Should I take him to the vet?

[cathy123]

My gerbils had a fight recently and one of them has pretty bad bites on his face. I'm wondering if it will get infected so should I take him to the vet and does anyone know of a good vet in south Wales?
I have a picture if you want to see it.

[betty]

If he is pawing at his face, has gone off his food or generally looks 'not like a normal gerbil' then I would certainly consider taking him to the vet, and he may be in considerable pain or have a facial injury that could affect his ability to use his jaw.

Many people don't rush to the vets after a declan fight if all else seems well apart from the bites themselves, and if he seems totally the same as before the declan - then it is up to you. Only you can know if he needs help or pain-killers etc.

Every wound CAN get infected of course, so if you don't take him today, I would certainly keep an eye on him closely for the next week to make sure nothing changes. Make sure he has clean bedding and a dust bath while in 'recovery' as well as easily accessible food and water on all levels where possible so he can use all his energy for recovering rather than hunting around for stuff. Nothing better than eating in bed when you are poorly or finding a chocolate bar on the side when you weren't expecting it!

[cathy123]

Thank you! He seems to be eating and drinking plenty and the bowl is just outside his house now. His behaviour is the same so I'll just keep an eye on him. :-) Thanks again!

[jumpyspeedyrule]

Good luck!

[betty]

How is his little face - did it all end well for him?

[cathy123]

Yeah, he's good now and seems to be normal. Except one of his eyes gets stuck together with mucus stuff after he's woken up, it doesn't seem to bother him much though.

[betty]

That's good news. I'm sure he doesn't mind the sticky eye after what he went through...