Another Strange Sad Gerbil Death

[zouave]

Earlier this month I posted in this forum about Shiva and Leandra, and how the latter died. Their behavior seemd odd, and inexplicable.

A few days ago I noticed a small number of mites in the tank of Edan and Sapphire (name AND color). Edan was an unusual DEW but with a lightening gene.

Edan was older than Sapphire who was intro'd to him several months ago. They got along just fine.

I was out of the usual insecticide powder, and the store had none in stock. So, I reverted back to usimg "8 in 1's" Ultra Care spray, and disinfecting the tank. The wooden things were all put in the freezer.

So, they went into a mostly empty, but with bedding and wheel, 10 gallon holding tank. I heard a little agitation, but I might expect that in an empty tank, although in a dark place.

Several hours later I found Edan dead on the floor with about five bites in various places. Each had blood, but none seemed especially deep.

Sapphire will be living alone now, as will Shiva. I have no idea what caused him to go nuts. Yes, he was sprayed, but so was Edan - and so were two other gerbils in a second tank who are just fine. I see no reason why spraying with anything and getting the fur somewhat wet would result in aggression.

Sapphire was not even that jumpy as I sprayed him and rubbed it in, nor did he try to bite me, although he is generally a bit hyper compared to other gerbils.

So, we have another mystery death. Edan is in the freezer now awaiting a good time for a proper burial.

[maxthegerbil]

Hi Zouave. After reading your post, I immediately thought that the spray used on the gerbils was the cause for this upset. My reasoning being, that even though both gerbils (having lived in harmony up until then) were both sprayed with something unfamiliar to them, which could well have caused both gerbils to turn on one another.

I have no idea what you used because I am in the U.K and have never had to dust or treat spray my gerbils with anything, but have had my mouse treated once a week for three weeks by my vet for suspected mites with ivermectin (topical on the back of the neck).

Ivermectin is a nerve agent and attacks the nervous system of the mites concerned and if overdosed, can affect the animals nervous system itself, which is why it has to be administered by a vet. The dose is diluted for different animals and is not actually licenced for use in small pets, but vets do use it.

I would warn anyone against treating with sprays and dusting powders to first consult their vet to determine what course of action is best taken. Mite dust powder sold to treat birds is sometimes used, but I would`nt use this either without consulting a vet because you need to know if the animal licks this solution off when cleaning itself, whether it`s safe to do so?

I`m so sorry to hear about your gerbil Zouave and it`s so easy to buy things from a shop and self medicate at home and gerbils being the little territorial terrors that they are! may well take violently to a strange substance forced upon them. Just my own thoughts really, but perhaps something we should all think about...

[ashgerbil]

aww, so sad
i think it may've been because of the spray too. but maybe when you sprayed them, they smelt like completely different gerbils (as gerbils recognise eachother by smell) and they did not recognise eachother because of this? they then fought because they thought eachother to be a strange-smelling new gerbil (being such territorial terrors as max said!) and unfortunately Edan came off worse?
although, it could be as max said and it was an injury caused by the spray itself...

[maxthegerbil]

Hi ashgerbil. I think Zouave sprayed two other gerbils at the same time, but they did`nt react? It could be that one of the gerbils had a bad reaction to the spray that was used, or the other gerbil in with him took a disliking to the false scent? It`s very difficult to say really.

It could be that they were in an unfamiliar tank at the time as Zouave said (which was also sprayed)..... So is this 8 in 1 Ultra Care Spray for treating tanks AND the gerbils? Or is it only for spraying cages and accessories? I would imagine it was for animal use or you would`nt have used it.

I would be very cautious of these over the counter products to be honest. I know people use them successfully, but it`s so easy to use something that`s labelled for rabbits & guinea pigs for example, on smaller rodents like mice and gerbils. Again, always read the label to make sure it can be used on smaller rodents and that it actually treats mites/lice, as apposed to fleas and ticks, which gerbils don`t get.

[maxthegerbil]

Forgot to mention in my post above: ashgerbil, your Dusty is the spitting image of my gerbil Dibble!

[coloradogerbils]

I have used the 8 in 1 UltraCare spray on all of my gerbils, including 4 week old pups with no problems whatsoever. It also killed all of the mites instantly and I never saw them again. However, the first time I had mites I used advantange or the other dog flea/mite killer (given to me by a vet w/dosage, etc...can't remember which brand it was!) and it took a couple of doses to get the mites to leave. It says on the bottle (of the 8 in 1) that it is safe to use on all small rodents and their tanks/toys.

Still, I suppose the different smell could trigger the gerbils to react violently towards a cagemate. My 3 cages didn't, but certain gerbils might be more sensitive and more prone to that kind of thing.

I'm really sorry to hear about the death of your gerbil!