On Sun, 4 Feb 2001, Susanne wrote:
> Are inner ear infections contagious?
Depends on what exactly is causing them.
> What exactly causes them?
Ear infections can be caused by any number of bacteria or viruses. In
humans, ear infections are usually caused by a fluid build-up in the
eustation tubes. Small people have them more often because of a less
favorable angle on the tubes.
> Is there something we should or shouldn't be doing?
Antibiotics are usually good, because typically even an ear infection that
strarts viral will end up with a secondary bacterial infection.
> Can genetics be involved?
Yes.
> We do seem to have a big percentage of growths in the ear in our
> gerbil population.
> Over half of our 24 gerbils have them, and they are basically all
> from one set of parents.
>
> Any advice would be appreciated.
Stop breeding gerbils from the line that is known to have these
problems. If you wish to continue to breed, start over with animals
that come from more healthy lines.
Michelle
Flutist
