help!! lethargy

[gem07]

i'm sorry my first post here is an emergency, but i need help!
i have four gerbils, one female and three males. the three males are in a sepperate cadge. i feed commercial gerbil food once a day, fresh veggies/fruit once a week and sunflower seeds as a treat. i use timothy hay for bedding, and toilet paper tubes for toys.
my female gerbil has been acting weird latly, about two weeks ago, i noticed her walking unsteadily, and slowly. she is lethargic, and clumsey. this isnt normal, she was very energetic and lively before. now she seems to sleep all the time, and has trouble staying upright, swaying on her feet. this is only some of the time though, other times she is as vivacious and healthy looking as ever. recently (tonight in fact) i checked on my males as i always do, and found two of them sleeping together and one not with the group in their normal gerbil pile. i picked him up and i thought he was dead, he didnt try to run, or even really wake up. he was breathing (shallowly) and wouldnt stand.he looks like hes trying to come out of it sometimes, but mostly its like hes sleeping...he wouldnt even take a sunflower seed when it was offered, and this really scared me because he loves them. right now hes in my lap, looking like hes sleeping. he was always calm, but this is byond calm, this is more like coma! he did try to nibbel at the seed, but seemed to fall asleep before he could bite it. my female was fine an hour ago, running like crazy, playing in her tube, and my male was fine this morning. he hasnt shown any signs of improvment, but as i said before, my female seems to only have problems some of the time.
i have no access to a vet who deals with small animals, so i am going to call petstores tomorrow to see if they know of anyone i can talk to.
i'm so worried about the two still healthy males! i'm worried about the sick ones too, but i dont want four sick gerbils. i have no place for the sick make to go, away from the other two.
i really love these little guys, does anyone know what this could be? what i can do? anything at all?
i feel very helpless.
thanks in advance for any and all advice

[gem07]

the male is dead, he died sometime in the night. i'm starting rehydration theripy on the female, and rigging up a warm corner, also i'm cleaning the cadge with the two remaining males with bleach. (i know to rinse it throughly)
any other advice?

[sandy]

It was probably the fruit and veggies carrying a virulent strain of bacteria. Try getting them on an antibiotic, you should be able to find one for birds at the pet store. I'm sorry but you may lose more otherwise. Gerbils do not need fresh fruit and veggies, they manufacture all the vitamins they need from the standard gerbil seed mix they get and that is sufficient. You might try dropper feeding gatorade or some other electolyte fluid frequently. Also be sure to clean the cage thoroughly after they have finished the antibiotic treatment.

[RitzieAnn]

My mom gerbil was acting a little like your female too. But it was only sometimes too! I put her in with a make (wanting to breed her again) and now she's happier. Is she close to the boys? A little bit of her problem might be that she' lonely. My female is fine now. (she with her daughters now) I hope you don't lose any!!

[AndreaS15]

That sounds awful.
Any problem with the gerbils stools? were they wet?

I find apple sauce to be a great way to get water into a gerbil, pure apple sauce. Extra protine like cat food also is helpful.

Keep us updated, and I hope everyone starts feeling better soon.

[sweetie]

Hey gem,

I am sorry to hear that you lost the male. The symptoms are a mystery to me. I do know that a lonely gerbil will sleep often adn become lethargic. That happened to my male when I had to separate him from his mate. Have you thought of getting another female? If you are going to breed, you could pair a couple and then let one of the pups with the lone male and adopt out the rest or keep them.