Gerbil Cancer?

Question
QUESTION: Can gerbils get cancer? We have a female gerbil, around 2 years of age, who just RECENTLY had her arm swelled up.  Her hand did not fall off, it is still attached. It is so swelled, that is looks like an arm made out of a gun.  After we found out last night, we cleaned her cage immediately. My guess is that she has a tumor. If you need to know, she lives with 3 other female gerbils.

ANSWER: Hi Tabitha

Gerbils can get tumors - often, however, they are on their belly - which is a very glandular part of a gerbil.

Is there any possibility the other gerbils have been fighting and she got bitten?  If so, this would explain the swelling as there is clearly some sort of infection or injury to cause it to swell so much.  Can you examine her and the others?  Gently stroke their fur backwards and see if there signs of any bite marks on their skin.  Are there any platforms that she could have fallen from?  Perhaps she's broken a bone - in which case there is little that can be done and it is often a case of nature healing it.

I suggest you get her checked out by a vet as quickly as possible.  Your vet will be able to confirm what is causing the swelling and prescribe antibiotics and pain killers. If this is as a result of fighting you might need to seriously look at separating her out from the others.

Good luck with this, please let me know how you get on.

Regards

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

QUESTION: Sheila,

I checked and there are no wounds. I never see them fight; they are all loving cagemates.  Two of the gerbils in that cage, including our swelling gerbil, has had twisted/broken bones before: their legs.  We have a guess that it is from the wheel, which is why we took it out.  Their legs have never swelled up, though.

Now, a week later, her arm is getting much worse.  Since you or I haven't heard of a cancer on arms, I am guessing it's not a tumour anymore.  I don't see how it can be an injury, either, though.  Today we checked up on her and blood suddenly appeared on her legs, mouth, and swelling arm!  They don't fight, so I don't have a clue what it is from.  They are getting along just fine...

The swelling isn't just hurting her arm, though.  Now that it's much bigger, her shoulder is popping out really far.  I'm afraid it might burst because it's getting so big.  You would be astonished to see the difference between a regular paw and her swelled up one.  It used to not be a problem.  She used to act like it wasn't even swelled, and she'd been able to climb up into the food dish.  I put it on the ground so that she can reach it.  Our cages are (I believe) 10 gallon glass tanks.  We try to clean them once a week.

No matter what, I can't get my dad to get her to the vet.  I know how important it is to do so, but apparently he is unwilling to pay for it just for one gerbil out of 36.

Thanks so much for your help!
Tabitha

Answer
Hi Tabitha

Sorry to hear your gerbil is getting worse.  I appreciate the cost involved with veterinary fees, but this gerbil definitely needs expert medical attention.  Sometimes it is possible to confirm or negotiate vet fees before booking an appoitment, but this really depends on your vet and how busy they are.  

Good luck with this.

Regards