Obese gerbil

[scrapperdog]

I have a severely overwieght gerbil (I mean huge). Her cage mate is a normal healthy weight. I keep food in the cage at all times. What can I do to make one loose weight but not have the other one lose weight? Thank you for your help.

[sai]

Hi,

I couldn't tell from your previous posts whether these are new gerbils, so forgive me if I ask if they are and if you're sure that when you got them they weren't mis-sexed and that one is now pregnant due to the tankmate? As gerbils will become extremely 'fat' before giving birth. Or the gerbil could of been pregnant when you bought her. I think the gestation period is about a month.
Sorry to ask, but under the circumstances (one being 'severely' overweight and one being totally fine) it seemed one of the easiest conclusions to me and something that I felt had to be raised.

If you're sure that is not the case then I would put the food in a food bowl and monitor how quickly it goes. If it goes fast maybe the one is guzzling too much and then perhaps you will have to just put in a moderate amount of food every other day and see how that goes.
You could also (if you don't already) wait until the food has almost completely gone before topping it up. Which also makes sure they eat all the bits they don't want to eat but need to to get a balanced diet.

What kind of food do they have? Some mixes may have too much fat or protein and perhaps this could contribute to the gerbils weight.

Have you been giving them any treats? Fruit, veg, special animal treats (like milk drops, food sticks, egg biscuit etc.) or anything else outside of their normal food. If so give sparingly. Just once a week under the circumstances.

You could also give them a playarea / playbox to go to for a run around. Or get the overweight gerbil out on you for a runabout to lose weight. Exercise.

Best of luck.

[angielouise]

Hiya,

Oh boy I've got 2 whoppers myself ;D.

One is on his own (Freddie), but he's just a bit of a layabout and I've only just got him - I think he's been feed on lots of seeds all his life so far, so I'm sure I'll get his weight down gradually. He's 136g!!!!!!!!! Then there's Rocky, who is with Ash who is of an average weight. Rocky is about 120g, and just loves eating and can't be bothered with the wheel.

With Rocky, I've been getting him and Ash out for a good run on the sofa each evening - there's a throw on that sofa (they can't squish themselves down the back of the sofa!) and some cushions, and they have a great time running about like loonies on there. That gives him some good exercise. I also take out all the fatty seeds from his food mix and just feed them by hand (Ash gets a couple more). He'll get slimmer eventually.....

As for Freddie, I'm putting him in the bathtub for a good run-about most evenings. And cutting back on his treats as well. He has no idea what a wheel is all about, so he has to come out for a good run.

So, how big are we talking with your female? Are you able to weigh her? And maybe take a photo of them both for us? There are other possible medical reasons that she may be much bigger than her tank mate (such as overian cysts for example), but it's probably just a case of her being greedier and bit lazier than her friend ;D. And what activities do they have in their tank? And how often can they come out for exercise with you? Scattering food is also another way of making them work harder for their dinner by the way, but also harder to monitor exactly how much they are eating. You do need to keep food in the tank at all times though.

Hope that helps!

Ange
xxx

[scrapperdog]

No these are the same gerbils I have had for 2 years or so now. I have 4 gerbils 2 sets of females. 3 of them are normal weight and one of them is obese. I heard gerbils can live up to 4 years and I am very attached to the fat one who is my favorite and I dont expect her to live much longer unless some changes are made, she really is that fat now. She does not even walk normally like the other gerbils.

I give them all treats almost every day but dont give one gerbil any more than the others. They eat hartz brand gerbil/hamster food and I feed them human sunflower seeds (the salty ones) as treats. Should I stop the treats?

I will get a play box and see if that helps. I have not been taking them out becuse she is now so fat that she does not like to be picked up like she used to. She will not bite but I can tell it is uncomfortable by the squeaks me picking her up and when she was a normal weight she liked to come out of the cage. If she loses some weight by this I am sure the process of picking her up will be easier.

[RW]

Is she an older girl? If so, I can think of three reasons that might cause her to be over large--

1) Several of my middle aged gerbils, male and female, (say 18 months or thereabout) have become rather chubby. I think it's a combination of starting to be less active, but still eating the same amount.

2) As angielouise said, she could have developed ovarian cysts or some sort of internal tumor (usually just the abdomen area swells, though).

