My gerbil with pink patch eye

Question
Hello. I was the one who asked you about the pink patch around the eye of my new gerbil. Well, the patch went away a bit, so the gerbil looks better. Sorry to bother you with the first question. Now, I noticed a new problem. My new gerbil seem to have a sort of an infection in the left ear. Not like an inner infection, but the one that seems to be dried up blood on the outside. It had happened before and disappeared for a while, but it appeared again. Is it contagious and can I do anything to cure it? My new gerbil seems to have problems all the time while the older gerbil seems perfectly fine...Thank you for taking the time

Answer
Hi Yoshi

Are you sure your gerbils aren't fighting?  Blood around the ear area (if there is no logical explanation) would suggest a bite.  Can you examine them both and check there are no teeth marks on either of them.  To do this you need to stroke their fur backwards and have a look for any tell-tale red marks.  If the blood is actually coming from inside the ear canal then it would be worth getting this checked out by a vet as they may need to prescribe antibiotics or some type of ear drops.  If it is superficial, more like a scratch then I would think that it has either been caused by fighting or playing.  If there are bite marks on them both then you should consider separating them - but only do this if you are sure they are fighting as once you have separated them you won't be able to reintroduce them.

Apart from this how is your gerbil behaving?  Is it lively and busy most of the time or are there signs that it is unwell?  If it is behaving normally, then it is probably fine - if it is ill with an infection or similar then there will probably be other symptoms, which would need investigating further.  

I hope this helps.
Regards