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Post by remarksises on Sept 23, 2014 18:40:13 GMT -8
Just as the title says. I just got two new gerbils a month ago and they have been fine, nothing major between them. But today i came home and found one with blood on her face. at first i thought it was just a runny nose, but then i saw her sister. she was just sitting there with eyes half lidded and not moving. i look in and her entire backside is covered in blood. I separated them when i caught the sister fighting her again. there food was low, but there was still some stuff in it as i feed them everyday. I have the injured on in my tub and I don't know what to do. I don't know if she's going to make it. I called a vet, but they don't specialize in anything like gerbils and it's 78 dollars for just the exam, i can't afford that at the moment. D:
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Post by remarksises on Sept 23, 2014 19:58:37 GMT -8
I separated them. Their names are Bread and Butter. Bread is the more timid of the two and she's the one with all the bites. Butter has a bite near her eye but it's not bad, she is also limping and favoring her left front paw, so i took away her wheel. I really didn't want to separate them but i'm afraid if I don't Butter will continue the attacks. Bread is walking around a little. She comes out of the hide away house to get food or water from a dish. I put some toilet paper in the house to try to keep her warm and hope that the pressure of her own body against it will stop some of the bleeding. She also has terrible balance right now and will fall over onto her back when she walks. I feel terrible watching her in so much pain and not being able to do anything for her. I feed them everyday, and will put a little extra in at night when their dish is empty, but I got home late from uni today and found there dish pretty much empty aside from the pellet things that they'll eat last after picking out their favorites. I was planning on coming home at around lunch, but I had to change that when something clinic related came up. (i'm a 1st year speech therapist grad student) So when I came home and saw them, I just feel so bad and i'm scared that i might lose one of them to night. Here they are. They usually get along just fine and really enjoy each other. they share their wheel, and it just breaks my heart to think that they might have to spend the rest of their lives apart if I can't get them back together again.
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Post by betty on Sept 23, 2014 23:26:24 GMT -8
I don't think you will be able to put them together again after such a serious fight. It is never nice when gerbil fight - especially when you hadn't seen it coming and yours sounds like a very bad fight.
Vet-wise, little Bread could well be in a lot of pain, so pain killers from a vet may well help her to recover (or at least make her more comfortable) - if she isn't to much in shock from her injuries. Make sure she is in a smaller space with easy access to her water and if possible choose easier foods for her to eat - like softer food and shell-less seeds (the last thing she probably wants to do is crack open nuts and gnaw on treat bars) - and make sure you see her eat something... If you can put her in a quieter place and out of the way of passing people traffic so she isn't disturbed unnecessarily I am sure she would appreciate that too - or hang a towel over the front of her tank.
As for why it happened, there could be a number of reasons including their age, their relation to each other (ie are they actual sisters) and whether they were in a tank with other gerbils before you homed just these 2. There sometimes seems (to us humans) no reason at all for the fight - but obviously your Bread apparently ruled the roost when you got them, but Butter decided to challenge that - and obviously she then 'won'. (the loser always has the bites to the bum).
You can (with the correct procedure) pair up your single gerbils with new friends once they have both recovered, or depending on their age, or permanent injuries if any, leave them as single gerbils for the remainder of their lives. Some gerbils do thrive on being alone - like my Beagle.
Let us know what you decide to do as I am sure most people on here have experienced something similar to you and can offer all sorts of advice.
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Post by remarksises on Sept 24, 2014 3:33:49 GMT -8
thanks betty. Yes they are actual sisters, they were housed with their mother until we got them. I have moved bread into the bathroom tub for now, because i don't have another tank or cage with me at the moment. I just checked on her, she appears to be sleeping, but she moved a bit. I have seen her eating and coming out for a drink, but even that seems to be painful. I'm going to take her to the petstore vet, hopefully they'll be able to help her and not too far out of my ability to pay for it.
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Post by betty on Sept 24, 2014 4:02:09 GMT -8
The bath tub? This could be very cold to sit on and bathrooms are generally colder places in the house. I think she would really need to be nice and warm to help recover - I wonder if there is anything she could sit in instead like a storage box or something to be more comfortable - even have this in the tub if your bathroom is in sunlight and you are worried about escaping.
