We have all heard the stories about gerbils killing their tank mate and eating them – but this really is just a complete misunderstanding – and a bit of an unwelcome slight to our wonderful gerbil friends.
Gerbils really do not kill other gerbils – they can be very territorial – and woe betide any unknown gerbil trying their luck on our own gerbils patch!
But this of course, is why we have to introduce them in a specific way – and even then we never split them in groups. Please don’t ever just put ‘some gerbils together’ – it really might well end very badly…
However, they are usually very polite and patient when it comes to over-throwing the current leader of their clan as they themselves want to be the new boss.
This happens in all sorts of communal living societies – and gerbils are no different.
Usually their process for telling a lifelong tank-mate (the existing Boss) that they don’t like them anymore (and want to become the new Boss) is as follows:
How A Gerbil Declan Comes About:
They will challenge them: this usually can be seen as over-excessive food thieving, physical dominance in space (like in the nest or on ledges) and occasional telling off (the start of a chase but then just a stand-off). This is to see if they really are someone they could take over from (basically win a gerbil fight-off). You usually can’t really see this early stage yourself.
Then they threaten them: If they think that they CAN win a fight with the existing Boss – they start to give it a go. They begin to bully the gerbil they don’t want to be Boss anymore hoping they will ‘leave’. You can start to see it now yourself – if you know what to look out for.
Then they bite them: Only if the existing Boss ignores their mild warning will they start chasing and biting them – asking them a bit more eagerly: ‘please leave – you are not welcome here’. But of course the gerbil being bullied CAN’T leave (as they aren’t in the wild tundra of Mongolia – they are stuck in a giant tank with them – so have nowhere to go?).
Then they isolate them: They start to make them feel VERY unwelcome now. So finally, as the human, you start to see this bullied gerbil sitting out alone on a shelf trying to avoid being noticed. They might stop eating (as the food is a beating up point) and they might stop drinking if the water is a guarded location too. They may have bites on their back and tail too. Basically, they really want to run away – but they can’t. It is really stressful fearing for your life like this – so you can sometimes see them actually panting at this point.
They have had enough: Only if you haven’t seen any of these milder signs (or something happens suddenly like an injury, seizure of new scent accidentally added to the enclosure) will you suddenly come in to find your gerbil totally beaten up – often with terrible injuries to the back feet and tail. They will be out of breath and exhausted – they need instant removal, painkillers and total sanctuary to recover.
Only if your bullied gerbil was already ill (and this was the reason for the declan) or had accidentally injured themselves during one of the many fights would they die from these injuries.
We have never had a gerbil die during a declan – even a bad sudden one – and we have had a lot of declans. But, we have had – and heard of – gerbils dying several weeks or months after a declan. Most likely the ‘reason’ for the declan – not the result.
So, Why Would I See My Gerbil Eating My Other Gerbil?
Most often, you will see your beloved gerbil eating your other gerbil (who they loved immensely) – or find one of your gerbils (who looked perfectly healthy yesterday) – dead and having been eaten is because of the following statements being mis-interpreted:
“your gerbil eating your other gerbil” – gerbils do not eat other gerbils. They are not a cannibalistic species – and do not have the natural drive to catch and eat other live mammals – especially not when they have been living in comfy warm homes for generations – being fed all the food they could ever want?
“who they loved immensely” – gerbils are great actors. Gerbil clans are often a mysterious web of control and manipulation. One of the gerbils has to be the dominant one and the other one has to effectively do as they are told all the time. If they make any suggestion that they won’t do what the Boss says they will beat them up and quite possibly chase them out of the clan. So they stay quiet and pretend to love the Boss to keep the peace. Usually it is a very fine balance between friendship and chaos!
“who looked perfectly healthy yesterday” – gerbil can die looking healthy. Unfortunately – just like with all prey species – they can’t afford to look weak or injured. They won’t sit and whinge about a sore foot, toothache or a broken tail – they just have to carry one. Act totally normally and do all the things it needs to do to survive. You as a human, won’t usually see they are ill until they are REALLY ill – then almost within an hour – they can hunch up, get cold and close their eyes. They really don’t want to look ill all the while there is still fight in them!
“and having been eaten” – some gerbils react strangely to a death. If the death is a sudden seizure or heart failure or creates erratic physical movement or behaviours – sometimes the other gerbil just doesn’t know what to do? They may paw at their face if they were struggling to breath or making noises – they may bite them all over if they were flailing etc. We have had a gerbil that was alive and looked normal before a supermarket shopping trip – upon return she was dead at the front of the tank with her bottom lip totally eaten away. No other signs of injury anywhere. She couldn’t possibly have been killed.
Some people say that gerbils often ‘tidy up’ their dead friends – to prevent them attracting predators. There may be something in this – but more often than not we find animals that have passed simply buried in a corner – under the substrate. Bless.
So, basically the long and short of it is that you won’t find your gerbil eating your other gerbil while it is alive or after having killed it.
You may however, find a very confused and lonely gerbil who is now alone (and who needs plenty of treats and warmth to recover…).
Okay but I has two gerbils both boys and siblings they grew up together that had a massive cage and places to play and hide but one day I come home and one has a chunk of the other gerbils foot and was chewing it after that 3 hrs later there is barely anything left of the gerbil and the other died on the other side of the cage
I’m soory that you had to witness this – it is never pleasant to see with a veloved pet – even though we know it is only natural instinct for our pets.
Hopefully your gerbil passed quickly initially, and your other gerbil was only doing their duty to keep the nest clean and safe from predators. We sometimes can’t understand why they do the things they do – but at least we know deep down that there isn’t anything mean about it – it is just what they need to do.
Bless them, and thanks for being brave enough to share your sad story.