Gerbil with sore nose and eye

[dea4]

We have a gerbil that chewed on her wire cage so much that she rubbed her nose raw and it started bleeding. We stopped giving her access to that cage but her nose just doesn't seem to heal up. She still has no fur around her nose and sometimes has a bloody scab on it. About a week ago, we noticed her eye looked sore and sometimes will be shut. The fur around her eye is also rubbed off and bare making it look even worse. She chews on boxes but there is no wire in her main cage other than her running wheel and we never see her chewing on that. Is she just scratching at her sores too much or is this some sort of illness? She chews, eats, etc and loves sunflower seeds, so far not acting sickly, just like her raw areas hurt. Is there anything we can put on her nose and eye to help it heal?

[ljoly]

I think that it might be a good idea to take her to the vet. They will be able to give you something to help her heal.

[rhianna]

Keep in mind that gerbil mucus is red like blood. My Theodore has had respiratory issues in the past, and he would rub part of his face until the hair would fall off. The "scab" is most likely not blood, but dry mucus. I suggest doing as ljoly said, take her to the vet. Also, what kind of substrate do you use? Allergies to substrate often trigger these respiratory issues.

[streetwisegerbil]

Vet. Vet. Vet.

Try to find one who knows about gerbils. A problem may start off appearing to be simple but turn out to be complicated. You need someone WHO KNOWS.

No time to explain at the moment but the right vet can turn a lethargic, disinterested and poorly gerbil back to their mischievous self. I speak from experience.

Please, find a good vet.

[dea4]

Can't take her to the vet, can't afford it. We use the natural liter, paper like stuff, she has used that since we have had her.

[rhianna]

There's nothing we can do to help you if you're not able to take her to the vet. I don't know what your situation is but it probably wasn't a good idea to adopt a pet and not be able to take her to the vet when she needs it. The best advice I can offer is to save up for a vet trip, and in the meantime, keep an eye on her. Hopefully the illness will just go away over time, but it's unlikely. Also, does the litter produce any dust? If so, switching her onto a dust-free litter will most likely solve the problem. Most of the people on this forum, including me, believe that the best substrate is about 3 parts aspen bedding to 1 part hay, with lots of paper and cardboard that she can make into bedding on her own.

[dea4]

She uses very little of the bedding and then we give her paper and cardboard that she chews up and most of her cage is full of that, the bedding does not produce dust and it gets cleaned out regularly. As for taking her to the vet and not adopting if we can't take it to the vet, I'm sorry but that is an irritating statement, especially at this time. I have some recent hospital bills that I have to pay so a vet bill on top of that isn't possible. I'm sure there are many people that have pets and can no longer afford a vet due to the economy or the loss of a job, doesn't mean they love the pet any less
Thanks for your input.

[Vixen]

what colour is the discharge from her eyes, could be an eye infection, alergie or stress.
for her nose you could try manunka honey
Is she clicking at all this will idicate if she has a RI.

It frustrating for alot of people when they have a sick animal them go one to say they can't afford the vet I heard it many time dealing with ferrets, it easy to post, that that person shouldn't have an animal if they can't afford the vets. But sometimes it maybe more helpful to give advice, it will certainly help the animal more.

[rhianna]

I'm sorry; I didn't mean to come off as rude or misunderstanding. I was just stating that in general, a lot of people adopt small pets, forgetting about the vet, and then don't want to pay for vet visits when needed. I apologize if I offended you and I completely understand your situation. I hope things get better for you soon, and good luck with your gerbil.

[dea4]

Foxy, I don't notice any discharge from her eye, and it looks better than it did although she still holds it shut somewhat, but it isn't as red looking anymore. We put some colloidal silver on a Q-tip and dabbed it around her eye a couple of days ago, she seemed to like that.
Her nose is still very red and she rubs at it quite a bit. She chews on her boxes, but stops to rub at her nose. The nose all started when she stuck it between the wires on her upper cage and chewed, the wires got rough and sharp so we removed her access to that cage, but the nose hasn't gotten any better.

Thanks for the help, I appreciate it.