baldness on gerbils back

Question
Hi.  We have 5 female gerbils total and they are in 3 separate cages.  
Our albino gerbil is approximately 6 months old and has 2 bald spots
on her back.  She is in a cage by herself.  In a separate cage in a
different room on a separate floor of the house, we have a pair of
females one of which has a bald spot on her nose.  The gerbil sharing
her cage seems unaffected.  The affected gerbil is also about 6 months
old and her companion is approx. 7 months old.  In another cage,
separate room, we have a pair of sisters who are about 5 months old
who see completely unaffected by this problem.

Should we be concerned?  We've seen no evidence of bugs or illness in
any of our gerbils.  The only other problem we've had with these 5
gerbils is that the albino one is pretty unpredictable and goes through
periods where she is an aggressive biter and then she mellows out for
a few weeks.  Today she bit my 9 year old daughter rather badly after
not biting for the past 6 weeks or more.

Thank you for your time.
Teresa Shirron

Answer
Hello. Hmmmm.. If they are not scratching constantly and there are no red marks on their body. Than they may just be normal. If the baldness keeps spreading and it turns red and they are constantly scratching than they probably have mites or allergies. Do you use ceder bedding or pine bedding? Small animals can be allergic to it. It's best to use aspen bedding as it contains no scents. If they are eating fine and showing no signs of illness other than a few bald spots it could just be how they are. As for the albino it seems that she just has her days. My hamster who is albino has his days as well. He will not bite me for weeks and as soon as I put my hand in the cage he will bite me. Good Luck on your gerbils. It seems they just may be a little bald if you are using the right bedding. Also, I would try some vitamin drops in their water. They could benefit from it. My dwarf hamster uses oasis drops and he has no problems with anything. They could also not be getting enough nutrients and the oasis drops help and they last a looong time. Good luck and keep me posted :-)