Gerbil Falling On Back And Seems Blind In One Eye

Question
My sweet little Golden (a 1.5 year old male Gerbil) seems to have some kind of problem. He's lost a lot of weight over the last week, and seems to have trouble walking. (When he walks, he frequently ends up rolling over on his back.) He walks in circles a bit, but mostly he just seems to walk in a curved path until he reaches a wall. I'm reasonably convinced by his behavior that he has recently become blind in one eye (the one he keeps down all the time). The eye itself looks fine, but he acts like he can't see out of it.   I've checked him over, and he doesn't seem to have any injuries, sore spots, or visible infections. I separated him from his brothers (because their cage isn't well adapted to a Gerbil as sick as my little Golden), but I'm not sure what else to do. My local vet doesn't do Gerbils (and I have no clue how many hundreds of miles I would have to go to reach a town big enough to have a vet who does). A friend of mine thought that perhaps he had a stroke. Is there anything that I can do to make him more comfortable? I'd hate to lose him, as he's just such a sweetie. Any advice you could offer would be appreciated.

Answer
Hello Pamela,
it sounds like your gerbil had a stroke. There isn't much that can be done, but to use a very soft bedding and I would buy some vitamin drops like Oasis Vitam Drops from PetSmart that you can put in there water. I always recommend a vitamin supplement because it really does help boost energy even though it may not help him with his walking it could give him some energy. A lot of vets don't work with small animals. It's very hard to find a vet that does.