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Post by lizzy on May 31, 2005 15:21:17 GMT -8
It could be the shavings. Even the UK shavings can be bad for gerbils. They can still be quite dusty and irritating. I use peat for my gerbils now.
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Post by AndreaS15 on Jun 1, 2005 19:58:05 GMT -8
Wood Shavings are a tuffy to keep gerbils on, not many gerbils can live on it without getting allergies or resp. problems.
I would switch to a paper bedding or Corn Cob for a few weeks and see if it get's better.
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Post by sandy on Jun 1, 2005 21:58:44 GMT -8
re: colour it's hard to tell without looking at the tail but possibly Colourpoint Dark Eyed Honey or Light Colourpoint Agouti. She seems to be white-bellied and has dark nails so is not spotted and not self, and the dark eyes, "eyeliner," eartips and (probably) tail indicate colourpoint genes combined with ee recessives. Do her eyes have a red sheen to them? Maybe someone else here can take an educated guess!
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Post by whitmoregirl on Jun 2, 2005 2:19:10 GMT -8
I don't think it's the shavings - she's been on them for a few weeks now.
I also took out the bedding and replaced it with some toilet paper and she seems a lot more cheerful now. Her nose has cleared up (though the skin is still there) and I can see where she has been scratching / scratched.
I'll try to put piccies up - but she does seem a lot more happier.
And a few people have said she could be a LCP grey agouti, and yes, in certain light, her eyes seem to go wine-red.
She has to be a colour point something, but it's so difficult!!
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Post by meganb52 on Jun 2, 2005 16:45:27 GMT -8
I still think it could be shavings... It can take a few weeks for allergies to develop. I myself wasn't allergic to my rabbit right away, it took 2-3 weeks for my immune system to realize what was going on and get upset about it... so in my "veterinary" opinion, you can't rule out shavings as a cause, and the fact that she's happier on toilet paper increases my suspicions...
-Megan
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Post by RyanF on Jun 2, 2005 17:44:49 GMT -8
I agree with Megan 100%. If she is happier with one type of bedding, stick with it. You have to experiment with beddings with gerbils with nose problems and then pick the best option. ;-)
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Post by mice on Jun 3, 2005 1:09:12 GMT -8
It could be shavings, my gerbils got a sore nose after I had them after 3-4 weeks which confused me as they'd been kept on shavings since they were born. I went to the pet shop and asked them what shavings they used and bought a bag, put that in the tank instead and we've never had a problem since! So you could just try a different brand, the stuff we use has really big shavings so it's not dusty. We used to mix hay in with it but that made their noses sore too.
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Post by whitmoregirl on Jun 3, 2005 1:34:53 GMT -8
The shavings they're in right now are large flakes and as I said, its really clearing up quite well now. I might keep her on tissue paper for bedding just in case though.
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