depressed gerbils concern

Question
Hi jedediah,

I have been keeping gerbils since 2007, with a pretty good success rate, but have become a bit concerned over 2 of my pets. I bought 3 male gerbils from a pet store in 2010 when they were approx 8 weeks old, and were informed that they were from the same litter. I have nt experienced any problems healthwise or otherwise until 3 days ago when one of the gerbils died suddenly. I found him half buried in an awkward posistion under the ladder in his cage so am presuming he fell (he was a very keen climber), and his brothers had attempted to cover him. Its also possable he was sick, as he was the runt of the litter and has always been smaller in size and slightly more bedraggled then his brothers, but I had nt noticed any significant indications of illness or anything different in character. Since this death his 2 brothers have, I think, become depressed. They have slept almost constantly, hiding in their house and have nt drunk or barely eaten. I know gerbils can get lonely after the death of a cage mate, but I still have a pair, so could this still be a factor? They live in a gerbilarium, with plently of toys and chewy stuff and are usually very friendly and active. They still respond to me, when I talk or approach their cage, and are happy to be handled. I have lost a gerbil before to sudden death,(I think it was a heart attack) but he was 2 and a half years old, and his brother (who is now 4) although quiet for a few hours bounced back pretty quick, despite now living alone (hes very territorial, a new pal would be a bad idea and hes quite happy) so I have nt really experienced this before.
Any tips or advice would be great.
Thank you

Answer
Dear Alsion,
thank you for your question.
Since they are not alone, I would rule out depression/boredom as the cause for their behavior. I strongly recommend a visit to the vet to rule out any health problems, especially since their brother died so suddenly. You can find good gerbil vets here:
http://www.gerbils.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/gerbils/vets.htm#UK
http://gerbilforum.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=vet
http://rmca.org/Vets
I hope I was of some help to you
Jennifer