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Post by ashleyrenee on Oct 16, 2005 15:35:48 GMT -8
Hello, yesterday as i usually checked my gerbils i noticed my gerbil zorro had some scabs on his left side of his back. well ok i change their bedding every month ok. well i havent got the time to do it until yesterday. when i noticed the scabs. im not neglecting my gerbils at all believe me i love them too much. and i noticed i think where a scab was that he is missing a lil bit of hair can some one help me i have her and another female in a cage. could this be them fighting or wat? they rarly fight or should it be something in the cage? i will have pics up later ok please help me
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Post by reallybes on Oct 16, 2005 15:50:55 GMT -8
Scabs? Probably fighting? How often do you check up on them? Scabs usually occur after a while on wounds .. why are you so quick to defend yourself when nobody has accused you of neglect?  There really are no logical answers for scabs to be on his back unless there was a fight, some really sharp objects in the tank, or some monstrous mites/insects. |
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Post by squeaksister on Oct 16, 2005 16:11:04 GMT -8
Could it be they are rubbing against something like their wheel causing them to have a scab?
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Post by ashleyrenee on Oct 16, 2005 16:54:40 GMT -8
i check on them everyday bc i have to make sure they have water and their food isnt covered with their bedding. well i was afraid some one would say something bad about that. im sry if i seemed a lil harsh i didnt mean to. can you see the mites on them? does the mites hurt them? im worried about my babies as you can tell lol. i dont want tnothing to happen to them. i was thinking hte wheel but i wasnt sure. i didnt see any way he would of hurt herself at all. thanks everyone. sry about me defending myself i was second guess. im really sry
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Post by ashleyrenee on Oct 16, 2005 17:26:25 GMT -8
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Post by reallybes on Oct 16, 2005 17:38:49 GMT -8
sry about me defending myself i was second guess. im really sry No lol no need to apologize, i was just wondering why you brought the subject of neglect up .. he doesn't look so bad in those pics, are the black areas the scabs or the fur?? I can't really tell |
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Post by sandy on Oct 16, 2005 19:20:35 GMT -8
I would guess maybe a fight...if it is mites they would have to be introduced somehow, like maybe you put in some hay or wood from outside, or new food or bedding without freezing it first. See if it heals up and goes away on its own, then it is probably from fighting... but watch for more fighting, which is a possibility!
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Post by meganb52 on Oct 17, 2005 14:28:38 GMT -8
Don't forget guys that ringworm (dun Dun DUNNNN) can appear as scabby lesions and hair loss. Gerbils can and do get ringworm occasionally. Are you or any of your family members itchy in areas that you normally allow gerbils to touch? Do you have a cat or dog that could be carrying ringworm? (ringworm is a skin fungus like athlete's foot, not an actual worm for those who don't know).
I would wach for fighting or excessive scratching. It could also be behavioral overgrooming or something like that.
As an aside: Bedding in a rodent cage should be changed more often than once a month. I would say once per week to once every two weeks is more acceptable and hygenic for gerbils. Think of it this way: would you really want to be walking around on bedding you had urinaed and defacated in for a whole month? I certainly wouldn't. I also speak from the experience of painstakingly nursing my two gerbils back to health after they were left in the care of another for a month without a bedding change. A 20 minute bedding change every other week would have saved me a month and a half's worth of twice daily oral meds, syringe feedings/waterings, humidification, and eye medications. I think it's worth it for the "insurance" value. (Ashley, i'm not trying to be critical, just trying to help others learn from my mistakes)
-Megan
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Post by ashleyrenee on Oct 17, 2005 18:48:11 GMT -8
i sry lol i tried to take a decent pic but you know gerbils they wanna explore everywhere lol. i tried to show you this bald spot where a scab was. i have never put nothing from outside in their tank and i have always used this bedding. they usually dont fight like when ever they are cleaning each other up its like they make noises. lol. i dont think our dogs dont ahve ringworm we watch all of our animals and they seem pretty normal and just to make sure i checked them. its ok megan thanks again everyone.
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Post by whitmoregirl on Oct 18, 2005 1:32:37 GMT -8
Don't forget guys that ringworm (dun Dun DUNNNN) can appear as scabby lesions and hair loss. Gah don't remind me of it...  I had it a while back - AshelyRenee, do you have red rings on your hands at all? I have no other pets in my entire house but my seven gerbils, and when I only had five I suddenly got ringworm I *think* from the three girls. Don't dismiss it quickly  |
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Post by ashleyrenee on Oct 18, 2005 5:44:49 GMT -8
no i dont have red rings on my hands. wow.. i didnt even know they could get that. ill have to be very causious now thats everyone. the word just creeps me out. ill give you an up date on how zorro is doing . i cant now bc im at skool. lol. i hate skool. but hey i have one more year. yayness lol well ttyl
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Post by ashleyrenee on Nov 1, 2005 8:55:38 GMT -8
I'd like to tell all of you that zorro is doing better than ever no more scanbs!!!!!!!!!! yay lol.
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