3) Congestive heart failure. Fluid retention will cause a gerbil to become huge and look extremely fat.

Hopefully, she's just chubby and a change of diet, along with increasing her level of activity, will help her shed the extra weight.

RW

[angielouise]

Oooo, I'd stop the salty seeds actually - that's not good for them. You can get plain raw seeds in most shops these days.

I'd certainly give the chunky one only one seed a day, maybe when she's out for playtime so she doesn't know how many the others are getting behind her back.

As for picking her up, how about picking her up in something, like letting her walk into a box and then lifting her up.

Is it possible for us to have a photo of her? I am wondering if maybe she does have an ovarian cyst or something, if she's uncomfortable being picked up . Is the weight all over her, or just around her tummy area?

[angielouise]

Here is a thread I started a few months ago which might be useful - some good tips on there:
gerbilforum.proboards21.com/index.cgi?board=health&action=display&thread=1177058820

[scrapperdog]

I dont have a digital camera but my sister does and at our next family get together I will have her snap some pictures. We get together every few months so it should not be too long. This gerbil is over 2 years old now. This is the gerbil I posted about a long time ago she suffered a de-clanning and the agressive gerbil pulled most of the hair out of her, but she has been sharing a cage with a different gerbil for almost a year now with no problems. It is a good idea to post a picture and hear your opinions on this as I am having a hard time judging where the weight is as I am not sure what a normal obese gerbil looks like.

Anyways I will post a pic soon, get a playpen and buy some non-salted seeds.

[angielouise]

Well, to give you an idea of a fat gerbie, this is Rocky at just over 120g:







And this is Freddie, the whopper:




You can see they are fat right around their neck and face, and under their belly, and just generally big all over.

[angielouise]

And here's a thread that ashgerbil (Issy) started about her gerbie Suki who had a huge ovarian cyst - there are some photos:
gerbilforum.proboards21.com/index.cgi?board=health&action=display&thread=1170704190

[scrapperdog]

Ok I feel a lot better. Thought I had a morbidly obese gerbil but after seeing fat freddie I know there are fatter ones. I guess one issue was that she lives with a 1 year old gerbil and an overweight 2.5 year old looks even fatter next to a typical 1 year old.

I am going to the pet store now to get equiptment and I am going to get a wheel as well, they ran on the old wheel but it developed a squeek and would wake me up at night when they ran on it so I piched it. Sorry I posted this in the wrong forum I did not realize there was a forum for this kind of problem and once I browsed it I see that there are tons of threads about gerbils with wieght issues and this looks to be a common problem and not as serious as I thought. Thanks for the help and I will still post a pic if only to show how cute she is.

[angielouise]

scrapperdog said:

Ok I feel a lot better. Thought I had a morbidly obese gerbil but after seeing fat freddie I know there are fatter ones.

Oh noooo! That means my Freddie is the fattest gerbil in the world!!!! ;D

Glad it's put your mind at rest . You probably know this, but if you buy a wheel be sure to get either a solid one like a Silent Spinner, or a mesh one - not one with bars/slats. And also that it's big enough for them not to arch their back while they are on it.

Oh yes, piccies are a must!!! ;D

[doomgerbiluk]

Freddie's a skinny compared to my largest gerbil. If I remember correctly (and it was a couple of years ago) he reached around 160g!

[angielouise]

Well, I think Freddie and Rocky are both working on beating that record Doom ;D

It's funny really - I chose some photos that really make him look chunky, but he actually doesn't look at fat as Rocky when you see them in the flesh. I think he's just a big fella in general. ;D I weighed him for the first time on Sunday and I kept checking over and over again because I couldn't believe he was so heavy! ;D

[pepandmax]

Hey scrapperdog, this was a fine board to post your question on, as it deals with health, behavior, and a bit of general questions! I will move it to the Health Board, though, just to be consistent.

Angie has a great point about the wheels--there are definitely some kinds (the traditional hamster wheel, in particular) that are unsafe for gerbils. I have also been told that the mesh kind can lead to infections on the feet, as the mesh is rough and can cause microscopic scrapes on the soles, which then can be infected (especially as gerbils have a tendency of pooing and weeing on their wheels!). I have never actually heard first hand of such a case in a gerbil, but I just wanted to alert you to the potential risk. You can always get a mesh wheel and cover the wheel base with a strip of cardboard.

Nicole