gerbil identification

Question
We have 3 gerbils as classroom pets in my 4th grade class.  They are 3 littermates and look identical.  Is there some safe way to mark the gerbils to identify them?  We would like to plot their growth and activities - but we can't tell them apart.  Possibility a drop of food coloring?

Answer
Hi Pam

This is a very difficult thing to do.  When I have baby hamsters and they all look the same I usually trim their fur so I can tell them apart until they are separated off into their own cages - the only problem with this is of course that the fur re-grows quite quickly and therefore needs to be done every few days or so.  You could put some sort of coloring on them but it must be safe - I'm honestly not sure about food coloring (i.e. what is in some of it and what sort of reaction there might be).  You could perhaps try something natural, such as beetroot - don't be alarmed if their poo changes red if they are licking this off.  I'm not sure how long it will stay on though.

Good luck with this.

Regards