Serious gerbil fight injury?? ***(gruesomeish pics)***

[NedIsNotOnFire]

Hey, so came home from school and found that Dinah was chasing Alice. when i had a closer look i saw that Alice had been badly hurt around her butt and bits. have tried to put Lily in with her, but she was acting hostile too... i tried to clean the wounds a bit with some warm salty water to help with healing, and prevent immediate infections.
She is sleeping at the moment, however she is breathing really heavily.. do you guys think this is something she could die from or is she just coping with lots of pain right now? And is there anything else i can do to help her feel more comfortable? Thanks xxx


Pics:  (how do i post a video guys??)




pre-salt water




Afterwards:

[betty]

That is quite a large area and so could potentially get infected before it heals. I personally would take her to a vet for painkillers and antibiotics for that large an injury, but some other people on here may suggest treating at home (as gerbils are quite hardy creatures).

I certainly wouldn't introduce her to another gerbil (not sure who Lily is) and I wouldn't try to put her back in with Alice ever again. Best let her recover from this first on her own in a nice quiet place.

I have had gerbils suffer some serious injuries before and many of them go onto split up with a new friend after recovery.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[NedIsNotOnFire]

Ah, thank you xx The little one thats hurt is Alice, and Dinah is the offender. Lily is her sister who was in the same cage as her and Dinah. (sorry its a bit confusing) I cannot take her to a vet, so its going to have to be treating her here.. Do you have any idea how i'll know if it gets infected, and is there anything i can do if i notice anything, without going to a vet??? Thanks again xxx 

[betty]

Well, anything infected will be warm to touch, could be 'annoying' the gerbil causing her to chew, rub or scratch the area. It's possible it may get swollen or start to ooze something other than clear liquid (the clear liquid if often see in small amounts over an area that has skin missing the same as in humans like in a popped blister).

I am sure she would be in discomfort anyway especially as it starts to heal, but as long as it isn't bad enough to affect her behaviour you may be ok.

As with all sick/poorly animals, make sure she is eating normally, drinking clean water and basically not doing things that might increase their activity or stress levels, so try to handle her less, disturb her less (ie make sure her tank isn't in an area that sees you moving around all the time) and possibly cover any exposed areas with a towel over the tank. It will mean that she is using her energy to heal rather than use her energy to see what is going on with you etc.

If you can weigh her easily perhaps that will help you see if she is eating and drinking normally as a loss in weight isn't always that easy to see visually but the scales don't lie.

If you home is cold, perhaps add a reptile heat pad under one corner of the tank so she can sleep there if she wants but otherwise she can avoid it by moving elsewhere. If you put them in a heated room or by a radiator, they have no way to 'escape' the heat.

Unfortunately, I have never home treated any of my gerbils, so I don't know how to treat something if it goes wrong or Alice keeps chewing it or whatever. Perhaps someone else can offer some advice on that.

[NedIsNotOnFire]

Okay got it! thanks a ton!! x that was really helpful At the moment i've had to put her underneath one of the other gerbil cages in an area that isn't being used at the moment, but i am hoping to persuade my parents into getting another cage tomorrow.. We'll see how it goes xx

[ArcticWolf4]

Some people turn the cage into a "hospital" cage. I guess it helps to prevent bedding getting stuck or infection.

[NedIsNotOnFire]

Okay, so Alice is doing fine now and the fur is also beginning to grow back now just have to find out what I'm going to do about her being alone.. Thanks for the help guys xxx

[highflyer]

Has Dinah always been acting hostile towards Alice, or is this new? From personal experiences, I know gerbils can be quite unpredictable. I had two gerbils, Heather and Hazel. Hazel died from Tyzzer's, ;-; So I got a new gerbil named Holly. I used the split cage method for a long time. When I introduced them, they were hostile, so I continued the split cage. After repeating this process, they finally warmed up to one another. I got to the point where I trusted them enough to leave them alone together. They did fine for about a week or so, but I just so happened to be in the room when I heard a huge racket coming from the cage. I got over there to see that they were in a gerbil ball; a fight to the death. I separated them, though Heather had injuries.

Make sure the cage is clean.

Keep applying salt water solution if it seems to get worse.

Take out any objects that could scratch/reopen wounds.

Be extra gentle with her; only handle her if needed.

Very gently, feel the wounds. (Make sure your hands are clean.) If it's warm, or you see pus, those are both signs of infection.

Make sure she has no contact with Dinah for now.

If she seems cold, you can put a heat pad in half of the cage.

Make sure that she is drinking/eating.

Best of all, take her to the vet. This is your best option because they should have the antibiotics/painkillers Alice may need.

Hope this helped! xxx


EDIT: Oh, glad to see Alice is doing better.