Expert: Sheila Adby - 10/22/2009

Question
Good day Sheila  I have one gerbil I adopted back in January, when I got him from the rescue he was already about 1 1/2 years old. He's well above 2 now. I noticed tonight that he appears to have sore nose...although he was fine last night, his nose seems to be secreting a lot of red fluid. (obviously from the gland they have) He's really scratching at it, I offered him a dust bath, which he enjoyed, but is there anything I can do for him at home to treat it. He seems pretty quiet tonight as well. Not sure what's causing it...no obvious changes or stress. To make it worse he's a white gerbil and it looks terrible. I feel badly for him, but likely won't be able to get him to the vet for a few days. I'll see if the vet will see him when my ham gets his teeth trimmed, hopefully he'll squeeze him in. Any thoughts?? Do you know what type of treatment is likely? Thanks for your time. KJ

Answer
Hi

It's good to hear from you again - sorry your gerbil has got a sore nose.

Is the soreness internal or external?  If internal then this does need investigating.  It could be that he has got a foreign body inside his nose that is causing a problem. What are his teeth like?  Are they OK?  It might be worth checking them to make sure one hasn't overgrown and is causing a problem.   If external, then it is probably down to burrowing.  The key thing is that his nose is kept clean.  You could apply some mild salt water to it, or use teatree cream as this is a natural antiseptic.  Aloe Vera might also help.  If there is any swelling then it may have infected in which case a vet would need to give antibiotics.

Bathing his nose might make him feel a bit more comfortable as it is obviously sore and irritating him as he keeps scratching.

It is a good idea to get a vet to have a look if they will fit him in when you take your hamster in.  Mine is usually very accommodating if I turn up with more than one animal - I just have to speak at twice the speed so I don't take up more than my standard appointment time!

Hope you get on OK.

Regards