Bobert Silly wrote:
> Hi everybody, I've just had a turn for the worst in my gerbil clan. A few
> days ago I noticed that Misty, one of my two gerbils, was getting rather
> large. In fact she was probably twice the size of Claire my other gerbil. I
> thought that maybe it was just that there were too many sunflower seeds in
> their food and Misty was eating them all. So I decided to start taking out
> more sunflower seeds and to let Misty exercise more but then last night I
> returned home in the evening and when I went to look at my gerbils, Misty
> had passed away. I found her lying stretched out in a bottle that they use
> as a litter box. Also on her stomach, possibly were her scent gland was, I
> found a large scab or something. It was red and about 2cm long and 1cm wide.
> So what I'm wondering is if Misty died of natural causes or if she had some
> ailments. Both gerbils are about 4 year old females, and the only recent
> change was that I switched from dirt to corncob bedding about a month ago.
> Also will Claire be lonely now? She's been with Misty her entire life. Any
> help would be greatly appreciated.
>
> TTFN
> BOBERT
> _________________________________________________________________________
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Sounds like she died of a scent gland tumor. Four is a ripe old age, though, so
she had a good long life. I've not had that much luck trying to introduce
elderly females to a new cagemate - I'd just make sure she has plenty of toys
and attention, and watch her closely. If she acts depressed then you can try to
do something about it.
--
Tana and The Little Rascals
http://members.home.net/tlr-gerbilry
