Gerbil swollen stomach

Question
My golden gerbil is female and 3 years old, she lives by herself because her sister died 1 year ago. I havent had a chance to play with her in a few daysbut have fed her the normal amount of petco gerbil mix. today i picked her up, and she freaked out. I noticed that her stomach is very bloated and swollen. i tried feeding her strawberries, but she wont eat. she is still active, and doesn't squeak when i touch her, but doesnt like it. what is likely wrong with her? thank you!

Answer
Hi Megan

I'm sorry to hear that your gerbil isn't doing too well.

This could be a number of things - firstly, at this age it could be a tumor.  These are quite common in gerbils and hamsters.  Sadly there is little that can be done due to their small size, other than making sure they are not in any pain.

Another thing could be constipation - are there any signs of droppings? If you give her some lettuce, this can help get the bowel moving.

It could also be a uterine infection that has caused her ovaries to swell - this definitely needs veterinary attention as it can be painful and there is often pus coming out of the creature's rear end.  Alternatively it could be a bladder infection or her kidneys could be enlarged. Have you noticed any increase in water consumption recently?

I would strongly advise getting her checked out by a vet if you can.  They will be able to palpate her stomach to see if there is a tumor in it, or if these are her ovaries/kidneys that are swollen.   If this is a  tumor, then there is little that they can do and providing she has quality of life they may suggest just monitoring her and making sure her home is easy for her to get around.  It would be a good idea to do this anyway - make sure food and water are close by so that she doesn't have to climb at all to get to them.

If this is an infection of any kind the vet will be able to prescribe antibiotics and pain relief - this may well help.  If this is more a constipation problem that has caused her to bloat, they should be able to sort this out quite easily.

Three is pretty old for a gerbil and sadly her body might be shutting down, however, it is important that she has quality of life and isn't in any pain.  These little creatures have such high pain thresholds and if they display pain, then you know it is pretty serious, otherwise they carry on and ignore it.

Do you have a local vet that you know?  If not it would be worth phoning one or two - firstly to check that they have someone there who specialises in small animals, and secondly, to check the cost of a consultation fee - most will offer a much reduced rate for a hamster/gerbil, so you might need to negotiate if they don't do this as standard.

I hope you get on OK and find someone who can help you.

Regards
Sheila