Do my gerbs look normal or too skinny?

[j]

I think they look good... ???

Tried to get a good shot of them each standing up -



(same agouti)

[Ritzie/Admin]

They're definatelly NOT fat! They are indeed skinny, but I think not too much!

Are they females? Because their body (that being thin) looks very female! The most of my young females are just as thin!

If you give them just ab libitum food (as much as they want) and they are very lively, active, look healthy in general, than you won't need to worry!

[j]

The agouti is a female, she's about a year old. The male/black is only about 3 months and he's actually a little smaller than her. I think the female might possibly be pregnant and if she is..it's 12days.. but maybe not since she looks so tiny The male hasn't tried to mate with her again since that last time they were at it for like 3 hours. lol.

I used to leave food in there all the time, but they used to fight over it. It was stupid. There would be a pile of food in front of them both, and the other one would want what the other had so they'd squeak and chase eachother. So now I just throw in some once or twice a day (depending on how they're acting and how much I put in the last time). and they get a few sunflower seeds.

They are healthy and active. (no puffy fur!) And I let them run around my bedroom a few hours a couple times a week.(they don't like wheels)

Hmm yeah that's another thing. Their fur looks too sleek and good to really be having a major problem with mites again. Maybe just another cage clean and bath would do it.

[Ritzie/Admin]

You don't have to worry, 3 months is still very young! I'm almost sure they will get thicker!

About the mites, yes I would recommend you to do another cage clean and bath again!

[j]

Wow. I weighed them both today and the male/black weighs 60g/2oz.

The female/Agouti weighs 80grams.. She looks so tiny though..
I just took those pics a couple days ago and she was looking a little fatter this morning, but her fur was really puffy from waking up so I figured it was that. She did eat a lot yesterday though cause I gave them rice crispies.

[Ritzie/Admin]

So you see that they are not too skinny!

Mongolian gerbils have a weight of 60-85 gram and with. 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.

So your female is completely normal, and your male is an skinny male, but not yet too skinny! ;D

And I'm sure they will become heavier, becasue they are just 3 months old!

[j]

How long does it take for males to be fully grown? He is still a little smaller then her.. like shorter..

By the way, the female is 1 year old The male is 3 months. =)

[Ritzie/Admin]

With one year the female is definatelly fully grown!

I'm not sure exactly how long it takes for a male to be fully grown, maybe a halve year or something!? I'm not sure, never looked into it.