Gerbil nose concerns

Question
Hi;

Thanks for the response.  I found a website about mites and it showed me how to sort of check for them but i don't think he has a mite problem.  I found some pictures of something called nasal dermititis that, based on how it looks, seems to be what he has.  Most sites of seen say that severe cases need antibiotics but the infection tends to be self limiting, but I don't know what that means.  Do you have any thoughts on this?


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Followup To

Question -
hi, my little gerbil Gizmo is maybe 2-3 months old.  i noticed a small red hairless spot just underneath his left nostril about a week ago.  just today, i had him out and further down his nose past his whiskers there seems to be a another red, perhaps slightly swollen spot.  they aren't oozing or filled with puss or anything and it doesn't look like any images of infection i've seen.  he's always used aspen bedding.  i found an online site that said mucus is often mistaken for redness or blood and that this sort of redness is sometimes the result of chewing on plastic or cage bars.  my other concern was that he might have had an itch and just scratched too hard.  i tried to get him to hold still for a picture, but that met with limited success.  he only came home from the pet store maybe a month ago, do you think i should be concerned?  is there any sort of OTC cream or something i could get him that might help?

Answer -
Hmmmmm... what it could be is mites. Have you checked his fur for any ticks or mites. This is what I would do, buy some bird mite spray. Try that and see if anything happens for a week. If nothing happens take him to a vet for some antibiotics. What he may have is a mite that lives under the skin if the mite spray doesn't work. Please keep me posted. I really do suggest just taking your gerbil to a vet as there is nothing on the market that would help out with the swollen spots. Keep me updated.

Answer
Hmmm.. self limiting I believe means that it will go away on it's own or it won't get any worse. hmmm wow you know what I would do though. I would switch his bedding to carefresh or use kay kob bedding to try to see if that helps with his nasal problems. Sometimes any type of wood shavings and aspen on rare occasions can make respiratory problems or nasal problems so kay-kob or carefresh is really good to use. I hope i've helped out and I'm glad you actually found out what he may have. Now I am better informed about a disease I haven't seen before. :-) Thanks for helping me lol.