ralliart12
Member
Hoping all gerbils have long, quality lives
Posts: 75 
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Post by ralliart12 on Aug 17, 2020 8:15:15 GMT -8
Just discovered 2 of my gerbils (Voyager (blue arrow) & Pegasus (red arrow)) seems to have fur-loss on their tails! There are a total of 3 gerbils in this enclosure, no change in diet, bedding recently. They have not been fighting, no bite marks on any parts of their bodies. They are not shedding fur on any other parts of their bodies as well. The tail is mechanically sound as well, i.e. as lively as the rest of their bodies. Gerbil no.3, Stargazer, has been in the same enclosure, eating & drinking the same thing, resting in the same bedding but his tail is okay. So any idea what’s the cause? Should I be worried? Will their tail fur grow back?
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Pim
Member
Posts: 346 
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Post by Pim on Aug 17, 2020 11:44:18 GMT -8
hmm maybe they are a bit stressed or something and started pulling hair out? not sure
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Post by betty on Aug 18, 2020 2:06:47 GMT -8
I have no idea on the exact cause - but it could be overgrooming - and if Stargazer is the one doing the over-grooming that would explain why his own tail is fine? But it is weird that they both have a sort of 'normal' section close to the body?
Other options could be some kind of skin mite or irritation - but mild enough to not cause the skin to go red - like flea allergy dermatitis in dogs - the skin actually goes darker with this.
Hmm. I would be interested to hear what suggestions other people have on this as I am sure there are loads of possibilities.
Also, I know you said you haven't changed anything substrate-wise - but sometimes changing the source (different pet shop) or brand (different materials/plants/processing) can have an effect on sensitivity - so if you have changed either of those recently (last 2 months-ish) perhaps it could be linked?
If they haven't had one recently - a FULL enclosure clean out as well as the area surrounding their enclosure wouldn't hurt anyone - and if you limit what you put back in to the sparkly clean enclosure for a week or so, you can monitor whether they get worse (hair growth takes a while so you won't see an immediate improvement) - and potentially see them more clearly for signs of grooming or itching etc.
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Post by Markpd on Aug 19, 2020 14:05:39 GMT -8
Not a clue myself, just wanted to say what cool names your Gerbils have!  Are they trek related? |
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ralliart12
Member
Hoping all gerbils have long, quality lives
Posts: 75
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Post by ralliart12 on Aug 25, 2020 23:27:51 GMT -8
Not a clue myself, just wanted to say what cool names your Gerbils have! Are they trek related? Thank you, most of my gerbil offsprings are named after real space projects, i.e. mostly satellites and spacecrafts. |
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ralliart12
Member
Hoping all gerbils have long, quality lives
Posts: 75
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Post by ralliart12 on Aug 25, 2020 23:46:09 GMT -8
...But it is weird that they both have a sort of 'normal' section close to the body?... Now you've got me worrying again. ...Other options could be some kind of skin mite or irritation - but mild enough to not cause the skin to go red - like flea allergy dermatitis in dogs - the skin actually goes darker with this... Just to check, if it's really mites, am I able to see it to via my naked eye? ...Also, I know you said you haven't changed anything substrate-wise - but sometimes changing the source (different pet shop) or brand (different materials/plants/processing) can have an effect on sensitivity - so if you have changed either of those recently (last 2 months-ish) perhaps it could be linked?... unfortunately, I rarely even switch supplier (not to say never). But I did make a short switch of supplier and specific variant of bedding recently. But it was only for a short interval due to my main supplier running out of stock. & the variant change is simply only from Kaytee Clean and Cozy White, to Brown (still paper-based; not aspen). ...If they haven't had one recently - a FULL enclosure clean out as well as the area surrounding their enclosure wouldn't hurt anyone - and if you limit what you put back in to the sparkly clean enclosure for a week or ... I do a full clean for EACH of my enclosures every 3 week (at most). ...so, you can monitor whether they get worse (hair growth takes a while so you won't see an immediate improvement) - and potentially see them more clearly for signs of grooming or itching etc. Oh well... |
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Post by betty on Aug 26, 2020 4:38:50 GMT -8
Ha ha - no but the hair still at the body-end of the tail could mean that a different 'system' is at work - differnt parts of the body have different nerve and blood supplies, so the fact the yare both only bald past a certain point could be segment related (and possibly hormonal or similar) or just the exact distance away from the body that is easiest to over-groom. Nothing conclusive - just an observation.
Anyway - we shall see what happens now you have things under control and have your eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary. Sometimes you see some great behavioural things you never really noticed before when you REALLY watch them.
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), late 70s