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Post by ursamin0r on Dec 24, 2004 10:38:41 GMT -8
Hey, I've had 2 gerbils live nicely together for a long time now, but today I found one dead and half eaten by the other. What could be causing this?? The gerbil who ate the other one had a history of cannibalism (he killed babies he fathered) before I adopted him. Could his behaviour be linked to his cannibalistic tendency? Or could my other gerbil have died of other causes first before he got eaten? He seemed fine yesterday.. so I'm very boggled. Thanks.
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Post by lizzy on Dec 24, 2004 11:06:30 GMT -8
it's very likely he died of natural causes and was then half-eaten by the other gerbil - it's instinct, to drive away predators i believe.
if this is the case, the killing of his babies will be unrelated. parents often kill babies they feel they can't care for or are put under a lot of stress.
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Post by Ritzie/Admin on Dec 26, 2004 8:06:48 GMT -8
When a gerbils dies, the other gerbils eat them. Of course when it is an adult gerbil it is too big to be eaten by one other gerbil. Pups however are most of the times eaten whole.
This is completely natural and just to clean their nest. You can imagine that when a dead gerbil stays in their nest it start to rot! The smell would attract predators.
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Post by ursamin0r on Dec 27, 2004 9:35:00 GMT -8
Thanks for your replies. I still have some questions though 1. Do all gerbils eat their dead littermates or is it just some gerbils that do this? 2. I don't want to get another gerbil because I really can't stand their cannibalistic behaviour (mostly due to religious reasons). Is there another way to make my gerbil feel less lonely? 3. I read that you shouldn't give gerbils cabbage lettuce during the winter because of its high percentage of nitrate. Is this true? I think this may have been the cause of my gerbil's death
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Post by andrea on Dec 27, 2004 9:53:58 GMT -8
For one cannalbalism in gerbils is very rare. Although if a gerbil dies it is natural instinct for them to clean up to avoid predetors smelling the corpse, I believe this is the truth for most preyed on animals.
In the position of eating there young, in gerbils it is rare. Usually it will be that the young were still born or geneticly wrong in some way. Otherwise it is very unsual to see gerbils eat there young. They are not suseptable to stress provoked cannabalism like hamsters for example. So they will not eat there babies if you handle them to much etc like hamsters, although you should always be cautious with first time mums.
Gerbils should never be given lettuce, it has to high a water content and can cause diarheoa. I have found gerbils will not be great fans of vegetable treats although Broccoli is a favourate with my lot. Popcorn is loved, my two fat boys enjoy butter flavour lol .. sunflower seeds in moderation is aso a great treat. Live treats like mealworms and waxworms are usually relished but not essential.
the cause of your gerbils death will never be known unless you had a vet do a post mortum on the body.
Andrea
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Post by j on Dec 28, 2004 0:57:57 GMT -8
How long before you realized he was dead? I think they're more apt to eat the body if its left there too long.
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Post by ursamin0r on Dec 28, 2004 21:47:33 GMT -8
Hm.... I'm not sure, but it could be anywhere from 1 to 8 hours, because I remember playing with them before I went to bed. I discovered his dead body when I woke up.
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Post by yental on Jan 17, 2005 12:00:35 GMT -8
Hey! I was very reliefed to find this thread, cause my gerbil Malte-Ole died today. [He is about 3,5 years old now, maybe a bit older already]
It was really weird, I woke up took a shower and brushed my hair and my eye fell on the tank and I saw Malte-Ole lying stretched out. I thought he was just stretching but than I saw the other one, Thorsten-Ingo eating his firkin' head!!! There was blood in the tank etc. So I was rather shocked that TI had attacked MO without any reason. I assumed it was cannibalism.
So after I took out the dead one and put in some new food water and clean coverage, I started to search on the internet for Gerbils and dead. I found this msgbrd, and searched an searched. Cool to find that it is 'natural'that leftover gerbils eat their dead "friend/bro/sis/etc" to protect themselves to attract predators, cause I really thought that TI went firkin' nuts in tha head!
But my question also is "what to do with the leftover gerbil" I don't want to buy a new one but I also think it is some what lonely for the leftover one. How can I make his empty life pleasant without buying someone else. And is it possible that the leftover will die sooner without the other one?
cheers, Yenny
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Post by moghedien on Jan 17, 2005 18:16:44 GMT -8
Okay, so I'm not the only one...
One of my gerbils died several months ago and I discovered him partially eaten by his tank-mate. Thought it was pretty nasty, but it makes sense from a survival standpoint.
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Post by queenofthenile on Jan 17, 2005 20:52:05 GMT -8
The choice about getting a new gerb is really up to you, yental. At that age, it really depends on how your gerbil is. Some gerbils when they get older are fine by themselves and will not accept another mate. If you find he starts acting depressed (lack of appetite, poor coat, or lack of energy), it may be prudent to get a friend for him. Otherwise, keep him busy with chewtoys, lots of bedding to dig in and play time outside of the cage.
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Post by callimico on Jan 17, 2005 21:17:32 GMT -8
Not all gerbils consume a dead companion. I've kept gerbils for nearly 11 years and only had one gerbil chewed by his brothers after he died. I was at a friends house so he may have been left there to long I felt horrible and was also sure I had "cannibal geribls" for a time. If he's 3 1/2 years old to he may be fine by himself. Just watch out in case he starts to gain weight or sleeps all the time, depression, so you could try to introduce a young male pup or two to him (5-8 weeks old). The younger they are the easier, use the split cage intro if you do decide he needs a companion. homepage.mac.com/kyleekay/tip-of-the-week/tip070403.htmlBut if you keep him company and let him out regularly he should be fine.
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Post by Ritzie/Admin on Jan 19, 2005 7:13:09 GMT -8
I've seen it when some pups died, but not with a dead adult gerbil! Most of the times they were burried under bedding if I was late. But I have seen it twice at other people's place.
A gerbil will never attack another gerbil, because they want to eat it! They only might attack each other if they enter a territorium or for dominance. Severe fight can cause wounds that lead to a gerbil's dead. They never kill another gerbil to eat the meat!
However, it is logical to eat a dead pup or group member if it attracts predators. Because that might kill you too! And indeed not only gerbils do it! Many small rodents are known to do this and also other animals!
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Post by Dan on Feb 10, 2005 22:14:50 GMT -8
My daughter has kept two male gerbils for about a year. Today, one was missing...digging through their shredded papers, I found nothing. I looked in their little ceramic house, though, and found the missing gerbil's tail stashed along with a fresh chew stick!
We were also creeped out about possible cannibalism, especially after they'd slept curled up together for all this time. But I'm curious why he decided to keep the tail...there wasn't a trace of the rest of the missing gerbil.
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Post by doomgerbiluk on Feb 11, 2005 3:41:55 GMT -8
The other gerbil almost certainly died first. In the wild a body will attract predators, so instinct is to get rid of the body. this can be by burying or, as you foudn, by eating the body. Very unusual for so much to be eaten though.
As for the tail, coincidence I would assume.
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Post by Dan Berkowitz on Feb 11, 2005 10:32:38 GMT -8
Thanks for the reassurance. My daughter said she hadn't checked her gerbils closely for a few days, other than to fill the water and food. So perhaps the cannabalism took place over a few days.
There was a lot of shredded paper in their tank so it might have been easy to overlook.
They had been fighting occasionally over the past two months, so perhaps the one that died had been weakend over time.
The tail...it's almost like it had been stashed away as a prized possession...or maybe a fond memory.
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