Unusual Behaviour

[nezumi]

My gerbil, Brucie, has been acting very strange for around 2-3 weeks.  He is around 7 months old and has always been very social and well behaved though sometimes a bit of a character, and he's always enjoyed coming out his gerbilarium and having a run around in his exercise ball or his pen but lately he doesn't like to come out and when he does he doesn't seem his usual playful self he seems to get agitated or he gets bored quickly, I try to make sure he always has new toys to play with but he doesn't seem interested and when he's in his cage he's become very destructive, he tips his food bowl up constantly (his food bowl is never empty), he goes into his little house and bangs and pushes it around, he bites the bars, he chews and lifts the ladder to the upper layer of the gerbillarium and bangs it all the time, and he doesn't seem able to settle. He doesn't come over to me when I open the door to the cage like he use to, before he loved any interaction and would come out and play on the sofa, now he tends to ignore me most of the time. He also chases and mounts his brother Albie for hours some times he looks like he's pulling Albies' hair at the back, When this is happening they get of really well, playing and sleeping, but I worry because Albie is very introverted, quiet and nervous and I'm scared that the experience is distressing him. 

I also noticed, when I finally got hold of brucie, that he has a small lump at the top of his scent gland, he doesn't seem to be in any pain and apart from the lump I can't find anything physically wrong with him.  Any ideas on his behaviour? and do you think I should take him to the vet?

[rhianna]

The lump on his scent gland is very likely a scent gland tumor, which is common in males, and it could be affecting his behavior. Although it's small on the outside, it could be growing inside of him and causing him to feel pain. There's really no way to know for sure if this is what's affecting him unless you take him to the vet. The vet should be able to help you figure out what's going on, diagnose the scent gland tumor, and surgically remove it if you'd like to do so. He's still very young, so that would be a great option if you can afford it. If not, then the vet can prescribe pain killers to him if this is the problem, which should help him feel better and begin acting normal again.

[nezumi]

Thanks, I'll take him asap

[qtoffer]

Hope he's OK.