? poorly gerbil

Question
My daughter has a 3 year old gerbil (Bob) who is not quite right but is eating and
drinking well.  He cannot walk well, is not balanced when sitting, his eyes are
not fully opened (though no discharge) and his rear end seems to be wet more
than dry.

Answer
Well. Hello! I must say this gerbil is quite old. Gerbils only live 2-4 years. Bob is going through old age right now and it also seems like he has some diarrhea. Dritail should help with that. With him being so old, I doubt if the vet would do anything but ask to put him to sleep and I think he has a little bit of spunk in him left. It seems that he's just old and tired. I would try some vitamin drops to help him out if you don't have any already. I use oasis drops and a little lasts a long time. As far as the eyes, if there is no discharge, don't worry about it too much unless they close completely. Then I would treat the eyes with an eye ointment that you can buy for animals and put over the eye. There's not much else that can be done. I would certainly buy the Dritail and just help him around his cage a bit more. Maybe buy some softer bedding like carefresh or soft sorbent bedding to help him move around easier. Just make him as comfortable as possible. You've given him a long happy life and you and your daughter should both be proud in knowing that you have done a great job in raising him and keeping him happy. :-) Keep me posted on any events that happen. :-)