Is my gerbil okay?

Question

my gerbil was fine except this morning i go to change the bedding and she was all "fat" like her stomach is twice it's normal size and i dont know what to do. other than this she seems fine. I dont want to spend the money on a vet and cant find any answers. she cant be pregnant but she is getting old. Anyone a vet!?!? Please help!

Answer 1

Keep her away from Richard Gere and she'll be fine.

Answer 2

put her to sleep. im sorry, its the best you can do.

Answer 3

if it hard that it not pups and over night i get her to the vet, getting her put down maybe the best thing for her,

it being hard has be thing some very wrong is happen get her to a vet, and please let us know what happens

Answer 4

it's probably ok maybe it ate too much

Answer 5

I don't want to scare you, but my gerbil got really fat suddenly right before it died.  Apparently it had some sort of congestive heart failure.  It was old though.

How old is the gerbil?  I'm not a vet, but if it suddenly puffed up it might be something serious.

If it's been a slow process maybe she is just eating way too much.  They just sit around all day and I know I would eat if I was stuck in a cage all day.  It must get awfully boring in there.  Does she have a friend to keep her company?  Maybe the gerbils mood would improve if she had a companion.  Probably you have more than one since you mentioned the possibility of being pregnant, though you don't think she is.

Do you really take gerbils to the vet?  I see cats and dogs there all of the time, but I've never seen somebody take a gerbil in.  I guess they work on them, but what can they do?

Hope your gerbil is ok.

Answer 6

This happened to one of my sister's gerbils.  Bandit appeared to be fine and lived normally for quite a while after the mysterious swelling appeared.  The only thing unusual about her was when she died, which appeared to be violent.  I suggest treating her normally, watch her diet, make sure she exercises and hope for the best.

Her sister will not die of depression, Bandit's "sister" is still alive today and doing well at age 3+.  You may notice that the survivor of a pair will eat less, seem more restless and may squeak for a few days after their cagemate passes but should soon return to a relatively normal state.

Don't let this scare you away from owning more pets, this is fairly rare.  It's better to focus on the joy that having these adorable furry creatures bring you.

Hope this helps and good luck from our brood!

Answer 7

what has her diet been like?  how active has she been?  i would just keep a close eye on her.  it may be nothing.

i know with some of my gerbils who are pretty  healthy that sometimes they get in these positions and they look much bigger than they really are or they even look very pregnant when they are not.