Gerbils

Question
Hi, I have had 2 gerbils for over 3 years. Recently One of them has started kicking himself in the ear to the point where he is now bleeding quite violently. Please help. They are in a K-th grade classroom and I was wondering if I should bring them home?

Answer
What you are dealing with sounds like mites in the ear. You will need to separate these two to make sure that it is not transferred to the other gerbil. I would recommend taking him home and you will need to get some ear mite medicine. You will need to get some pyrenthin mite spray with a concentration of .66 percent. This you can get a a pet store or a vet. The cage for each gerbil will need to be cleaned and sprayed for ear mite. You will need to clean all the food containers, wheels, and toys with some bleach/water mixture first them spray the bedding with the pyrenthin. The average cost of this medicine is  under $15. I hope that this helps and thank you for using all experts. Please feel free to ask all the questions you need ;)




Websites for further research:

http://www.ehow.com/how_6338169_rid-gerbil-mites.html

http://www.articlesbase.com/diseases-and-conditions-articles/contagious-ear-mite...

http://www.agsgerbils.org/Learn/Gerbil_Care_Handbook/health.php

http://www.google.com/products?q=+ear+mite+spray&hl=en&aq=f

http://www.ehow.com/video_4754160_home-remedies-ear-mites.html