Gerbil urination problem

[jody1994]

I have a female gerbil who lives on her own. She is 7 months old and has a horrible urination problem. She rolls in it and urinates while she is walking through tubes she also drags her tail through it. She smells really bad I let her roll around in sand everyday but it doesn't help. I'm worried she will get sick from this. What should I do?

[sofluffy]

First thing's first, I would go see a vet, or even give them a call, sometimes they give advice over the phone. Just ask them if they deal with gerbils at their practise.. I'm lucky mine are very experienced with gerbils and whenever I call them up they are always willing to help me over the phone, free of charge if they can first

[jody1994]

Unfortunately I live in a rural area and the vets specialize in livestock and cats and dogs. He can't give me an explanation.

[hazelanddan]

if she lives on her own, it might be that she's nervous, and leaving a trail of urine to mark her territory. does she have a toilet area? gerbils are usually quite clean and will try and go in one area... if you move soiled bedding to a corner or a shelf or bowl she will learn to do her business there. then when you give her a sand bath she will roll around in there and hopefully not use it as a toilet. I don't think it's a worry that she'll get ill.

[reesesturtles]

It could also be a bladder deformity or a UTI. The smell you mentioned is what alerts me to the possibility of UTI, since gerbil urine is not usually very stinky, and they also don't normally urinate in large amounts. Is she drinking a lot of water? She may need antibiotics to treat the UTI. Is there an "exotic animals" or "small animals" vet around? If not hopefully someone on the list can recommend an antibiotic you could get from a feed store and let you know the ideal amount for a gerbil. I unfortunately am not that savvy.

Also, there's a list person that has had great success with treating gerbil infections with echinacea. So you may want to try sprinkling some echinacea into her food mix to see if that helps.

Last, what kind of habitat is your gerbil in? If she has at least 5 inches of bedding (preferably more) that will help with controlling the smell.

[jody1994]

She's not drinking anymore water than usual. I have a rotastak gerbil cage with a burrow pit. Do you have any idea what causes a UTI?

[sofluffy]

Are you sure there are no vets near by at all? It really might be worth getting them checked over.. even if it's a bit far away, it's piece of mind and they may not get better without it .. :/

[reesesturtles]

Rotostaks are not the most sanitary or well ventilated habitats for gerbils. A tank habitat or homemade bin cage piled with bedding makes a better and cleaner home. Even so, it wouldn't necessarily cause your gerbil's problems, though it would make it harder for her to stay clean.
A UTI is a "urinary tract infection". What that means is bacteria have infected your gerbil's bladder or kidneys causing her to urinate a lot more than usual and for the urine to smell bad. If that is the case (and I say if) she most definitely would need vet care and antibiotics as that isn't going get better on its own.

[qtoffer]

I've had some experience with gerbil UTIs. The infection usually causes the gerbil to urinate small amounts almost constantly. They usually drink significantly more - which may be hard for you to tell since gerbils don't drink a whole lot - UTI or not. Sometimes, but not always, the urine is tinged with blood - which can only be seen if the gerbil urinates on a light colored surface.

One of my girls had two UTIs in her lifetime. They were both cleared up with a two week course of oral Baytril. This is something that you want to take care of early lest the infection migrate up into the kidneys, where it becomes a much more serious problem.