2 gerbils, 1 is overweight

[bischelli]

Hey all,

So I have two lovely gerbils housed together and I’ve gad them since they were pups. The larger of the yo is significantly larger and definitely overweight. The smaller is in perfect health.

Because they’re housed together, I’m having a hard time helping the larger lose weight without depriving the smaller of food. I’m also worried the larger might become aggressive if he can’t eat as much as he’s used to.

I’ve got them both on oxbow rings, and they get one or two treats each day. (As in, they each get one sunflower seed once or twice a day).

I’m also worried the larger might be eating wood or something? He really loves to chew.

Any advice would be delightful <3

[LilyandDaisy]

It's normal for pairs to differ quite a bit in size, and males can get very "chunky" without necessarily being overweight. Does he have a fat hump on the neck?

[bischelli]

He’s pretty heavy but he doesn’t seem to have any humps or lumps. Can you describe what you mean a little more?

[LilyandDaisy]

www.moonstonegerbils.com/condition

If you look at the image of the "Type 2" gerbil on the website linked above you can see he has a lump on the top of the neck. It's an indicator that a male gerbil may be overweight.

[betty]

Also, if you don't already, it would certainly be worth scatter feeding all meals so that the larger one can't dominate the location of the food. Sometimes there is a lot of psychology going on with a pair, and even if the dominant on isn't standing over the food - if it is always in the same place, the submissive one still can't always take full advantage.

So that would be my plan anyway for them going forward.

One is always heavier than the other in pair as said above - it is part of how the clan itself works, so there is no direct way to reduce the weight in one without possibly affecting the clan balance. You can reduce the calorie levels overall for the pair of them, or increase the excerise for both, but try not to obviously seperate them out to do so.

[bischelli]

Thank you all so much.

Crowley definitely doesn’t have a hump, he’s more like the first type. I’ll start scatter feeding them.