Weird gerbil behaviour?

Question

I have gerbils and I noticed something very odd that they do. Everytime one of the gerbils die,the other gerbils will eat their face/head. They don't eat any other body parts except the face. I've tried to find out why they do this and I can never find anything about this certain behavior. Some of my gerbils die of old age and some die a short time after I buy them...I don't want people to think I abuse them or anything.....and I'm usually unaware of the death b/c I'm at school or just not their by their tank all the time. I just got back from school and my Mom told me that one of the gerbils died, it's face was gone and it's body was still warm when she took it's body out of the tank....they seem evil lol

I don't breed them. They are all females. I buy them at Petsmart. I feed them fresh salads daily. They are in a 20 gallon tank,they have a wheel,tunnels,a see saw that I made for them ^-^, a dust bath house thing...anyways..I know that they eat each other, that doesn't suprise me...I just wonder why they eat only the face and the rest of the body is untouched...It reminds me of some kind of horror movie...like some one already said, like Silence of the Lambs....where the victims were all female and were overweight...idk...lol....I'm 19 just in case y'all are wondering..

I forgot to add that there were 4 in the tank but now there is only 3

Answer 1

I'm not sure how old you are so I will warn you that the following is graphic text.


This behavior in rodents is not weird, but very normal and has nothing to do with their spiritualism. It has nothing to do with them starving so that they have to resort to eating their cage mates. And it's not evil. I have a good idea that you love your pets very much, and you are skilled in caring for them. It's just that rodents are rodents, and they do what they need to do to survive.

This behavior is more prevalent in some lines then others. Are you breeding gerbils so that you have a family of related animals? If yes, then you are breeding gerbils that will continue this trait of eating their dead. Other gerbils may not even consider doing this and just lie with the body until it is removed from the cage.

Just a thought. Do you think that the gerbils might feel that they are over-crowded in their cage? Another reason for this behavior.

Rodents are prey animals and this behavior of eating their dead is an instinctual throw-back to their wild ways.

If they leave the carcass of the deceased where it fell when it died, the odor of decay would draw the attention of unwanted predators to the colony. The body is a threat to the survival of the rest of them if their burrows should be detected. Gerbils do not know how to drag the body away and bury it, so they do the next best thing and consume it.

Rodents are not entirely vegetarians, and why let a good source of protein go to waste.

I have pet rats and to my disgust, out of the 200 rats that I've had over the last 10 years, I discovered that 1 pet store rat was the culprit in nibbling on her deceased cage mates. Of course, this rat would never be a consideration for breeding.

spazrats

Answer 2

that does sound scarry silence of the lambs scarry or silence of the gerbils.. how many do you have to be able to eat the face of one in a matter of hours since i wouldnt think you are not looking at them for even 1 whole day at a time. do you still have atleast 1 gerbil left still alive from when this behavior started if so that may be the evil one and he/she may need to be seperated from the rest

Answer 3

I love Gerbils. Clean animals that don't smell. It may sound disgusting, but maybe those little gerbils think that eating the dead gerbil's head gives the the good spirit of their departed one.

Who ever said that gerbils don't think?!

Answer 4

i could maximum actual seperate the two. i became constantly advised to seperate them for all time, because of the fact whilst they become previous (whether they are siblings) they have a tendency to kill one yet another. i'm no longer attempting to be harsh, yet instead of leaving them at the same time such as you're able to think of a few sisters could opt to be, seperate them, whether you do experience undesirable. I even have had hamsters formerly that have killed one yet another, and that maximum actual taught me which you may not positioned them at the same time.

Answer 5

Your petsmay be starving try feeding them more, PS this may seem
weird to you but having over my life 100 hamsters alot seem to eat there off spring. I cant tell you why they are doing this though

Answer 6

PLEASE STOP THE SINGLE HANDED EXTINCTION OF THE GERBILS WHY DO YOU GETTING MORE SO THEY CAN DIE AND BE EATEN BY THE OTHERS. ARE YOU JUST BUYING MORE TO FEED THE OTHER WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU THIS IS INHUMANE. CAREFULL YOUR DOORBELL IS ABOUT TO RING ITS PETA