One of my Gerbils died - what to do?

[Jason]

Hey,

I just found one of my 2 gerbils dead in the tank

Got them from a breeder, they're more than 5 years old. It started to get thinner and thinner, the hair was shining less and less, and in the end it walked around with a bit of a hunch. I read up here about euthanizing etc. but it didn't seem to suffer (no squeeking/bleeding/lazyness etc).

Now my question is: What do i do with her sister? Again, they're over 5 years old and lived in the same tank since they were babies. Getting new pups isn't much of an option at the moment cause i'm going abroad for my studies for a year in a few months (my mom can take care of the current ones but not pups). Would it be better for me to just keep her alone, or should i take her to someone who has more gerbils? The remaining one doesn't look like she's that depressed at the moment, she's still hopping around, eating, nibbling on things.

Looking forward to your answer,

Jason

[SilverGerbil]

Well i currently have one of my twins on her own as i lost her sister in December. But Cydney is doing fine on her own. Some gerbils do live happily on their own but some tend to get depressed, and upset. I would keep a close eye on her, take her out play with her and give her lots of TLC and see how she does.

If she is dealing alright on her own i would keep it that way. She is 5 years old?! So possibly introducing 2 new gerbil pups might be a bit stressing on her if shes that old.

Do what you think is best for her .

x

[Andy]

Hello, sorry to hear about your gerbil.

This has just happened to me today. I have 2 sisters about 3 yrs old.
A grey one and a black one. The Grey one has got that ear infection thing and falls over alot but gets around her tank no problem. She eats and drinks fine and her fur is shiney. The black one has been fine, never any problems, always looks the picture of health.
Today i have come home to find the black one not only dead but with half her face chewed off!

I don't know if they fought and the black one died as a result or of the black one just died and the grey did the chewing after?

They have play fought all their lives and the grey was definately the dominent one but there have never been any injuries from their fighting.

[Vixen]

Jason, TBH I leave her be, if she happy on her own, I don't think introducing pups at that age would be aproeate as it could stress her out and make her last few months unhappy.

If she was mine I treat her like a little queen and leave her to enjoy her retierment months.

my frost has been on his own for about 2 and half years and Cy been on his own for almost 1yr, and there happy in there own little worlds, they bost have aggression ishues.

good luck with her she a very good age.

Andy
was the ear infection being treated, I knwon them to go bad and up onto the brain in small animals. It likely that when the black one died, it cage mate wanted to clear up, as would be natral to keep preditors away in the wild, so thats why she was chewed not nice for us though.

keep an eye on the grey on, its very unlikely but if could have eateb some of the ifected ear and may get an infection itself, as I say unlikely, but worth keeping in mind.

[Jason]

Hmm Suddenly out of nowhere we just found the other one lying in the tank She looked to be perfectly fine, so i guess she died of lonelyness after all

Thanks for the help, i'll bury her next to her sister

[moonlightgoddess]

sorry for your loss. Hope this doesnt discourage you from getting gerbils again. just not as old.

[Jill]

Loneliness, or natural causes. 5 years old is pretty old for a gerbil, so whatever you did with them you did well.

[gerbilmama]

I am sorry for your loss. Though you did a wonderful job with your gerbils

[ohmylokix]

Dead thread walking!

[cheeky the girbel]

hey
im jazzy and im 10 guess what today my gerbil ,squeaky,died he was always so friendly im so sad what should i do? ??? my other girbel ,cheeky, is really lonely and its only been 2 hours

[seabreezegerbil]

Jazzy, the answer to your question depends how old the remaining gerbil is, and if it is male or female.
You will also get more replies if you make your own thread for this.
Please give us some more info so that we can help you.

[MehOnal]

Hey. Mine also died... he is the black long tailed skiny one...

[imaguest12]

my gerbil died last night and im really sad he was the best wut do i do????/

[Nagi]

I just had my oldest gerbil, Yuuki, pass away. She was extremely old as well. Almost six...And I think she had a stroke. I am hoping Nozomu will be fine on her own. I don't really want to get into the cycle of getting a younger gerbil and prolonging my pain as it was really hard to watch Yuuki go (she had a stroke and just didn't recover)

What is surprising me is that my cat seems to be affected as well. When Yuuki passed away, he was close and since then he has been sitting as close to the cage as possible just looking. There has never been any agression in him with the gerbils, in fact he always let them walk on him and they play a bit through the cage bars. Hopefully with the kitty there Nozomu will recover. I also maybe think her favorite treats and a really good cleaning of the cage will help the transition to being alone. Nozomu is also almost three...So she's by no means a young gerbil herself.

To everyone who lost pets on this forum. My heart goes out to you.

[accidents happen]

Hello,
My heart goes out to anyone who has had a pet die, but especially to those who accidentally kill them. You must remember that accidents happen and you had no bad intentions in your heart for them. It makes it even harder emotionally since you know how it happened. But the love we feel for our pets is the love that God has given us to experience. It's a wonderful thing.

We as Humans will mourn... some of us more than others perhaps, but it is in this grieving and mourning that we find the real depth of our sole. To know that God is there for us always and that he has compassion for us, is what can sustain us in those darkest hours of pain and anguish until we realize that our lives have seen hard times and good times before and so we will see them again and again. Each time we experience a tragic event, we mature a little more emotionally.

Please do not allow yourself to be overwhelmed in guilt. Remember that it was an accident and accidents happen to everybody throughout their lives. You have family relatives and friends that are there for you and depend on you each day to be there for them when they need you. It will take time but you will be able to forgive yourself too. For anyone to become emotionally attached to your pet means that you must have really shown them a lot of love and that takes a kind and wonderful person with a good heart to do. Remember that about yourself and you will find that you can make it through this trying time.