Do gerbils eat eachother when they are dead?

Question

Ok so Ive had my gerbils for almost 3 years now....and about a week ago one of them became really bloated and had a really swollen stomach. We think it might have eaten the plastic from their cage and it did something to her stomach but were not sure. Also, when she died, her sister bit her neck and started chewing on it and stuff. It was pretty gross. My sister says that the gerbil was still breathing when the other gerbil bit its neck. Is it normal for gerbils to eat dead gerbils? Or if it WAS still breathing, was it like a mercy killing so it wouldn't suffer?

Please help me figure this out, its been bothering me for awhile. O_O

Thank you for your answers.

Answer 1

In the wild, all animals have one thing on their mind and that is to not get eaten. Cats cover their poo to cover their scent, mummy animals eat their dead baby animals so their moulding bodies don't attract predators to her nest. It is just the same with your gebils, I get really annoyed when people believe one of their animals has killed its friend when really it was just doing itself a favour! It is gross however your gerbil was just being instinctive x

Answer 2

Eloise is right.

Gerbils will either cover their dead cagemate, or if they don't feel like there is enough bedding and space, they will eat the body as best they can to keep predators from coming to eat them both.

They aren't aware they are in a safe, human household, it is just their instinct.

Don't let it bother you, it's nature. :]

Answer 3

i've never heard something like this. Usually when a gerbil dies the other gerbil know's it's gone and feels really lonely. It wouldn't be a mercy kill. Gerbils don't do that. Gerbils aren't that smart to know it's dying, it probably thought it was sleeping. Maybe it bite it because she wanted to play with her and she wouldn't get up. So it got mad and bite her, and then she just kept chewing waiting for her to get up.

... or maybe she's just stupid

Hope i helped

Answer 4

If one gerbil in a colony dies, the others will often eat it to properly "dispose" of the body. It's a normal, natural behavior.

Answer 5

ok 1 EWWWWW!!

2 its not very common ive had a few gerbils and there cage mates never ate the dead mate

3 that discusting get the dead gerbil out and take the other one to a vet or somthing its a cannable.....no joke,

4 maybe it needs some crickets or sumthin

Answer 6

I know of mothers eating their babies, if there's too many for her to take care of, or if they are too sick to live. But ive never heard of a gerbil eating a dead gerbil. Maybe its possible that the other gerbil was killing it to stop it from suffering that would make sense given the information i gave you about the mothers and her babies.