Another Visit to the Vet for Cirrus

We have been concerned about Cirrus' weight loss over the last six weeks. On November 17 she weighed 75 grams, and today she was at 61 grams. With her medical history in mind,last week we called to make an appointment with the vet to have Cirrus checked out.

Cirrus enjoying her morning yogurt last week.

Today was her appointment, and we were relieved to hear that other than the weight loss she is doing well. Her muscle tone was good as was her overall body condition. She is a very active glider. Out of all of the gliders she is the one that probably spends the most time on a wheel or the glider treadmill and she burns a lot of calories. It is probably more than a coincidence that her weight loss has occurred since we obtained Rossby and Sprite. The two attempts at introductions were stressful for all concerned, but perhaps more for Cirrus. During playtime in the office she spends much of her time "marking", which is something we have rarely seen from her before. This is even after almost two weeks of being separated from Rossby and Sprite.

Our vet does not want her weight to drop any further, and thought that reducing her anxiety might help improve her appetite. Cirrus is now on a low dose of Diazepam.  Of all the drug options for a glider, this is is probably the safest. It is often used post-surgery to keep gliders calm and prevent them from overgrooming and opening their incisions. We will see how this goes until Cirrus' next follow-up appointment sometime in February.