patches of fur missing in Gerbil

Question
Hi my 6 year old son has a gerbil he named molly. Recently she has a big patch of fur missing off her back. I notice that she sleeps near the water bottle and maybe that is the reason why it is missing. I remove the the water bottle only at night when she goes to sleep. Could that be the problem and what can i do to make my son's gerbil better?

Answer
Hello,

Is there fur missing from anywhere else? Does that patch look sore, or is it literally just fur missing? My gerbil had a patch of fur missing from her nose for months. I did actually ask the vet about it, but it was nothing. I don't know where it came from or what caused it, but eventually it went. If there is no other fur missing, and it doesn't look sore then i don't think you need to worry about it. If you are still concerned a trip to the vets won't be a bad thing.
With the water bottle, obviously it is a good idea to have water available at all times but if you are concerned that is causing it, it won't hurt. I don't think it will be the water bottle though!!!

I hope this helps,
Charlie