Gerbils red nose has gotten ALOT worse.

[imjessiegee]

My gerbil started losing hair from its nose a few weeks ago and I thought nothing of it. Then it seemed less active and always sleeping longer than its cage mate. I changed its bedding from sawfust to aspen bedding and now its nose its RED RAW, it constantly itches itself. I give it sand baths every 3/2 days and it still ain't better. I'm starting to worry, someone help me!

Could it be stressed since I moved it and its cage mate to a bigger gerbilarium? Because it was fine in the smaller one? I have a spare smaller one could I move it back into it?

[imjessiegee]

Could it be a build up of dust? I never really do a deep clean and noticed some dust on the bars and dust on the ledges of the cage? Do you think I could re clean the cage deeply and that'll help?

[rhianna]

That would definitely help, and you also should probably switch your gerbils to a dust-free paper based bedding such as Clean & Cozy or Ecobed. You also should skip out on sand baths until the nose heals. Gerbils are highly allergic to dust and allowing so much dust to build up is almost definitely the cause of his/her allergies.

[Thelodar]

I've had a few gerbils with Aspen sensitivity, so bedding could have made it worse for sure. Dust build up could be the biggest factor, cardboard dust definitely builds up. My boy Theo (who is sensitive to aspen and carefresh) will get a red nose if I don't clean his tank frequently enough. I always do a full clean, though I know some don't like to dump all the bedding, I've never had an issue.

[qtoffer]

Try switching to one of the dust free paper beddings.

When I clean out the gerbil tanks (about once a month - 20 gallons, two gerbils), I remove and save the top third of the bedding, along with any wooden toys and mostly intact cardboard items. The bottom two thirds of the bedding is usually very dusty, so I toss it. Then I vacuum out the fine dust that settles on the tank floor and dust off the wooden toys.

I put the old, saved bedding in first, followed by the wooden toys and old cardboard. Then I fill with fresh bedding and some new cardboard.

[johanne]

It's often hard to guess easily what it is. They can acquire allergies to bedding or dust. I do find that if I leave an enclosed container of sand in permanently with gerbils with nose issues, the problem usually resolves. I suspect it has something to do with being able to take a break from whatever is bothering them and the sand cleaning off offending allergens. Hard to say though. I just know it works.

[alleyj]

This happened to all three of my guys but repetitively to Maisy. I switched them from Carefresh to Kaytee Clean and Cosy bedding and that cleared up Daisy and Red, but Maisy must have gotten something worse.

I got Terramycin lotion (you can get it off ebay) and smeared a bit on her nose once a day and in a few days it was completely cleared up. I keep it handy and every time her nose gets runny and she scratches it I clear it up again with that.

I would def say to get Terramycin for her and change her bedding, get her off sawdust or any kind of wood shavings. Gerbs can get respiratory infections from them.

[imjessiegee]

Its not changing. I did a DEEP DEEP tank clean out and now its gotten worse! Oh no. It looks really miserable, my mum seems to think its cagemate is bullying it, but if I separate them, I don't want to reintroduce them?

[Thelodar]

What did you clean the tank with (any chemicals)? Have you noticed bullying? Stress from bullying could cause a red nose I believe, but you'd see other signs of trouble. I would change bedding. It's possible the fresh aspen you just put in could have made it worse since whatever oils or dust that it has haven't dried/settled/whatever so are stronger at the moment.

[flibbletigibbet]

Gerbils naturally produce a material called porphyrins. It resembles blood so we often see people here saying their gerbil has a bloody nose or eyes. Gerbils will produce porphyrins excessively during periods of stress, and since porphyrins are irritating to the gerbil, the most common result is a condition called sore nose. Removing the source of the stress is your best bet for helping your gerbil recover, but a secondary bacterial infection may have set in, so a visit to the vet and some antibiotics may be in order. Bullying can be a source of stress, so keep a close eye on the social dynamics of your pair.

Allergies can cause excessive porphyrin production as well. A lot of people use aspen, but some gerbils can be allergic to it. If you can find Ecobedding, I'd say try that out. Pretty much dust-free and made from recycled paper, so no irritating aromatic oils. Corncob bedding is a good option in a pinch, but it isn't an ideal bedding for gerbils since they can't burrow in it. Good luck with your gerbil!