Teeth falling out? Help!

[crittercrazy]

Hi,
So a few minutes ago I went to give my gerbils some treats.  Peanut,  however,  was acting kind of funny-  her fur was all messed up and she just didn't look too good.  So I offered her a sunflower seed.  She took it,  then dropped it,  took it,  dropped it,  then started to try to eat it.  I'm not sure whether or not she did,  but when I gave her a different treat the same thing happened only that she didn't eat it in the end.  That's way not normal for her,  she usually takes treats the instant they're available and steals them from her cage-mates too.
I picked her up and she didn't squirm too much (also not usual for her) so I checked for any injuries or tumors etc.  Then I tried to look in her mouth,  thinking maybe her teeth were too long.  However,  I only saw two bottom teeth,  and no top teeth except what might have been half of one.  Me looking in her mouth freaked her out so I didn't get a good look but I'm relatively positive there were no top teeth there. . .  what do I do?  And why are they falling out?  She is a somewhat older gerbil,  around two years,  but she's never shown any signs of aging and I didn't know that was an aging thing.  She can't eat,  so how do I feed her?
Sorry guys I'm kind of freaked out about this,  I assume I'm going to have to feed her by hand somehow and I'm just not sure how this is all going to work.
Any advice would be appreciated!
Thanks!

[NedIsNotOnFire]

Well to give you some peace of mind, both of my gerbils have lost both their top teeth before, and they have grown back enough for them to chew/eat without help after about 2-3 weeks. I call this a 'gummy gerbil' syndrome, as it has happened but without reason. You will have to hand feed her, and its best to give her some sugar free baby food, as it is easily digested, and maybe some peanut butter for a treat  I find it easiest to feed them with damp cotton sticks, but you could use a pipette or a syringe.
This is from personal experience, so its nothing medical, but I hope it helps none the less

[wolfgirl]

also if you feed something sticky like peanut butter you can spread it on pieces of cardboard and she will lick it off. it might be easier than with a q-tip.

[NedIsNotOnFire]

Oh, thats what i meant! I didn't know it was called a Q tip… But thats what i used for my gerbils anyways

[crittercrazy]

Thanks guys.
Peanut is looking a little better- I fed her part of the inside of a grape, some peanut butter, and some mashed up peas and carrots. For now I've just been putting it on my finger, but later I'll probably feed her the way you suggested.
She had me freaked out there for awhile, but I did some research and figured out it was normal and could be taken care of so I'm glad its not as serious as I thought! So thanks for the reassurance and advice, hopefully she'll be chewing away soon!

[NedIsNotOnFire]

Your welcome, glad to help! Hope she gets better soon, and i wish i could feed my gerbil with my finger, but that wouldn't end to well XD

[crittercrazy]

She does occasionally accidentally bite my finger that way, but since she's missing two of her teeth it doesn't hurt too much.
Today, though, I figured out that actually, she's not eating the grape or the mashed veggies. She takes them from me, then just drops them. Is she unable to eat something even that soft? I'm pretty sure she's eating the peanut butter, but I don't want to give her too much since I know its not all that healthy for her. I think she ate some oats soaked in water. . . but I'm not sure since its hard to tell when she's actually eating it or just taking it and dropping it.
Can I give her applesauce or yogurt or something? I found this thread:
gerbilforum.proboards.com/thread/1292
So going off of that I'm thinking maybe I'll try the yogurt and applesauce, unless someone has some different advice?
Thanks again!

[NedIsNotOnFire]

I never tried that, sounds like a good source of fat and protein though Watch out for the amount of sugar in the apple sauce though, last time i gave my gerbil a treat a bit like that (can't remember what it was though :/ ) she was rather bloated for a while, so i phoned a nearby pocket pets vet, and he said that there was too much sugar, and to never give gerbils something high in sugar :/ Not to sure, but i'm trying to help!

[wolfgirl]

yogurt is a good choice too. especially a kind that has pieces of fruit in it like blueberries.

[qtoffer]

How's Peanut doing today?

Scrambled egg is a great food for gerbils who are sick or having trouble eating seeds due to tooth issues. It's got about 16% fat and 14% protein. Yogurt is also good, but only in small amounts because it has a lot of sugar. You can also try soaking oatmeal flakes in milk.

Teeth usually grow back in about two weeks. One of my earlier gerbils cracked a top tooth at the gumline and lived happily to a ripe old age after it grew back.

[crittercrazy]

Thanks Qtoffer.
Peanut is doing a little better today, I think. After we trimmed her teeth she ate some scrambled egg last night, but won't eat any today. I haven't tried yogurt yet, but I might soon if I can't get her to eat anything else. (She was eating peanut butter earlier, but she won't eat that anymore and even if she would I know its not that great for her)
I didn't try the oats in milk but I did soak them in water. She ate some yesterday but again, won't eat any today. I'll try again in a little while though.
If I give her yogurt, is there a specific kind that's best? I have some vanilla yogurt right now but I might be able to get some other sort sometime later today or at least tomorrow.
Thanks again!

[NedIsNotOnFire]

uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110627174845AA9Sjqv This says that plain yogurt is best for them, as flavoured has too much sugar However some say that giving them any at all will kill them… I don't believe this, but i can say that i gave Jess banana and mango baby food when she lost her teeth and she adored it!! x Good luck! x :3

[crittercrazy]

Well, I'll look into getting some plain yogurt as soon as possible then. Thanks again NedIsNotOnFire!
I haven't been able to get Peanut to eat anything as of today, and she isn't doing good. Maybe I'll try mashing up some fruit, for the lack of actual baby food.
Thanks guys!

[NedIsNotOnFire]

You welcome! x I hope she perks up soon, i'm sure she'll be ok! They always pick themselves up x
I know my gerbil loves crackers, so you could mash some crackers, cucumber and berries. It would have salt,protein,water and fat I gave some to Giggle and it was one of the only things she liked XD She's really fussy, but your Peanut sounds like she loves everything! x I hope she's ok! x She might just be being fussy, I really hope she's ok! xx Any pictures of her teeth or of her? xx

[crittercrazy]

Me again-
Just tried the mashed up fruit, and the vanilla yogurt (I thought maybe I would just see if she would eat it, so I would know whether or not to spend money on plain yogurt) but she just won't eat. She has scrambled egg, peanut butter, oats soaked in water and in milk, yogurt, and fruit all available to her right there in her cage but she's ignoring all of it. She's skinnier then I've ever seen her, and doesn't really move. I picked her up to check her teeth, put her down, and came back a few minutes later to find her in the exact same position I had left her in. Her breathing isn't normal either.
I don't know that she's going to make it. I'll keep you updated though.
Thanks again for all your help everyone!