How old are they too? If they are over 3 months, it might be that they were full grown 'adults' living under the domination of their mother, so taking HER out of the equation meant that one of the daughters need to 'win' dominance instead - hence the fight.
Gerbils live in a community where leading and following is integral to the balance, and if that is disturbed then there will be a fight.
If they are younger than 3 months, then I am not really sure what would have caused such a problem? Maybe need to wait and see what others think...
Good luck at the vets.
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Post by remarksises on Sept 24, 2014 5:11:20 GMT -8
No they were about a month old, and i took her out of the tub and put her in a box with a towel. she's in my room and I've closed the vents and put her next to my computer which gives off heat to try to warm her up.
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Post by betty on Sept 24, 2014 8:03:16 GMT -8
Lovely. Your bedroom is much better while she is recovering. Glad to hear she is still hanging in there.
As for their age - they can't be 4 weeks old as they are way too big. I have some month old pups at the moment and they are about the size of a thumb and not really gerbil-shaped - more of a bullet. Also 4 weeks is too young to leave their mother really and at 4 weeks they would not be able to inflict such damage to each other and would actually have no reason to do so either - so perhaps you should check again on their age - just so you know their real age for yourself really.
And if you can't get her to a vet, then at least watch out for swollen or 'hot' areas on Bread to make sure she isn't getting worse. Also keep an eye on her for excessive grooming or attention to any one spot as that could indicate pain too - so if she keeps licking on particular foot etc.
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Post by remarksises on Sept 24, 2014 9:53:55 GMT -8
Well, that's what the lady at the store told me, not that I trust her. (she's over there grabbing them by their tails to pick them up). I have had them since I got them for about a month and a half.
Right now she's just sleeping and will stumble around with her eyes closed at times to get to the water that I left for her. It appears that the wounds are on her back, tail and back legs, there aren't any on her belly.
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Post by johanne on Sept 24, 2014 10:01:06 GMT -8
It's very unusual for such young gerbils to have a serious fight. Did you perhaps recently change the bedding, all of it? Occasionally cleaning out all the existing scents will confuse the gerbils and they will fight due to mistaken identity (not recognizing partner's smell). If that was the case you might be able to reintroduce them. Otherwise they'll need to be kept separate.
Gerbils are remarkably resilient and typically recover very quickly from injuries, even serious ones. Keep Bread in a nice warm cosy place as you're doing. Give her nice soft foods including leafy vegetables and perhaps peas, broccoli, grape slices... whatever she likes.
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Post by remarksises on Sept 24, 2014 17:06:33 GMT -8
My little Bread passed around 2pm today. I was with her as she finally leaned up against one of the socks I put in the box with her. She was panting, her body was cold and no matter how many warm socks I put around her she wouldn't heat up. I sat with her and petted her head and she opened her eye a crack for a bit then closed it and grew still. My little baby doesn't feel pain any more, but I will miss her. She was a good little girl, she liked to decide were the two of them would sleep, and her favorite spot in the cage was right next to my laptop when I was working on it because of the heat it gives off (that's what she was doing in the picture. she's the one on the right). She was shy but would always greet me by popping her little head out of her hut to say hi when I came back home from uni, and both Bread and Butter made me smile when they would get on the wheel together and run in the opposite directions. My brave little Bread, I'm sorry I couldn't take the pain away.
thanks for your advice everyone.
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Post by johanne on Sept 24, 2014 17:31:32 GMT -8
I'm so sorry your little Bread didn't make it. You have some good memories of her to keep in your heart. Sometimes things happen and there's nothing we can do.
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Post by catnut on Sept 25, 2014 15:42:57 GMT -8
rip Bread, take care and I hope Butter heals from her injuries.
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Post by betty on Sept 26, 2014 0:38:05 GMT -8
Oh, that really is a shame - she sounded like a lovely girl.
I just hope that Butter manages to get over the stress of the declan and becomes more attached to you now that she is alone.
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