I noticed in one of my gerbils tonight had a yellowish fece which was
gel-like - formed, but sticky-gel type. It is clear yellow with some darker
bits in it, I don't think I would classify this as diarrhea (sp?) but could
be. He is otherwise very active and showing no signs of sickness.
>Does it look mucusy? Is that what you mean by "gel" and "clear"? Mucus in
the stools indicates that something is irritating the bowels causing a
larger production of mucus by the bowels to be a "barrier" to the irritant.
It might simply be a new food source (especially fibrous foods) or something
more serious like worms (that is if there are worm species with gerbil
hosts--maybe Julian or someone else knows this). The yellow color might be
simply the result of the irritating food, or if it is "clay-colored" (more
putty-colored than yellow) it is a sign of liver or gall bladder problems
resulting in the loss of the bile salts that cause the brownish color we
know and *love* :-).
All in all, I would put more stock in how the gerbil was behaving rather
than one or two strange stools. If it continues, I would take him and a
fresh sample to the vet (no doubt would be the vet's first gerbil stool
specimen!). But if he's behaving normally, just watch him and evaluate his
diet.
