Facing with Fits

Some gerbils are prone to fitting. In most cases this is due to stress, for example, being in strange surroundings or excessive handling and generally occurs in younger gerbils.

The gerbil starts to twitch, the ears go back and the gerbil may drool at the mouth. If this should happen replace the gerbil back in its cage immediately and remove the cage to a quite area. Within a few minutes the gerbil will compose itself and go about its business.

The gerbil generally grows out of these fits and the frequency becomes less as time goes by. If you are aiming to breed gerbils then it is not advised to breed from affected individuals as it can be passed down from generation to generation.

It can be distressing for owners to witness these fits, however provided you follow the above instructions your gerbil will recover fully.

There have been cases recorded where the gerbil has unfortunately died, however these are extremely rare and may have been secondary to some other ailment such as a brain tumour.