tuftsnfluff
Member
AGS Ethical Breeder in DFW, TX
Posts: 589
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Post by tuftsnfluff on May 15, 2019 8:06:49 GMT -8
Wow! I stand VERY corrected! My Mistake! It looked SO much like a male.. and its so very hard to see that "triangle" sometimes even with really close pictures. And most pictures don't get that close.
Even the picture I linked seemed so very similar. Heck, like in the case of blacks, its hard to see even when staring at the animal's bottom!
See... even 10+ experience can be wrong! But least this is only my 2nd sexing mistake ever.. Good thing I never claim to be perfect. ^_^
I'm actually kind of glad about being wrong because it gave me something else to look for. I always relied on the "distance and scent patch size" when sexing if the scrotum wasn't as obvious in 6 to 8 week olds. And its been very reliable. But the "Triangle" right under the "nub" (hehe, still love that!) is a great thing to know to look for. Many times, in most pictures, that's a very hard thing to see. Your Agouti has a rather surprisingly large one. Sorry for the confusion though, sam!
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Post by sam89 on May 15, 2019 10:57:20 GMT -8
Nobody's perfect! Thanks everybody for your help. The breeder I've met again today confirmed that they are both female and showed me a male for comparison.
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Post by Shooting Star on May 16, 2019 16:44:34 GMT -8
The introitus (triangle) can be difficult to see, but if you *do* see it, there's absolutely no way the gerbil is a male. It's also not useful in young pups, since it's actually sealed (just appears as a line) until at least day 16, and sometimes until after day 25. A lot of the timing depends on environmental factors, but there are also "early-maturing" and "late-maturing" females, dependent on internal chemistry, which can account for variation within a litter that's raised in the same conditions. In short, the Agouti is just more mature.
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Post by sam89 on May 19, 2019 0:17:01 GMT -8
Well... the agouti was actually way more mature than expected since she's given a baby at the end of the week! Surprise mthfckz!! There's a single one... Hope it's a female or I'll have to give him away in a few weeks.
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Post by GerbilUK on May 19, 2019 1:07:32 GMT -8
Oh crikey. Is she looking after the pup OK ? is the black gerbil interfering with it at all?
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Post by sam89 on May 19, 2019 1:38:39 GMT -8
The black gerbil seems to live her life (happy to get out of the nest to eat more often thant her friend I guess) and not really do anything with the pup. The mom carefully carries toilet paper bits in the nest and I saw her interacting with the baby. All of that was yesterday, I didn't open the nest today since I want to leave them alone and reduce stress as much as can be.
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tuftsnfluff
Member
AGS Ethical Breeder in DFW, TX
Posts: 589
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Post by tuftsnfluff on May 20, 2019 5:52:30 GMT -8
Well then... O.o I guess this breeder didn't separate the Agouti quick enough from --probably Dad-- before selling to you. Even stranger.. you said these gerbils were 8 weeks old?? Gerbils become sexually mature around 10 to 12 weeks. That's a bit young to be breeding and I suspect, perhaps, the reason why she only had one baby maybe?
Unfortunately it is VERY rare for single pup litters to survive, even with experienced, mature gerbil parents/parent. Many times, there isn't enough stimuli (wriggling, squeaking) to encourage mother's milk production and kick in the caring of her maternal instincts. And with the gerbil being so young, this can be a hindrance for the process too. Sadly, its practically impossible to surrogate hand feed pups this young as well.
Be careful with toilet paper in a pup tank. Toilet paper is designed to dissolve and slowly break down when wet and this causes it to get very clingy. This can be a dangerous situation for young pups if wet toilet paper gets wrapped around them. Even a quarter sized piece can be threatening.
Best bet is to replace the toilet paper with paper towels, which are designed to absorb not dissolve.
The other gerbil shouldn't be an issue as she will probably help with the Agouti with the raising of the pup if it gets that far. The pup.. also looks like an Agouti as well.
Will be crossing my fingers for your little pup!
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Post by sam89 on May 20, 2019 10:56:01 GMT -8
I guess this gerbil was a bit older than the others. Thanks for the advice on toilet paper! I haven't seen the baby again since I've taken the pics... I hesitate quite a bit to disturb the nest just to watch. I'll tell you about how things work for the pup.
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Post by sam89 on May 20, 2019 11:51:48 GMT -8
Well there it is. Puppy's dead.
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tuftsnfluff
Member
AGS Ethical Breeder in DFW, TX
Posts: 589
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Post by tuftsnfluff on May 21, 2019 5:21:26 GMT -8
Hey there, I am sorry for the loss, even if it was expected. She's either too young a female to properly know what she's doing or the one pup just wasn't enough stimuli for her to be able to care for it.
Always hard to lose an animal, especially a baby.
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