Do you think your gerbil has fleas or mites? If yes you will need to take action strait away as fleas will make your gerbil very uncomftable and will not go away in their own. So how to get rid of fleas on a gerbil?
To get rid of fleas from your gerbil, you will need to bathe them in special flea shampoo, then dry them and apply flea powder daily. It is also very important to treat the environment they are in.
Items You Will Need
Below is a list of things you will need for this guide
How Do I Know if My Gerbil Has Fleas?
There are several ways you can know if your gerbil has fleas and mites. You can detect this through checking the gerbil’s body. You can also check if your gerbil has fleas through other means.
Here are the ways you can know if your gerbil has fleas or mites
- Inspection : Thorough inspection of your gerbil’s fur and skin will let you know if it has fleas or not. To do this, you can push the rodent’s far away from their normal position to get a good view of the skin and the fleas. If your gerbil has fleas, you can also notice them around the gerbil’s cage or on the carpets.
- Flea Waste : Fleas excrete after digesting the blood they sucked from their host. They excrete small dark dust-like balls of dirt on the skin of the victim. You can also notice this on your gerbil’s body to show it has fleas on its body.
- Flea Bite Marks : When fleas bite and suck their host, they leave a mark on their victim’s body. When fleas finish sucking the blood they need, they rub saliva on the bite spot to numb the area. The body notices this substance and provides the swelling as a protective mechanism against the saliva.
- Swelling On The Skin : The bumps are usually red, and it might not be easy to see if the fur is in the way. You will have to push the fur away to have a view.
- Flea Comb : The flea comb is a tightly-spaced teeth comb that picks up fleas, and every one of its by-products. You only have to run it through the gerbil’s fur and check if the teeth caught any flea.
How to Get Rid of Fleas in Gerbils
It is very important to treat your gerbil and the gerbils environment for fleas and mites. Make sure you follow all the steps below to treat your gerbil for fleas
1. Bathe Gerbil With Flea Shampoo
The first step is to bathe your gerbil with flea shampoo (You can get the special shampoo you need on Amazon), fill your sink with a few inches of warm water then add your gerbil. Wet the grebils coat completely. Add a few drops of the flea shampoo and massage in to the coat.
Leave the shampoo on for a few minutes before washing off. I recommend to repeat this step one more time to make sure we get all the fleas and mites.
2. Place Gerbil In A New Temporary Environment
At this stage it is very important not to add the gerbil back in to its original environment. The original environment needs to be cleaned and treated because the fleas in their cage could re-infect your gerbil.
You could add your gerbil to a clean small gerbil cage or a gerbil exercise ball (Both available on amazon)
3. Clean Your Gerbils Cage
We now need to give the gerbils cage a good clean. We need to make sure we remove all fleas from the cage other wise they will multiply and get back on to your gerbil.
Remove everything from your gerbils cage and give everything a good clean. I recommend to replace the bedding with new bedding and give all ornaments a good soaking in hot water for at least 10 minutes.
Give the cage a good vacuum which will catch any fleas and mites that are left.
4. Place Your Gerbil Back In The Cage
Now that your gerbil has been cleaned and the cage has been cleaned we can place the gerbil back in to the cage.
5. Monitor For Signs Of Fleas
It will be normal for your gerbil to keep scratching itself for the next few days, but it should reduce and completely stop within two days.
During this time it is important to look out for fleas and flea eggs to make sure they do not come back.
What do Gerbil Fleas Look Like?
There are over 2500 species of fleas, with most species particular to a host. There are no flea species particular to gerbils, but any flea will gladly feed on them when they get the chance. Generally, fleas are small-sized parasites that live off the body and blood of their host.
They usually have the shape of small grain rice with their little but visible legs underneath them. Their color ranges from black to black with small sizes, but you can still see them with your eyes. All species of fleas look the same with not physical exemption to gerbil fleas.
How Do Gerbils Get Fleas?
Gerbils can get fleas from one another as fleas can jump from one animal to the other. If any of your pet has fleas, then your gerbil might have fleas also. Although fleas might have their favorites, they can also feed on any warm-blooded animal they come across.
If your gerbil has had fleas before, the fleas might be in the carpet or its cage. Once they can cling to any host, which can be your gerbil, they start another life. So, your gerbil can have fleas in several ways, provided the flea is at the right spot.
You only have to make sure you treat and take good care of your gerbil to save it from the infestation of fleas.
Why is My Gerbil Scratching Himself a Lot?
Gerbils can scratch themselves due to several reasons. You can notice your gerbil scratching himself in a bid to relieve the itch and bite of fleas. You will see it scratching itself with its teeth and claws more often than usual.
Your gerbil will also scratch its body when it has mites on its skin. You will even notice it is rubbing its body against its cage wall to reduce the itch caused by these organisms.
Conclusion
You can get rid of fleas from your gerbils using several effective methods. You have to make sure you treat them effectively and quickly to save your gerbil a lot of itching and scratching problems.
Anti-flea powders are also powerful enough to get rid of fleas from your gerbil. Regular and thorough cleaning of its cage will also help you get rid of them. Sand baths will also perform the needed flea elimination process.
Gerbils are small rodents, usually reared and kept as pets. These rodents look like hamsters and have relatively thick fur that houses many smaller organisms like fleas. These organisms, including fleas, disrupt gerbils’ well-being, making it necessary for you to get rid of them.
