Is it a stroke or a fit?

Question
My Gerbil Tiara is about three years old now, and early in the morning she turned on her back and started twitching for a few minutes. She turned on her front and stood still for ages, and then my mum tried to pick her up and she shuffled into her tunnel and sat there, not blinking and just staring ahead. We got her out and she sat in my hand for several minutes, not moving and breathing really fast. After a bit she started walking again, and we offered her some nuts but she seemed unaware that they were there unless you put them right up to her mouth.
She was also walking into my arm and into other objects, as if she had no idea they were there.
Is she having a stroke? I've never seen anything about twitching on any websites, or anything about loss of vision.
What am I meant to do?

Answer
Hi Molly

When a hamster/gerbil suffers a stroke they tend to become paralysed on one side and can't walk properly.  Therefore, the fact that she is walking Ok makes me think that perhaps this was some sort of seizure.

It is difficult to know why this happened and if she is likely to have another one.

This is a good age for a gerbil and it could be age related, or there may be some underlying health issue that you aren't aware of - sadly these little creatures can develop tumors and perhaps she has something that is affecting her brain/nervous system.  The important thing is making sure she is safe and cannot come to harm in the event that she has another episode.  Also, the fact that she is bumping into objects may suggest that she has gone blind, or that her brain isn't functioning properly.  Therefore, try to make her cage as easy for her as possible - if she has removable platforms in it, it is worth taking these out so that everything is on one level.  Also make sure her food and water are close by so that she doesn't have to go in search of them.

Her quality of life is important.  She may recover from this episode but if she keeps having these or if her symptoms become more pronounced, then it would definitely be advisable to get a vet to have a look at her to ensure that she isn't suffering at all.

I hope you get on Ok.

Regards
Sheila