I have had my gerbils just over four weeks so they are about 11 weeks old. After I had had them for 2 weeks one of them developed a sore nose. It looked like he was having a nose bleed. I read on the net that gerbil's mucas is red and that it may be an alergic reaction to the sawdust so I changed it imediately. It didn't make any difference and he has been scratching it alot and he even scratched a big piece of skin off. As a result he has bald patches around his nose which have not grown back yet as he is still scratching it. He had a small bald patch by his eye from scratching but that has now cleared up. I took him to the vet and he gave me some liquid to put on the nose but so far this has not made any difference and it cost £26! Up until today the other gerbil has been fine but now he has a bloody nose. The vet said it may be dermatius or ringworm but I am unsure what to do. The vet said if the liquid formula didn't work then I should take him back and have him knocked out and samples taken from his nose, but I don't really want to put such a young gerbil through the trauma when it could be avoided. They both scratch their noses which makes me think it is an allergy, could it be the sawdust? I avoid cedar and pine if I can, is there a particular brand that may help or could I use something else such as sand?
If anyone has experienced similar problems with their pets please let me know as I welcome any advice at all.

im a bunny owner, and buns have the same probs with sawdust. i use a recycled paper based cat litter. its safe for buns but no idea bout gerbils. i know you can get a paper based bedding from p@h tho for small animals.
hope that helps

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mum to 2 kitty's and one bun

What sort of housing do you have them in?

a plastic tank

Stolenkissgerbils has already answered this question in the small animal section

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