Print

Treatment

The veterinarian may prescribe antibiotics to treat the Tyzzer’s disease. If it is suffering from dehydration due to diarrhea, fluid, electrolyte, and other forms of supportive therapy may be necessary. Your veterinarian may also prescribe vitamin and mineral supplements to help improve your gerbil's health status and immune system.

Living and Management

You will need to segregate any gerbil that has been infected with Tyzzer’s disease from other gerbils. A pet gerbil that is recovering from Tyzzer’s disease will be very weak and will need attentive care, as this infection can quickly take a turn for the worse, even with appropriate care. Consult your veterinarian regarding the diet that should be fed to your gerbil during the recovery period.

You can help minimize the chance of this infection spreading to other gerbils by practicing strict hygienic procedures, and by practicing personal cleanliness by washing your hands thoroughly in-between attending to your gerbils.

Your gerbil's cages will need to be thoroughly cleaned, and you will also need to discard all of the bedding materials, replacing them with new, freshly laundered bedding materials. Food dishes will also need to be thoroughly cleaned, or discarded if they cannot be sanitized sufficiently.

Prevention

Tyzzer’s disease is contagious and is mainly transmitted through the ingestion of food and water that has been contaminated with infected feces, and bedding material that has been contaminated with feces or urine from an infected gerbil. Hygiene is one of the most essential preventatives you can employ in the health of your gerbil. Tyzzer’s disease is contagious and is mainly transmitted through the ingestion of food and water that has been contaminated with infected feces, and bedding material that has been contaminated with feces or urine from an infected gerbil.

Properly cleaning your gerbil's living cages regularly, removing any feces and urine from the cage, and changing soiled bedding material routinely are essential for the prevention of this and other types of infection. As much as possible, try to avoid housing gerbils of different age groups together, and at least quarantining new gerbils from the older ones until a period of contamination has passed. Your veterinarian can advise you on the appropriate length of time for quarantining both new gerbils into a group, and gerbils that have been found to carry the C. piliforme bacterium. Following these simple steps will go a long way in helping to prevent the spread of this infection in gerbils.