my gerbil has a bald patch

Question
my gerbils sugar and spice r stil really lively but sugar has a longish bald patch on the base ov her tail and i hav been lukkin evrywer on the internet 4 wot it cud b coz i cant find mi gerbil buk. her behavur hasnt changed, i dont know how old she is but she is fully grown, and i dont want my other gerbil, spice, to catch wot she's got, in case its contagious. they havnt been excessivly handled, i hold them 1 - 3 times a day, never wake them up wen they r sleeping, change ther food + water evry day 2.  

Answer
Hello Esther,
what type of bedding are you using and what color is the skin where the bald spot is at and how long have you owned them? Gerbils can lose fur as they get older and some gerbils will start to groom another one and pull out hair. Also, if you are using ceder or pine bedding this could also cause your gerbil to lose fur since the oils in the bedding will irritate the skin. One way to figure out if the other gerbil is pulling the hair out is to seperate them and see if it grows back. I don't think anything your gerbil has is contagious though.