Fighting gerbils

Question
QUESTION: Hello Jen.  Our female gerbils have been fighting. They have been living together since August 2007, bought them from a pet shop when they were about six weeks old.  They have been fine together until the past couple of days.  They have been running after each other and fighting, thought they were getting along better but obviously not. When we got home this evening the smaller gerbil had wounds to her rump/tail (blood).  We have separated them now, one in the cage and the other one in a big sturdy box. We have cleaned the wounds with water but it was difficult as she was wriggling about.  Should we bring her to the vet? She has eaten some food and has now curled up to rest.  We don't have a car so would have to bring her on public transport to the nearest vet, maybe that would cause more distress? Would be grateful if you could give us some advice.  Many thanks!

ANSWER:  Dear Anna,
It's good that you separated them, if you hadn't they would have fought to a death.
I would wait about 2 days and if she starts to show signs of illness, or the wounds don't start to heal a little, I would take her to the vet. Hopefully she'll get better, though.
Also, since you should probably keep them permanently separated, you should probably get a cage for the gerbil in the box. (though you probably knew that) :)
Hope all goes well.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Dear Jen
Thanks for your quick reply, it was very helpful.  Cream (the gerbil with the wounds) seems to be doing fine in the box.  She has been running around and eaten.  We haven't picked her up since cleaning the wounds, but should probably take a closer look later as we were all in a panic yesterday.  Is there anything we should be looking out for?  Is it worth cleaning the wounds again or should we leave them to heal?  I will go out and by a second cage tomorrow. Should it be the same size as the other cage or is it ok if it's slightly smaller?  The one we have has got a tank with two levels.  I read somewhere that the gerbils can take turns in using the cages, do you think this is a good idea? I still can't believe that Cookie could attack Cream like that, what could have caused it?

Answer
Dear Anna,
 You probably don't have to clean the wounds again, but you can if you want to.
As long as the cage is an appropriate size, it doesn't have to be the same. I wouldn't let Cookie and Cream (mm mm, by the way that kind of ice-cream sounds good right now! lol) take turns using each other's cages, as they will probably make nests and not want each other's scent on it if they don't like each other and were fighting.
As for things to look out for, she pretty much sounds like she is healing well. If she shows any signs of distress or illness for 2 or more days, then you should take her to the vet.
If your gerbils have a large age difference, or are from different  litters/different families, or were kept in different cages at the pet store and weren't introduced using split cage method, that may have been the cause for fighting.
Well, bye for now, let me know how everything goes.:)