Gerbil Appearence?

Question

Hi

My gerbil has very ruffled hair.. its not flat its all oveer the place its ruffled and messed up.. it has been like this for a while and he also once in while will jus tflip and jump all around for some reason.. does he maybe have ticks or somthing.. he also sleeps alot he seems ok but hes mostly sleeping alot.

Thanks

Answer 1

Give your gerbil a sand bath.  This will help his fur tremendously.  If he doesn't catch on to the sand bath, then sprinkle some on his back and let him shake it off.

You might want to take him to the vet as he could be sick but it just sounds like his fur needs some help.  He doesn't have a friend to groom him so that is another reason why his fur is messed up.

I own six gerbils and they were eating bad food and had bad fur, too.  So maybe think about changing the food.

This is a picture of one of my gerbils and this is what their fur is supposed to look like if they're healthy:

http://i35.tinypic.com/25u5pb4.jpg

Answer 2

for his fur he can be given a sand bath.  you can buy chinchilla sand at petsmart and then put it in a bowl.  he will roll in it and his fur will get cleaner.  

My gerbils also will just jump and flip for no reason. i dont think its a problem they are just burning off energy.

the sleeping is no big deal, he is probably more active at night when you dont see him.