Endoparasites of the gerbil may include mouse pinworms (Syphacia
obvelata) which can be found in the cecum and a small intestinal gerbil
pinworm Dentostomella translucida (A.). Syphacia ova can
be recovered on a cellophane tape test (see mouse parasitic diseases),
while Dentostomella ova (B.) are identified by the fecal floatation
test.
Gerbils also are commonly colonized by intestinal flagellated protozoa (Giardia and Tritrichomonas sp.). No clinical signs of disease are usually associated with naturally occuring protozoan infections in gerbils. Please refer to the appropriate section elsewhere in this handbook for details on diagnosis, treatment, and control if any of these parasites are suspected or diagnosed.
Identification of intestinal protozoa can be made by performing examination of feces for protozoal cysts or by preparing wet mount preparations of intestinal contents at necropsy. The hard fecal pellet of gerbils can be softened in saline, and a flotation performed to look for protozoal cysts. Metronidazole at 10 mg/ 100 ml water may be effective in controlling protozoal infections.
Tapeworm infections (Rodentolepis nana or Hymenolepis diminuta) have been infrequently reported to cause clinical signs of dehydration and diarrhea during heavy infections in a wide variety of rodents, including gerbils. Because of the direct life cycle of R. nana, tapeworm infections in gerbil should be definitively diagnosed. It is not known whether praziquental or niclosamide are effective in eliminating tapeworms from gerbils.
Public Health Significance: Man is a definitive host for R.
nana.
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