I'm a little concerned. First I should say that both my beloved Einstein and his mate have passed away, within only 2 days of each other. My husband found Einstein, and came and told me about it, but I never saw the body. Today I went to give Trinity some new feed and check up on the lonely gal, only to find her stretched out on her side and dead.
The odd thing is, she had a rather large patch of fur missing on the side of her neck, almost as if she had vigorously chewed it off in an attempt to get at something. She was absolutely fine the day before. A bit sleepy when I checked her water, but she definitely had no patch of missing fur. This is my concern. Obviously something happened very rapidly, when she was in otherwise fine health. Could loneliness suddenly drive a gerbil to commit such a weird kind of suicide? Or should I be looking for something more hidden? Both these gerbils were kept outside, and were doing just fine. Could some bug have gotten in the cage and bit or stung her, the poison killing her while she tries to rid herself of the wound? Or is it a sudden onset of disease? The patch she had chewed off was the size of a quarter!, and the skin beneath was very dark and leathery looking. She obviously did not die from the chewing itself though, as there was no blood. Of course, when I clean the cage, I'm planning on sanitizing it thoroughly, and changing my clothes before handling my other pair of gerbils. I'm just worried it could have been something contagious - and I don't want my breeding pair infected (though they are inside, I know how sneaky germs can be). Does anyone have any clues? I have yet had a chance to ask my husband more about Einstein - he works days and I work nights, so we have little time for long discussions. :) But I will see what he says about him. It's just so weird. Any ideas or clues would be appreciated. Thanks! -Jackie and The Copper Dragon Clan
