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Post by panthershadow83 on Mar 3, 2005 4:35:01 GMT -8
Well, my new four gals seem fine... all except for one. One little girl sits in her igloo all day long. I have not seen her out since the night I put them in the cage. Yes, she's alive (I can see her in the igloo) but she always sleeps in there! I can't pick them up until Friday or Saturday, but I'm afraid something might happen to her before then. I put extra food in there, but what should I do about water? I don't want my baby to die...  Next thing... is there a possibility that my gerbs might have a shared dominance? I think this might be the case because yesterday morning the most active brown one poked her head out of the igloo to see what I was doing when I was putting the wheel back in. Then this morning, the grey one went to investigate me putting the wheel back in. Do both run the colony? I've noticed them play fighting, nothing serious... it freak me out though to see one in the sand bath and the other one begin to groom, then getting a little bonk on the nose from the first one's paw!! Also, would the dominant one take care of the girl who stays in the igloo? Or is it every gal for herself? |
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Post by Ritzie/Admin on Mar 3, 2005 7:18:02 GMT -8
There is always one dominant female and if a mixed group, also a dominant male! The male and female share dominance. The other group members are not equal! One is more dominant than the other. There is a hierarchy! And sadly it is indeed every gal ver herself! They will not bring food to each other...or anyway I have never heard of that. But one question, why can't you pick them up before friday or saterday?  If you think something could be wrong, I would check it out! But it might be that she is just scared. If she is OK, she is probably eating and drinking when you're not around, like at night, etc. |
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Post by panthershadow83 on Mar 3, 2005 13:17:09 GMT -8
Well, I only got them Tuesday and I don't want to stress them out too much by picking them up and stuff until they're settled.
I checked all their bottoms and I can rule out Wet Tail. I'm going to make sure their water bottle works alright and then try to see if she comes out at all...
Edit: Today or tomorrow, when I ca begin hand taming them, should I take out the igloo so the one who always stays in there comes out also? I'm getting mixed feelings about her, she might just be tired all the time!! When I took out the igloo to inspect everyone's rear ends for wetness, I noticed that she sat in the (empty cuz everyone else kicked all the sand out >_<) sandbath. She just kind of sat there, then ran around. She refused the treat I offered her. However, when I replaced the igloo, she sniffed around the cage a bit, checking out the paper towel tubes, and then finally went into her igloo. She didn't run for it, she just walked there. Also, she ate a piece of corn when I placed it next to her. ^_^
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Post by Ritzie/Admin on Mar 4, 2005 5:22:58 GMT -8
Check her out! If she is fine, and you will start to handle her, to tame her, than she will become less shy!
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Post by lydia on Mar 5, 2005 15:16:01 GMT -8
I am sorry that you're worried about the youngest girl,but,younger gerbils also need to sleep a lot more than slightly older gerbils.They are most active as older pups/young adults until they reach late middle age.The activity level then lessens,until they reach old age,when they are not very active again.
I can't remember how old you thought the smaller one could be,but a mixture of her age and the moves she has recently undergone could be all that is wrong.Pick her up and check that she isn't losing weight or underweight,and as long as she isn't.Don't worry,it wont help either of you.
Peter is quite correct on the dominance issue,it may appear as if 2 have equal ranking, only by them being the same age and therefore at the sexual maturity age where they would be sorting this out between themselves.
What you are describing between these two sounds like perfectly normal behaviour,they will groom each other,play together and play fight and tussle.
The smaller one may be behaving a bit deflated because of her 2 bigger companions.As long as isn't losing weight,and she is just being a bit lethargic,start handling her daily (preferably a few times daily) for short periods.
Scatter their food around the cage,including inside their igloo where she likes to relax,if you haven't already started doing this.
Another tip on treats,put them inside your hand and close your fist.Place your fist inside the cage,and,open it slowly,so your hand opens up flat,with the treats on your palm.
Gerbils are nosey,this works by the gerbils coming up to your hand,to see what it is,they then learn that their are treats inside.They may dash off once or twice with out eating a treat-but most grab a treat and either dash off to eat it,or eat it by your hand or on your hand.It is then a small step to taking treats from your fingers.Don't worry if the small one doesn't do this to start with,just place a treat by her,like you have done already.
As you have given them time to settle in,you could remove the 2 bigger ones for a play for 10 mins,and scatter their food in the cage whilst they are out.If the small one is not approaching the food until the bigger ones have picked out their favourite bits,this will enable her to eat in peace.
Lyd
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