# Gerbil cannibalism!



## Bobble'n'Moo

Hi, I am after some info and this is going to sound a little strange. Last January I adopted 4 gerbils. They were about two years old and had always been together so I didnt expect any problems with them and was only expecting to get about a year or maybe two out of them. About 3 months ago I found one of them dead in their play tube but he hadn't been ill and the tube wasn't blocked so I put it down to old age and thought no more about it. In the last week or so one of the remaining 3 has been sleeping a lot on his feet but eating and drinking fine so I thought maybe he was feeling a bit old and was preparing to lose him however, yesterday afternoon, I found one of my perfectly healthy gerbils dead as a dodo on his back in the cage with his eyes wide open. I had just cleaned them out and he had been fine running around in his ball, also he was the biggest and most playful one of them so I was very suprised and upset by this. Again, there were no obvious signs of what caused him to die so suddenly. The remaining 2 were quite busy digging their cave etc last night but when I came down this morning the one which has been quiet all week was dead, half buried, with one eye and half his face missing. He had obviously been attacked, I just hope he slipped away before it happened. I now have only one gerbil. He seems perfectly happy and healthy although I can't quite beleive what he has done! Can anyone suggest what on earth is going on? I have had 3 and 4 gerbils before and never had this problem. Sorry it's such a long one!:idea:


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## StolenkissGerbils

How old were your gerbils? If they were babies in January that's not old age for gerbils.

There are two possibilities. The first is that you have one remaining survivor who was the bully, killed the others. This would seem a bit unlikely to me though because you say the first two had no signs of any injuries or apparent cause of death.

The other is that they died of natural causes. The cannibalism is normal in gerbils, although obviously it's a horrible thing to see. When a cage mate dies it can happen that the survivor will nibble at the body. It's not always the case but they don't form attachments to each other the same way as we do, meaning that once they die the survivors might just view the body as a protein source. They aren't really domesticated like dogs are, they're still semi-wild. So what you saw would be what would happen in the wild.

I'm really sorry for your loss. It can't have been pleasant to see your little pets like that. But rest assured it's not anything you did wrong. I can't tell you what they all died of - it'll have to remain a mystery unfortunately.


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## Bobble'n'Moo

Hi, They were about 2 years old when I got them so around 3 by now. I had no idea they ate eachother when they died. I'm glad I got the first two out of their tank quickly, I don't think I could put up with this 3 times in a row! Thanks very much for your response, it puts my mind at rest.


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## sullivan

We had 3 gerbils and one bullied one of the others to the point of he was to scared to come out from a tube . I separated them and he is alot more settled and has regained a little weight as i think he was pushed out by the bully of the 3. The other two seemed fine so have left them. Yes ive heard of cannalism in gerbils and my friends russian hamster ate his friend as there was no body to be found and no where it could have escaped from. I think 3 years is quite good for gerbils any way.


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## StolenkissGerbils

3 years is a good average age for a gerbil - you're probably right, old age is the most likely culprit. The average lifespan is 2-5 years but 2 would be called quite young to die and you'd be happy to see them live to 4. 5 is an exceptional gerbil.

Glad you're not worrying anymore


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## Hannish

hi i have 2 gerbils and i think they are fighting as they keep on chasing each other around but are running quite fast but then they stop and 1 of them spys on the other one and then they start running again and then there is squeeling and one of them stays in the tube and the otherone blocks it and i dont know why ?? .


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