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Post by katiejayne on Mar 9, 2015 2:31:32 GMT -8
My boys had lived together for two and half years years then two days ago one killed the other, however now he is acting really weird and out of character? It seems he is looking for his mate? I totally cleared out the tank and he hasn't made any tunnels or chewed up any of the tubes I put in, he is standing around on high stuff looking around also he has been awake a lot more than usual! But how can he be looking for him he killed him! Is there anything I can do ?
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Post by sinthiav on Mar 9, 2015 2:47:53 GMT -8
Did you see him kill him? Maybe he didn't kill him. Maybe he died of something else and then his cagemate tried to disappear the body. They will try to eat it and bury it so it doesn't attract predators to the nest.
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Post by katiejayne on Mar 9, 2015 2:55:14 GMT -8
No I didn't see it happen but he was fine like half hour before and he had a wound behind his ear and there was blood splatterings around and he had blood on his face! Do you think mube he didn't kill him then? x
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Post by crittercrazy on Mar 9, 2015 6:54:47 GMT -8
No- sounds like it was a declan and that he killed him.
My guess is that your gerbil isn't looking for his pal, he's probably just lonely in general. I don't think gerbils are really smart enough to realize that killing their friend means they'll be alone. Could you get him a new friend?
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Post by betty on Mar 9, 2015 11:07:44 GMT -8
I had a gerbil that was a bit quiet before we headed out to the supermarket, and on our return within half an hour she was dead with half her face chewed off. She was still warm.
There were no blood splats anywhere and she was pretty much where we last saw her. I never thought that my gerbil had killed her, but I did think it was rather a fast clean up exercise?
As for blood splats, I have read that sometimes seizures create quite the mess around the head (and tank) and that it can freak out the other gerbil a bit. Perhaps look up some threads about that incase your circumstances seem the same.
Always a shame though...
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Post by katiejayne on Mar 9, 2015 12:58:05 GMT -8
It's upsetting enough anyway it's just even more so because I don't know why or exactly what happened!
I don't really want to get another gerbil as he is already nearly three abs since it seems he killed his mate I don't really want to risk it happening again
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Post by sinthiav on Mar 9, 2015 13:36:24 GMT -8
I had three gerbils older than three years old. One morning two of them were dead and the survivor was cleaning up. my first instinct was that she had killed the other two, but she was smaller and more submissive. I suspect in retrospect that one of them was sick for a while, because she was a little cranky and nipped us a couple of times.
Joan, the survivor, seems quite lonely now, but when it happened she was very concerned with the bodies. I had to pull her away.
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Post by katiejayne on Mar 10, 2015 0:09:12 GMT -8
I guess it's just one of those things we will never actually know for sure
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Post by betty on Mar 10, 2015 6:49:13 GMT -8
Nope, sometimes these things seen random to us - but to the gerbils it's very serious.
I have had gerbils who have attacked their tank mates get re-split with new gerbils (both younger and older in my case) who have been living with the newbie for longer than they were living with their attackee and are still buddies. I have also had attackers who in the new split became the submissive one rather than the dominant one as I suspected which certainly throws some light on possible gerbil behaviour being triggered by something more than just being born agressive. I certainly don't think one of them would have been born as a grumpy wannabe leader, attacked her mum to rule the roost and then settle for second place when a new gerbil comes along.
All very interesting.
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Post by katiejayne on Mar 10, 2015 7:16:01 GMT -8
yea it's all very strange to us but makes sense to them
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Post by sinthiav on Mar 10, 2015 10:03:53 GMT -8
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