Bloodied up gerbil/split cage question!

[moghedien]

I have two gerbils, a male and a female, both adults, that I am trying to introduce using the split-cage method. So far they've been split-caged two days, and everything was going well until I checked on them this morning to find both on the same side! One of them had actually managed to chew a hole THROUGH the wire mesh. I repaired the mesh and separated them again, but one of them - oddly enough the female, who is larger - has some blood on her neck and a bloody nose.

The odd thing was that they weren't in a ballfight when I found them, though they did start boxing before I could get them separated. They don't attack each other through the wire either, they just sniff.

So question 1 is, even though one has been bloodied, should split-caging still work to introduce them? And question 2, if the injured female doesn't seem sluggish or in pain, does a bloody nose and a bit of blood on her fur warrant a lot of concern or should I just keep an eye on it?

[doomgerbiluk]

sounds familiar
since the fight wasnt serious the split cage should still havw achance of working
injuries heal quickly with gerbils, obviously watch out for signs of infection

[queenofthenile]

Just make sure there is no swelling, redness (other than blood), discharge or excessive pain. There wounds usually heal well and the gerbs are back to themselves in no time.

[sweetie]

Hey Mag,

Ques #2 The gerbil might have cut it on the mesh. You can use neosproine on the wound to prevent infection but they do heal quickly. I would definitely keep an eye on it.

Ques # 1 I think that the split cage should still work. If there was an attempt to connect and you have only seen sniffing, things should go smoothly.

Good luck and let us know what happens.

[moghedien]

Well so far there have been no more attempts to chew through the wire. The female (Kaylee) is healing up nicely, thankfully!

Right now they're sleeping as far away from each other as possible, so even though they're not showing aggressive behavior toward each other, I'm going to assume that they need to stay separated for a while longer.