> Hi. I was feeding all my gerbils yesterday when I noticed my 9 week old
> Siamese female was limping. Concerned, I took her out, and to my horror,
saw
> that her left hind foot was mutilated. It is mostly chew off, altough
still
> attached is twisted around and dead. The other half is a stump covered in
> dried blood. I was shocked- she was in with her normally placid mother
who
> had never done anything like this. I took the mother out, and after
feeling
> her, realized that she is very thin. I am not sure what to do about
either-
> the skinny mother who is eating well but not gaining anything, and the
> half-mutilated baby. The baby looks good otherwise and is moving around
> well. Any ideas? Thanks
>
> Sarah
>
It's possible that the mother was trying to chase her out of the nest. I
have had gerbil moms do this with older litters when it was time for a new
litter to be delivered.
Is there any other gerbils in the tank? If there is a male in there, the mom
may have felt that the nine week old female was a threat to her, by this I
mean, the mother may have felt that the younger female may try to challenge
her for the male.
Ann-Marie Roberts
T&T Gerbils, member of the AGS
Pup Count Project creator and maintainer
Please visit my website and pup count project at:
http://www.geocities.com/Petsburgh/Reserve/1928/
The American Gerbil Society
http://www.geocities.com/amergerbsoc/index.html
