Whats wrong with my gerbil?

Question
He shares a gerbilaruim with his brother and for some reason he has started to kind of jump up and down slightly; like he has hiccups or something. He's really jumpy and nervous and if I try to put my hand in he's really scared. What's wrong with him?

Answer
Hi Jasmine

I'm afraid gerbils aren't my specialty, but I have kept several over the years.  

The questions that come to mind are: has anything happened to bring this on?  How is he getting on with his brother?  Have they been fighting? Is he eating OK and going to the toilet?  when you say he looks like he has hiccups, is his breathing OK?  Is it laboured or do you think the 'hiccup' is coming from lower down in his body - i.e. his abdomen - like some kind of spasm?  Is his brother OK and not behaving any differently?

Is it possible that he has fallen and hurt himself?

Are you able to hold him - if so, is there any obvious area that is causing him distress?  If you touch his abdomen, does it look and feel OK?  Is there any swelling anywhere?

Sorry for all the questions, I just want to get a clearer picture in my mind.  If you want to let me have a few more details I'll ask someone who has a greater knowledge of gerbils and see if they have any suggestions as to what is going on.

Regards

Jasmine,

Following on from my previous answer, I have discussed this with a gerbil rescue centre and got their opinion.  If your gerbil is definitely hiccupping this is due to the diaphragm being in spasm either due to an irritant, or overfull stomach.  Is your gerbil hiccupping all the time or just after eating?  If he is still the same, I would suggest you getting him to a vet as soon as possible so that they can check if there is anything inside him that is causing this irritation, or any form of stomach/intestinal blockage.