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Post by aquamarinegerbil on Feb 10, 2013 13:43:01 GMT -8
I noticed my gerbil has a red nose. It isn't pink. What does this mean? Is it bad? It looks like she has red crusties on it too. If this isbad which I think it is what should I do? Thanks!
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Post by sofluffy on Feb 10, 2013 14:33:28 GMT -8
Hello are you able to get a clear photo of her nose? This could help us, help you. It is possible that bedding/substrate as well as other factors can cause a sore nose. What bedding and substrate do you use?
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Post by gerbillover123 on Feb 10, 2013 14:43:30 GMT -8
yes, I agree with sofluffy...it could well be the type of bedding material or sawdust you are using, i had that problem once with one of my gerbils and had the same symptoms as what you described...make sure you are not using cedar or pine shavings as these can worsen the problem, my best advise is to change the bedding to a better brand and see if the problem improves
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Post by sofluffy on Feb 10, 2013 14:48:14 GMT -8
When my gerbils started 'snuffling' on their wood shaving-type substrate, I changed them immediately to just toilet/loo roll in their tank, and they were back to normal in just a few hours! I emailed the company who made the substrate and asked what wood they used as I couldn't find a definitive answer on the packaging, and sure enough they emailed back that they used Cedar and Pine! I threw the stuff away and have stuck to loo roll since I always recommend it as it is 100% safe for gerbils and not expensive either.
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Post by aquamarinegerbil on Feb 10, 2013 18:14:18 GMT -8
Hey, The brand is carefresh colors. It has a range of animals that can use it from gerbils, to hamsters, to reptiles, to birds, rabbits, etc. The owners before used he same brand and she had a norma nose when I got her. I'm almost positive it isnt the bedding. It is made of wood pulp that is 100% biodegradeable. Maybe its something else?
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Post by aquamarinegerbil on Feb 11, 2013 12:12:08 GMT -8
Hmm well thats weird. Her nose is back to normal! Hopefully it was nothing!
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Post by ninestone on Mar 1, 2013 15:21:05 GMT -8
Lately Caroline's nose has been frequently red. I've always had a hard time telling if it was mucous or blood, although sometimes I'm pretty sure it was blood. Other times it will look like a bloody mess around her whole nose area, and after it clears up some over a few days there's a bald patch on one side of the nose.
It's hard to get a good look at it, so following the technique for checking teeth I held her to get a good look at the nose (she was not happy!). There was a scab on one side, and gooey light reddish stuff on the other. So it could be *both* mucous and blood.
I'm wondering if she has an allergy, and gets it bloody/bald by cleaning it too aggressively. We use basic CareFresh for bedding, which I thought was pretty safe for allergies.
To try to see if it's the bedding, I'm thinking when we clean the tank this weekend of just putting a few sheets of printer paper on the bottom and some unrolled toilet paper for them to use as bedding (along with a cardboard box to chew). Would that be worthwhile to try?
Any other ideas what could cause it?
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Post by sofluffy on Mar 2, 2013 16:37:36 GMT -8
Carefresh, from what other posters have said, can be quite dusty. -Do you sieve it at all to remove any extra dust that could be irritating her?
I only have loo roll, paper, cardboard and edible parchment pet bedding in my gerbils cages (no carefresh, wood shavings etc,) as this all irritated their noses, too.
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Post by ninestone on Mar 9, 2013 12:57:45 GMT -8
The good news is that using only some sheet paper, unrolled toilet paper, and cardboard boxes has helped Caroline's nose. It cleared up after a couple days and has been nice and pink the rest of the week. So that pretty clearly points to the CareFresh as the problem.
However, they seem to miss the thick substrate to dig in, and have been unusually skittish since I changed the tank. I think next I'm going to try "vacuuming" the carefresh through a screen before putting it in the tank to see if just removing the dust prevents Caroline's nose irritation from coming back.
Any other substrate/bedding I should try? Eco bedding?
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Post by Sunny&Sandy on Mar 9, 2013 15:54:43 GMT -8
The good news is that using only some sheet paper, unrolled toilet paper, and cardboard boxes has helped Caroline's nose. It cleared up after a couple days and has been nice and pink the rest of the week. So that pretty clearly points to the CareFresh as the problem. However, they seem to miss the thick substrate to dig in, and have been unusually skittish since I changed the tank. I think next I'm going to try "vacuuming" the carefresh through a screen before putting it in the tank to see if just removing the dust prevents Caroline's nose irritation from coming back. Any other substrate/bedding I should try? Eco bedding? 4 of my gerbils, all siblings, are allergic to Carefresh. I use Eco bedding for them and it works great! Try to get the kind with extra odor control, though. The plain kind smells badly after only a few days.
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Post by ljoly on Mar 14, 2013 7:27:27 GMT -8
I use Katy Clean and Cozy. I used to use care fresh and one of my gerbils had a red nose constantly. I switched to clean and cozy and he is much better.
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Post by ninestone on Mar 14, 2013 11:21:00 GMT -8
I went by a local petstore yesterday, but they didn't have Eco Bedding. However they did have the KAYTEE "Clean & Cozy". It said it was 99.9% dust free and made from FDA food-grade paper stock, so I got some to try. (It also claims good odor control; we'll see I hope it's as successful with Caroline's nose as with your guy ljoly So far the two girls are loving having real substrate to dig around in again. I'll update after a week.
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Post by aquamarinegerbil on Mar 14, 2013 20:21:44 GMT -8
Sorry I haven't responded in so long! Could it have something to do with constant rubbing on the nose? Whether it's on the bedding of whatever? The Carefresh bedding I use is a little dusty, but it stays fresh for a long time, about 2 weeks. It seems only occasional when she gets a red nose. It's there its gone. Its there its gone. Normally it isn't there though. I don't think I have much other options for bedding (where I live, there aren't a lot of choices, I won't be saying where for security reasons. Let's just say 'North' ) Do you think it is acceptable to continue with it if it doesn't seem to bother her too much? Thanks for all the replies and help!
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Post by ninestone on Mar 15, 2013 12:24:47 GMT -8
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Post by ljoly on Mar 16, 2013 10:43:17 GMT -8
Good luck ninestone! Also, do you give your gerbils timothy hay? I switched to clean and cozy, and my gerbil's nose was better, but still a bit red, so then I stopped giving timothy hay and it cleared up even more.
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