Gerbil "fat"

[butsam]

How "fat" are gerbils supposed to be? I am wondering if I am being a bit too strict on sunflower seeds...lol

When I picked up my 2 gerbils, Bosco and Finch, they both were nearly skin and bones. I mean, they have really healthy hair, but if I feel beyond the hair, I can easily feel their "shoulder" bones, and this seems to take away about half the size that they appear without feeling down to their skin. Is this normal? I keep their food well-stocked, haven't missed a day without ensuring they are fed quite well. I feed them hamster/gerbil mix minus sunflower seeds, and use the sunflower seeds as a reward. This has corn (which they also love), pellets (which they tend to save for last), and tons of what looks like bird seed, which they eat quite a bit of as well. There are a few larger seeds too, and the occasional wafer of something, I have no clue what. I feed them fruits twice a week, too. I know they are eating well...they are also exercising well, too, though.

Should I start feeding them a bit more, and giving more sunflower seeds, or is it normal for them to feel like "skin and bones" when you feel below all that fur they have?

Sam

[queenofthenile]

Weighing them is the best bet. Here is a thread that talks about this...
gerbilforum.proboards21.com/index.cgi?board=health&action=display&thread=1075139111

[Ritzie/Admin]

It is indeed the best to weight them! And if you think that they are too thin or weight not enough, you can feed them more!

OK, here about their weight again:
Mongolian gerbils have a weight of 60-85 gram and with overweight they can weigh 120 gram. The males are 10-20% heavier than the females. In the wild there isn't a difference in the weight between the males and the females, both weight in the wild about 60 gram.

More on the link queenofthenile posted above here!

[j]

lol someone told me my gerbil's are too skinny. I only give them a couple sunflower seeds every few days. I feed Kaytee Exact, which is a different type of food, it doesn't have any seeds or anything in it. (Or I give them 2 each a day)

I think my gerbils look good though. I don't like the fat puffy look. And mine get a lot of exercise, I let them out for about 3 hours a day to run around. They do have a constant supply of food, just not the sunflowers. I'm getting a digital postage scale soon that I just won on Ebay..lol I cant wait to see how much they weigh.