Why is my gerbil clicking, sleeping more, and breathing heavily?

Question

So, my gerbil has been making constant clicking noises for a day. Nonstop. She acts pretty normal, but is sleeping more and her eyes look half-closed. Most sites say it's a respiratory infection, but I don't know how she got it. She has fresh food, water, and her cage is rather clean. She's a year and a half old now. Her sides heave when breathing, it looks like. Pet's info: Small Animal | Unknown - Small Animal | Female

Penelope Graben, DVM · Accepted Answer

Hello, Many small rodents already naturally carry the bacteria that causes upper respiratory infections, but the bacteria can overgrow when they have another illness that is suppressing their immune system, are under some stress (such as a move), or in unclean conditions with poor diet. It sounds like in your case, it's more likely to be one of the first two reasons. You can read a little more about it here: https://www.petcoach.co/article/mycoplasma-infections-in-mice-and-rats/ I would recommend having Ophelia seen by a vet to start some antibiotics. We generally use a combination of two antibiotics to tackle this difficult bug- most commonly, a combination of enrofloxacin and doxycycline. These can be compounded into a flavored liquid for easier medicating. I hope this helps! Thanks for using PetCoach!

Why is my gerbil clicking, sleeping more, and breathing heavily?

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