making a gerbil comfortable

[aster]

i have a gerbil who is usually very active, but has suddenly gotten slow, wobbly, and cold (as of four hours ago).
she has been eating and once i warm her back up she goes right back to being very active (and a bit of a menace lol).
i've been warming her up in my hands, but she can't seem to keep herself warm and seems to get cold again quickly once i put her down.
for the moment i have set her up in a clean cage, isolated, but still within view of her sisters, with a heat pack and some thick rags, as well as a selection of her usual dry food and a bit of banana, and cucumber. 
i got her in february, and was told she was three months old (she looked young), which would make her five months now, and i am unsure what could be causing this.

i don't have an exotic vet near me nor the money to take her to one, so i was wondering if anyone has tips to make her more comfortable and/or increase her chances of improving further?

[LilyandDaisy]

Hello,

I'm sorry to hear your gerbil is unwell.

First of all, I wouldn't recommend keeping her away from her sisters if you want to put them back together again when she is better. When gerbils are apart for any length of time, there can sometimes be issues getting them back together again, especially with groups. On the other hand, most female groups do declan in the long run anyway, so you could also decide to keep her separate with the plan to find her a new friend once she is better (rather than going back with her sisters).

It's unusual for such a young gerbil to be unwell. If you don't have access to an exotic vet, I'd still recommend taking her to any vet who will see her as they may be able to help in some way, for example by prescribing antibiotics or pain relief.

Other than that, I'd just keep doing what you are doing: keep her warm and give her plenty of easy-to-eat foods. Sometimes gerbils do have these funny turns and can recover with special care, and her young age should be a point in her favour.

I hope she perks up soon. Please do keep us updated

[betty]

Agreeing fully with the above comments - and hopefully your next update is a positive one.

Young gerbils can indeed have some funny moments that panic us a bit, then with warmth and concentrated care, they seem to pull right round.

Gerbil can though appear very unwell due to 'stress' in a clan - but I usually only see this when they are much older. I have had several instances where one gerbil from a 3+ clan seemed ill and was put into hospital care overnight only to find them fine in the morning - then go downhill again on returning to the clan enclosure.

Gerbil clans are such complex things...

[aster]

thank you both for the advice:]
warming her up really seemed to do the trick!
after some time cuddling with the heating pad under a rag (occasionally coming out to get snacks) her body temperature seems to have returned to normal.
i put her back with her sisters and they seemed happy to have her back.
i checked up on her this morning and she is nice and warm and running around as usual:]

[betty]

That is great news so far then - keeping her warm really helps.

Fingers crossed here...