gerbal tails

Question
My daughter has a pet gerbil & it's tail is drying out & shrinking. Is this normal? What could be causing this? I've read about gerbils loosing tails a defense mode. but this is a lone gerbil. I KNOW MY DAUGHTER IS GOOD TO THIS GERBIL & WOULD NEVER PICK IT BY IT'S TAIL. Should we be concerned?

Answer
Hi there, I think you have a cause to be concerned. It does sound quite worrying and could indicate some kind of infection. A trip to the vet would be a good idea, if it is an infection it could spread to the rest of the body. Also the way you say the tail is shrinking and drying out worries me that it is going to fall off! You need to find out if its an infection, if it is, it could be bacterial or fungal, so they will need to find that out because different types of infections have different treatment. Hopefully they will be able to give you something to clear up the problem before the tail gets any worse. Good luck and let me know how it goes!