[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> My gerbils soemtimes get blood around their nsoes. Why? They do have Wooden
> houses in the cage. What should I do other then taking out the wood. They
> like to chew it.
Most of the time bloody and/or raw looking noses are signs of an allergy. If
one puts wooden toys or houses in the cage, that could be the culprit. Other
times it is the bedding itself, or a combination of the two. I've had
gerbils that are allergic to aspen and possibly even Carefresh. Other
litters to try are corncob and walnut. In a 10-year span of gerbil
breeding/keeping before aspen, carefresh and other bedding were available, I
used pine and corncob. The gerbils that had problems with pine were kept on
corncob, and I never had a problem with it (corncob). Now, I'm currently
using a mix of carefresh and aspen with no problems. I have tried walnut
(very small, ground up bedding usually sold for birds and reptiles) and while
on that bedding, the gerbils' coats stayed nice and shiny with no need for a
dust bath ... and without any problems. Some stores sell "mini-cob" bedding,
which is a smaller, ground up form of corn cob litter but a little bigger
than walnut litter.
One time someone said to me irritated noses could also be a sign of stress.
I've had some problems with allergic gerbils in the past, and their noses
would take weeks to heal up, even with a change of bedding. Then I had at
least two different gerbils that went to a new home while having reddish
noses that were taking their time to clear up here, and they cleared up
quickly at their new home ... so maybe stress was a factor in those cases.
You can put neosporin on the nose to help it heal.
Emily F.
--
Owner/occasional breeder of Second Chance Clan gerbils
Governing Committee Member of the American Gerbil Society
Adopt a gerbil -- http://www.gurlpages.com/other/emandkel/adopt.html
http://www.gurlpages.com/other/emandkel/index.html
http://greenfield.fortunecity.com/bnfl/574/index.html (pictures)
