My gerbil seems to have difficulty eating/can't shell a seed when they used to relish them/things like that.

*Check the front two upper and lower incisors. (the two in front top and bottom). The teeth keep growing all the time that is why they like to gnaw, to wear them down. It can be that a tooth or teeth are broken, missing, or bent/twisted. You or the vet may need to trim the teeth to even out if one is broken or crooked, or if they're too long to let the animal properly eat. A fall of 3 inches (8 cm) is enough to break or skew one or both top teeth!. You may also need to have the vet examine in case it seems the tooth or teeth are missing... if there is anything in the root socket the tooth will grow, if the root is missing the tooth will not come back. The vet can also show you how to trim teeth if you feel you are up to it (at home usually recruit a helper, it makes it much easier if one holds and one trims).

*If there is a missing tooth or they have to be trimmed off to make a broken one even, you may have to feed soft food for awhile. Applesauce, cooked plain oatmeal, cooked kashi, etc. It may be a few weeks before the teeth are back so that the animal can eat well again. If they've lost teeth, it may have to be soft foods for the rest of their life.

What's old for a gerbil?

*Reports of over five years old is not unusual, not common, but not unusual. Record holder is like 8 years 4 months. Anything over two is considered a good life and three is not uncommon.

*Age can be something that is considered when a situation happens and you have to balance the cost of a treatment versus the quality of life and how much longer might the animal live.

How old does a gerbil have to be to breed?

Six weeks old. Reports are of males as young as seven breeding mom and sister, and theoretically both males and females can breed at six weeks old. If a female is in with an older experienced male (pup with father) she will probably come into heat that early and he will breed her.

Reports of females in 24-30 months old giving birth to small litters that take a long time to mature and wean...

Males sireing litters to over four years old. An older male (2.5 years and up) may get stressed out with a litter underfoot and attack the pups at 4-6 days old and kill them. Males of 2.5-3 years paired with a young female pup have been known to sire litters quite readily. Pairings of males and females in the 2-2.5 year range have caused litters

My gerbil has a yellowish stain and/or a lump in the middle of their stomach...

*The scent gland. Tumors are not uncommon, sometimes run in a breeding line, and happen around 2 (some earlier some later, but not unusual a little over two) years old. Veternarians can usually take one out for around a hundred dollars (depending on where you are and if you can find a vet that can do it). If you don't, the gland tumor gets larger and larger and a few to several months later contribute to the demise of the animal.

*The staining is not uncommon in light colored or white stomached gerbils. It is just the color of the scent secretions of the gland.

My gerbil is old and may need to be put down. Can I do it at home when it becomes time?

*Euthanasia is not for the home/hobby/pet gerbil keeper. The only non-drug non-anesthesia version is something that has to be taught and it takes a long time to be certified to do it as painlessly as possible and as humanely as possible. Despite many other methods mentioned now and again, none of them are really suitable, as the animal can possibly survive the attempt AND it stresses them greatly to do the method.

*This is something you should discuss with your veternarian, for any pet you keep, just in case you ever have to face the situation. Including what to do if it is an after-office-hours-situation. Even if you are in a rural area, there should be provisions or a plan just in case.

*Even if your veternarian normally does injection only for small animals...this can be a difficult thing to accomplish. You can request a dosing with anesthetic gas first, as the animal will be unconscious then for the shot. This is the most humane way to put down a gerbil. It may be more expensive, but. Again, the easiest thing is to discuss the whole thing with your veternarian before the time comes, if it ever does.

*The only time I suggest an euthanasia be done 'at home' is if a)Your vet is a mobile vet and can come to do it. b)Your vet will make the housecall. c)You have a veternarian in your family under your roof.

My gerbil has funny spots on the skin!

*If the difference is that between 'white' fur underskin and 'black' fur underskin, the skin can have different pigmentation than the fur, especially if the gerbil is carrying the Sp gene. And the skin looks otherwise normal except for spots and patches of the pink on black or the black on pink.

*If there is any other shade, a difference in skin texture, discoloration (red or what have you) or lumps and bumps, take the animal to the vet to be looked at.

My gerbil has a bare patch on or near it's tail, or thinning fur patch somewhere, usually near the rear...

Most common, especially if it's a small bare patch, is overgrooming, usually by a tankmate. Those sharp little teeth make great razors. It will grow back. Usually overgrooming is from boredom and/or stress. Give your gerbils more to do, reduce the number in the tank (if more than two) or things of that nature, and this should stop and the fur can grow out.

Another cause is ringworm, a fungal infection that causes a characteristic ring pattern. This is very contagious and humans can get it from animals! If you suspect this, handle the animals with gloves until you can get to a veternarian, and try not to touch the outside of the gloves or any place you put them...consider it to be like poison ivy contact. This will take a vet trip for treatment, which is usually some topical salve and some medication. IF you get it, you need to go to the doctor, asap. The thinning of fur will happen anywhere on the body, and show some reddening which will then develop into the ringing pattern. A full 'ring' is 4-6 inches (10-15cm) in diameter on a large animal (human or cattle). If you or your animal get this, you MUST do the full course of treatment or it will come back, and that will be weeks of treatment.