who is dehydrated, please know that it is VERY RARE for a glider to be dehydrated "just because." Gliders have very efficient little bodies. They take much of the fluids that they need from the fruits and veggies that they eat. They do not become dehydrated if they are eating well. They just don't.

UNLESS.......
there is something else wrong with them.

This is what so many people do not understand. DEHYDRATION IS A SYMPTOM OF A MUCH LARGER ISSUE!!!!!!!

So many times we tell people to check for dehydration, and when the glider is dehydrated, we say "go to the vet, get sub-q fluids and push fluids at home" and that is the end of our advice to them. Sadly, so many times we see these same gliders die.

This is because we are not educating people that dehydration very rarely occurs on its own.

Trust me when I tell you that gliders do NOT become dehydrated just because a water bottle is empty. Of course gliders should have a fresh water supply at all times, but going one night without water will not cause them to die or become dehydrated. We feed diets that are too high in water content for that to happen. Fruits, frozen staple mixes and veggies all contain liquids which the gliders extract and ingest. (NOTE - Do NOT rely on these as the sole source of fluid intake, just know that they DO provide enough fluids to sustain life if a water bottle leaks or is empty, or a water dish gets over turned).

Often times, a person only knows that their glider is ill because they notice the dehydration. Dehydration is very serious and can quickly lead to death. BUT, simply treating dehydration does not solve the problem in most cases.

Any of the following conditions (and many more) can CAUSE a glider to become dehydrated:
* parasite infection
* HLP
* bacterial infection (esp. of bladder, kidney, or UTI)
* viral infection
* dislocated joint
* broken bone
* kidney failure
* Over heating

SOOOOO, if you have a glider who has a parasite infection which leads to dehydration, and you treat the dehydration, guess what? The glider is going to be overtaken by the parasite and die. EVEN IF you did everything right to treat the dehydration.

SOOOO, IF YOU HAVE A GLIDER WHO IS DEHYDRATED, follow these steps:

1) Once you have a positive tent test, begin pushing fluids - water or pedialyte, gatorade, dextrose solution - which ever your vet recommends. Push fluids twice an hour. If you have been instructed on sub-quing fluids, do so if the dehydration is severe, but ONLY if it is severe. Mildly dehydrated gliders need nothing more than water taken in orally.

2) GET TO THE VET. Push fluids UNTIL you can get to the vet, but get to the vet ASAP. Dehydration causes the organs to begin shutting down. If a glider remains moderately-severely dehydrated for too long, there is nothing you can do to save him/her. You MUST get vet treatment.

3) Once the vet has treated the dehydration, request ALL AVAILABLE TESTS to find the cause of the dehydration. SOMETHING is causing your glider to become dehydrated. If the glider is not overheated, and you are feeding the glider appropriately, and the glider is eating, then it did not become dehydrated from lack of water. Particularly look for bacterial and parasitic infections.

4) TREAT the CAUSE of the dehydration while you continue to monitor hydration levels and provide extra fluids/electrolytes as needed.

5) Don't forget that follow-up visit with the vet.



And, always, when you are on other boards and you see someone posting that their glider is dehydrated, be sure to remind them that DEHYDRATION IS A SYMPTOM and that they need to find the CAUSE of the dehydration if they are to get to the root of their glider's problem. If more people understood this, fewer gliders would loose their lives.

If a person is feeding very dry food, like cat or dog kibble and combines it with a bit of apple, green beans, carrots, etc, an empty water dish for a few nights can be a crisis. The moisture in the veggies and apple may not be enough to compensate for the low moisture of the kibble.

I agree with everything you have said with this one exception. The moisture content of the kibble is so low that the proportion of kibble to fresh food can make a critical difference w/o water.

Quote :

an empty water dish for a few nights can be a crisis.

An empty water dish for a FEW nights is a crisis period. I was speaking specifically to those who think their glider is going to die because the water bottle leaked over night and the glider was without fresh water for NO MORE THAN one night.

Also, I did not comment on the dry food because I always hope that one is feeding a kibble IN ADDITION TO a staple and fruits and veggies, not instead of a staple and that they are feeding it in sufficient low quantity. But, I'm glad you brought it up. Yes, if one is feeding a dry kibble as their primary staple, then their water source becomes much more important.

Something_To_Believe_In wrote:

Quote :

an empty water dish for a few nights can be a crisis.

An empty water dish for a FEW nights is a crisis period. I was speaking specifically to those who think their glider is going to die because the water bottle leaked over night and the glider was without fresh water for NO MORE THAN one night.

Also, I did not comment on the dry food because I always hope that one is feeding a kibble IN ADDITION TO a staple and fruits and veggies, not instead of a staple and that they are feeding it in sufficient low quantity. But, I'm glad you brought it up. Yes, if one is feeding a dry kibble as their primary staple, then their water source becomes much more important.

I was making an effort at supreme diplomacy. No water for 2 nights is a big problem. If that wasn't a diet that can be found online or wasn't used or recommended by some shops, I wouldn't have posted this.

I thank you for posting it, Dee! We (yes, even me) need to be reminded that not everyone has access to the same information that we have. TSS needs to make an effort to reach out to and to educate those that do not have a lot of involvement with our online glider communities.

Thank you for the reminder that many pet shops, mill breeders and even online sources promote the feeding of a pellet as a primary protein source. For those that feed this way, a consistent and constant water source is far more important than for those of us that use frozen or pureed staple foods.

I just wanted to take a moment to remind everyone that the very best thing that we can give a glider who is dehydrated is WATER.

I can't tell you how many calls I get from people asking me what they can give their glider for dehydration. I don't know how we got to this place as a community. What can you give your glider for dehydration? Well, WATER and a vet visit to determine the cause of the dehydration.

We so often jump right to telling people to use pedialyte or gatorade and rush to get sub-q fluids. This is so very often not necessary. Most of the time, people don't know how to read a tent test correctly and just think that their glider is dehydrated. Other times, they will flat out say that it is "just a mild dehydration." Well, if that is the case, give the glider some water.

The glider's body (just like ours) is created to extract necessary nutrients, minerals and water through the digestive system. Therefore, the best way to replenish those is also through the digestive system. The very best thing you can give a glider who is mildly dehydrated is plain and simply WATER.

The only time we should recommend sub-q fluids over oral fluids is when the glider is too weak or ill to take in food/liquid orally OR if the dehydration is so severe that both sub-q and oral fluids are necessary. Sub-qing CAN be life saving, but is not the best way to hydrate a glider. Therefore, it should not be recommended unless it is necessary. Likewise, where gatorade or pedialyte will replenish some electrolytes, they are also full of things (sugar, salt, dye, etc) that an ill glider might not need. So, unless these things are needed right away, just recommend water and something to eat. And, when pedialyte or gatorade or dextrose or whatever IS recommended, it should only be recommended for that first emergency feeding, and water there-after (this, too, is for gliders eating and drinking well on their own). I am not saying that pedialyte or gatorade will harm your glider, so no one panic. There are times when they are very good for your glider. What I am saying is that people seeking advice for dehydration are often in a panic state, so we need to be very specific in what we tell them to do. Sending them to the store for pedialyte wastes time that is needed right now to push fluids. I recommend that you push water until such time as the glider is stable and the panic has passed, THEN send them out for these other things.

In short - unless the glider is so ill that he/she is lethargic and not eating or drinking well, what we should be recommending for dehydration is water and a vet visit. Not quite the rocket science some people expect, but it works!

i'm really sorry val, but your whole post i kept thinking of idiocracy and how they would "water" their plants with brando (it like gatoraid) and couldnt figure out why their plants wouldnt grow