I am concerned for my gerbils!

Question
I have 2 gerbils who have been doing quite well. I recentely just cleaned their cage and noticed that there were very small red bugs crawling around their  cage. My first reaction was to try to get rid of the few that were visible. Once I thought that was done, I proceeded to check the gerbils themselves and noticed they had these critters crawling on their fur and then I checked between their fur and there were many more. I'm super freaked out right now. It's kind of late at night and I don't know if I should call a vet or if this is common. I think they are some sort of mite. Is there a way to get rid of them right away? Should I get a new tank? How will I get rid of them in my gerbils' skin? Please, please, please help!  

Answer
Hello! Wow you have great reason to be concerned. It sounds like mites, ticks or fleas to me.  EEEwww.. it is freaking me out too just thinking of those red bugs. Yuck!! But not to worry it's common. Buy some mite spray for birds and follow the directions on the back. Spray in the cage and on them as well, If you don't see an improvement in 3 days take them to the vet immediently. You just need to keep the cage clean and try to change it at least twice a week until they are gone. Good luck and keep me posted. I hope they get better. Please don't worry so much. I think you may have caught it in time if your gerbils were acting normal as usual, but just scratching a lot.