possibility of gerbil pregnancy?

[lizzy]

i bought a new gerbil called sassy yesterday from the store where i work

when we get our animals in, they're already sexed, meaning we don't have to divide them up, just sex one of the group and that should account for all of them.
so my gerbil sassy was the last one left. the impression i got when i saw her that she was rather big, and sort of huddled up, but not in the ill way? when i first got her home i had a job getting her in the cage because she was very jumpy. i wasn't 100% positive she was a girl so i tried to turn her over to see, she didn't like that at all and wriggled out my hands.
i was thinking of introducing her to one of my three sisters, so i put her in the run with the divider down on the floor, and noticed that sassy was bigger, and fatter than katy, yet katy must be a lot older. i'm not sure exactly how old sassy is but she must be about 11 weeks, she's scent marking excessively.
today i tried to pick her up, she still didn't like me and bit me rather hard.

thing is, i remember when we moved her and all her littermates or whatever relation they were to her, into a cage together and none of them were that difficult to catch/wriggly, and none of them bit me, either? plus, i caught a glimpse of one of her sisters last weekend before her and another one got sold [sassy and the other one must have been asleep] and she looked really tiny and slim, nothing like sassy now, and they were all the same size when they came in, so they couldn't have changed that much in a week?

good picture of her looking quite fat:


is there any possibility she might be pregnant, or just a little antisocial and eating too much?

[sweetie]

Wow Lizzy,

There are a lot of things going on here. One if she was the last one to go, she might be a little depressed (lonely and more irritable also scared) she does not have to compete for food either so she had easier access (easier to get fatter with no competition). It may be a possibility that she is pregnant. I have heard stories of people buying gerbils from the pet store and they were pregnant when they bought them. Keep an eye on her development. Pregnancy is usually 24-28 days or up to 35 if first time mom or nursing.

One of the other members Khelkhet was unsure of the sex of his gerbils and did not want to break the trust established to date so he put a glass jar in the cage and when the gerbils went in, he picked up the glass jar and looked underneath it. Great idea

You may have gotten the nasty bite becaue you handled another gerbil and when you went to pick her up you smelled like the other gerbil. They are very territorial and better at smell than sight. The gerbil may have been responding to the scent and not your hand. I got bit yesterday because I picked up my new gerbil then put her on the floor and went to get the other girls out and into a ball. Blackie smelt Bear on my hand, lunged at me and bit me. At first, I was confused because Blackie's biting was not her normal behavior. She has nibbled but never bitten me. I was hurt both physically and emotionally until I figured out what the real issue was. Now I am careful to wash before and after handling the gerbils !!

You also have to think about what you would do if you were the new gerbil. It's confusing having all the buddies go and being the only one left. Then you are brought into a new environment with new smells and new gerbils. It is a difficult situation for Sassy. Girls are extremely territorial as I have recently found out. The introduction can be difficult. Also if you are trying to introduce one to an existing pair it may take time if it works at all.
Good luck! Hope this has helped

[queenofthenile]

You can check out my site if you'd like to compare pictures. Also, if you watch her sides very closely when she is sleeping, you may see abdominal movement. If you do, she's obviously preggers! She should then deliver in 1-3 days.
www.gerbilbreeding.com/preg.htm