# Bleeding gerbil



## Cranwelli (Mar 24, 2009)

One of my gerbils, "Napoleon", has gashes on his testicles and anus :whip: - mainly the anus but also the under-tail around that area. It_ looks_ like it has been bleeding from a fight with his brother rather than it being an internal problem due to the kind of damage. I haven't seen them have serious fights, only playing. If they did fight then they've got split personalities due them snuggling together peacefully right now! Napoleon is usually the more dominant gerbil which is odd.

I'm not sure if it IS a fight though. Would anything cause him to "self-harm" if there was an internal problem?


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## Mischievous_Mark (Mar 16, 2008)

Cranwelli said:


> One of my gerbils, "Napoleon", has gashes on his testicles and anus :whip: - mainly the anus but also the under-tail around that area. It_ looks_ like it has been bleeding from a fight with his brother rather than it being an internal problem due to the kind of damage. I haven't seen them have serious fights, only playing. If they did fight then they've got split personalities due them snuggling together peacefully right now! Napoleon is usually the more dominant gerbil which is odd.
> 
> I'm not sure if it IS a fight though. Would anything cause him to "self-harm" if there was an internal problem?


Ive never herd of any self mutilation in Gerbils :S


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## Cranwelli (Mar 24, 2009)

Just trying to look at all possibilities I suppose. I read that fat-tail gerbils can self-harm in the form of excessive nibbling when they have a blockage. Could be the same for the Mongolian.

I think it is the sibling doing the damage though. I just find it odd the submissive one is attacking the dominant. It has never done so before.


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## 9Red (May 30, 2008)

If you house two male rodents together occasionally the dominant male will attempt to eliminate any competition for dominance/mates/resources by attacking the other male and targetting the testes in a crude castration attempt. I had a syrian hamster years ago with only one ball as he'd lost the other in a fight with his larger male sibling.

My advice would be to gently clean the area using a mild saline (salt and water) solution and a cotton wool ball, then see about seperating your males permantly to avoid any more nasty fights.


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## Amalthea (Oct 2, 2007)

Gerbils can and do de-clan... Although, usually female mongolians are more likely to o so than males. I would imagine that is what's happened, though, which is a shame, because they do better in groups. 

Syrians should never be kept together after about 12 weeks' of age or so. They will fight to the death and are very solitary animals.


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## 9Red (May 30, 2008)

Amalthea said:


> Syrians should never be kept together after about 12 weeks' of age or so. They will fight to the death and are very solitary animals.


Indeed, this one came to me as a 4 week old rescue.


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## Amalthea (Oct 2, 2007)

I would imagine he was probably kept with his Dad then...  Poor lad  Syrians are usually ok together til about 10-12 weeks.


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## vikki21 (Jun 17, 2008)

i would say the gerbils have been fighting. ive been keeping gerbils for many years and always found that after a while they scrap and best to seperate. they will generally fight at dusk when more active and no-one around. clean the wounds up and try keep them clean as possible to prevent infection. if you leave them together one will probably end up dead if afraid to say. i always found it weird as always states that gerbils better in pairs/groups but ive always found that after 3yrs max they fight and end up being split.ive currently got2girls and theyre about 3yrs but ok so far. hope yours are ok and good luck x


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## Cranwelli (Mar 24, 2009)

I've placed them back together now and they're fine. Some days I'm with them all day and they haven't been fighting except for one stealing the others food, which is normal. :2thumb:


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## Geckogirl_88 (Apr 24, 2009)

Hi
I used to have two male gerbils and we found the same injuries on them 3 times. It only one got infected and we took it to the vet where it got anti-biotics. Otherwise we would just dab/wipe it with salt water till it started healing.
Havent a clue why they do it but iv only seen it in males so maybe its a dominance thing.
Hope this helps 
xx


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