How common is tail drop in gerbils?

[sweetdeedra]

Hi! i recently brought home two agouti gerbils who petsmart told me were sisters. (i live in a kind of rural area in the middle of my state so i struggled to find a breeder + it was kinda of an impulse based on having alot of the stuff needed from the past.)

Anyways my question is how common is tail drop from fright? the reason i ask is i keep getting scared by the tail like things in timothy hay thinking i must have scared them and they dropped theyre tail. I suppose im just looking for reassurance that it isnt very common or if there are very clear things i could do to avoid it (besides obviously meeting and attempting to exceed theyre needs).  TIA : )

[LilyandDaisy]

Hello,

Gerbils fortunately don't drop their tails from fright alone. They're not like crested geckos in that regard. I once looked after somebody's crested gecko for about a month and I spent the entire month paranoid it was going to drop its tail!

Gerbils only drop their tails if the tail is physically trapped, e.g by a predator or even careless handling. Occasionally they will also injure their tails to the point it needs to be amputated/partially amputated and there have been some nasty accidents involving cats biting a gerbil's tail when it dangles outside a wire topper. Sometimes declans result in tail injuries as well.

It's not uncommon to find gerbils in rescues with half a tail due to the reasons just mentioned, but the majority of these accidents can be prevented. Never grab a gerbil by the tail, except right at the base (and then only when absolutely necessary). If you have cats or dogs, consider not using wire cages/toppers, or make sure they're never in the same room as the gerbils. Try to avoid any situation where you may tread on a gerbil's tail or something heavy might fall on it.

I believe many accidents that result in tail loss involve children who aren't being as careful as they should be (and I am thinking of my own childhood gerbil-keeping days here) and if you follow the precautions above and use common sense, the chance of an accident is really low.

[catnut]

there is a half tailed gerbil at my local pet store (with her sister) who lost hers' due to a child being careless and my Sierra i adopted 1 1/2 years ago also had a child injure her tail so she only has half a tail as well, but they can function without a full one. I am thinking of adopting them but will see if they get a home elsewhere in the next couple weeks, i need to get a proper lid first and am waiting to have it arrive. Gerbils never lose a tail due to fright so don't worry. Congrats on your two girls, have fun!

[sweetdeedra]

Phew! thank you guys for the reassurance and information! i was definitely thinking it was a crested gecko situation and if i spooked them or made a loud noise they would drop theyre tail. and thank you catnut so far it has been such an awesome experience interacting with them, they already feel comfortable walking into my palm after offering treats and talking to them. after having hamsters through most of my childhood it is a completely different experience and these guys are so animated and curious