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Post by crazycritter on Dec 12, 2004 15:25:51 GMT -8
My Two gerbils, Hades and thorne, have been together for about a week. They were getting along great, eating and sleeping together, and having a good time. I never noticed any fighting, and I checked them daily for bites. I few minutes ago, I found thorne with his stomache ripped open in his cage. I was playing with him at 3am, and he was fine. I don't know what got into Hades. He's acting normally , has no bites on him, he's seemingly fine. I can't help but not like him much anymore. Thorne was such a sweet, passive gerbil. I don't know why hade's did this. NOTHING like this has EVER happened in my 8 years of keeping gerbils. Nothing.  Anyone want a golden agouti? Hades is up for grabs.  |
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Post by crazycritter on Dec 12, 2004 15:31:15 GMT -8
Now that I think about it, maybe thorne died and then Hade's just ate him. Thorne is my second oldest gerbil, after all. He has been getting thinner, despite the increased amount of peanuts I have been giving him, and the increased amount of crickets....maybe last night, he just died...and Hades ate him for some reason. aaah...I don't know......I feel so awful...
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Post by j on Dec 12, 2004 15:39:41 GMT -8
Now that I think about it, maybe thorne died and then Hade's just ate him. That's actually what I was thinking when I read the first post.. Doesn't make sense that he'd attack his stomach. When gerbils fight they get into that tight ball thing and go after eachother's necks... not rip open their stomachs.. Sorry.  |
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Post by crazycritter on Dec 12, 2004 15:51:04 GMT -8
I just found a notebook where I wrote down the date that I got Thorne...it was four years ago, and he was 7 months old when when I got him, so he *is* relativley old. He wasn't obviously sick, but gerbils, along wtih other small animals, naturally hide their illness until the last second...he has been loosing weight lately, so I put multivitamins into his water, and have been giving him more fatty foods, but I think that he may have just died of old age....and I've been reading, and apparantly it is natural for some small animals, especially ones that haven't been domesticated for long, to eat their dead cage mates inorder to prevent the decomposition of their cagemates, therefore creating a smell, and attracting predators.
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Post by doomgerbiluk on Dec 13, 2004 3:41:55 GMT -8
Exactly
When a gerbil dies it is normal for the other gerbils in the colony to a) make use of the protein etc available (remember their wild diet can be sparse and b) tidy up
hence they do eat those that die
its not grizzly, just natural
Please do not hate your gerbil, he did nothing wrong I'm sure
4 years is an extremely good age so well done. My bet is he died of old age, probably in his sleep.
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pixytwinkle
Member
Molly and Misty, my lovely gerbils.
Posts: 737
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Post by pixytwinkle on Dec 13, 2004 10:11:55 GMT -8
i am really sorry to hear about your gebril hope everything turns out ok and you can learn to love your gebril again because it really isnt his fault |
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Post by callimico on Dec 13, 2004 12:19:20 GMT -8
The same thing happened to me a long time ago, but only that once. Dad and four sons were in a 20 gal and I came home and found one of the sons dead in the middle of the cage, he was chewed on a lot. It was really awful I couldn't take him out of the tank myself. I was so sad, I thought I had cannibal gerbils for a while. They were getting old, the kids were about 4, and dad was 5 1/2. He lived to be 6 years and 4 months, nearly 2 years longer then my other gerbils average life span, he outlived all but 2 of his kids. I didn't know about the "clean up" instinct until a lot later. I'm sorry about thorne Is Hades older too? |
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Post by crazycritter on Dec 13, 2004 13:12:31 GMT -8
Hade's is about 2.5-3 years old. Don't worry, I don't hate him, I was just a bit....angry...at him yesterday. But it's alright now, I'm back to loving him just as much as I ever have  |
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Post by callimico on Dec 13, 2004 17:26:30 GMT -8
Thats good ;D Are you going to pair him up with another gerbil?
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Post by callimico on Dec 13, 2004 17:32:56 GMT -8
Wow you've got a lot of pets!!  That's awesome, I've always had gerbils and cats, but that's about it. My little brother has a huge salt water aquarium that he's kept for about 5 years now. What do you feed the brown bats, and house them in? They were always one of my favorites at zoo's.  |
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Post by sweetie on Dec 15, 2004 14:07:07 GMT -8
Hey Crazy, I am sorry about Thorne . I am glad you shared your experience. I had never heard of a cage mate eating the other after death. When I first read your post, I was thinking that he may have fallen or ripped is stomache on a wheel because Gerbs never go for the belly. the neck or the genitals. I am also glad to hear that you are still fond of Hades'. It is hard to make sense of it all at once. It takes time to figure the situation out and think about it. Especially under those circumstances. Good luck with all. |
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That's awesome, I've always had gerbils and cats, but that's about it. My little brother has a huge salt water aquarium that he's kept for about 5 years now. What do you feed the brown bats, and house them in? They were always one of my favorites at zoo's. 