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Post by betty on Aug 8, 2020 0:37:39 GMT -8
Hello. As promised - a general thread for any duprasi chatter or general questions and mumblings. If you have a specific question about 'for sales' or your doops individual health - start a new thread as usual and name it specifically, that way people can react faster if needed. So - doop eh? Who's got one or wants one? (Now, how do you insert images again? - where is my drop box account these days???) I've gone with Imgur instead:
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Post by gerbilord on Aug 8, 2020 1:02:45 GMT -8
My questions: (for now...) -is there only one colour of doops? (like, instead of having agoutis, PEW...) -do they have the personality of a gerbil, or is it more like that of a hamster? -is it necessary to feed live insects or can they be dried? And also, what should they eat in terms of main food, veggies, treats. Is it exactly the same as mongolians or are there some differences? -how well do they get along with other duprasi and if they were kept as more than one, what is the recommended number/sex for one cage
Those are my starter questions... Hopefully I'll adopt a doop some day :)
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Aug 8, 2020 2:12:29 GMT -8
I almost got a duprasi in May when the rescue had a litter. Unfortunately most of the litter died so I got two Mongolians instead, but getting a doop is definitely on my long-term to do list.
Do they burrow as much as Mongolians?
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Post by betty on Aug 8, 2020 2:33:58 GMT -8
So, comments in BLUE: My questions: (for now...) -is there only one colour of doops? (like, instead of having agoutis, PEW...) So far there is only the one colour - the standard agouti - a nice sandy colour on top with darker colour underneath.-do they have the personality of a gerbil, or is it more like that of a hamster? They have a character all of their own!!! They are REALLY active overnight and catching them can be hard work if they don't want to be caught - they sort of slide through your fingers on contact (?). They have strong personalities and can be quite stroppy if they want - but others can just want cuddles and will fall asleep on your wherever you or they are?-is it necessary to feed live insects or can they be dried? And also, what should they eat in terms of main food, veggies, treats. Is it exactly the same as mongolians or are there some differences? Same as normal gerbils really - a good mix of grain, seed, fresh and dried plants and veg, along with live or dried live food. cat/dog biscuits or exotic hedgehog mix. Some reports say more live food is god - but others say things like mealworms can cause kidney damage long-term - so do mix up your 'live' food choices (beetles, worms, bug, flies, all sorts are in exotic foods these days - or try leftover roast chicken bones - mine love them...-how well do they get along with other duprasi and if they were kept as more than one, what is the recommended number/sex for one cage. 'Recommended' right now is solitary - but you can have them in pairs or groups in some instances. Not enough is known about the results of these long-term, all options have been talked about anecdotally. I have had many pairs stay together so far (nearly a year only) but also heard of other failing early on - it is said that it is all to do with the number of different nest sites (houses or jars) and wheels (they like one each) in most cases, and unlike normal gerbils - people have said that 'if they fight or squabble (usually noisy or you find scabs on their tails) you can split them up for a few days to calm down, then stick them straight back in together and it is usually fine'. I haven't tried this myself yet though.Those are my starter questions... Hopefully I'll adopt a doop some day
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Post by betty on Aug 8, 2020 2:39:52 GMT -8
That's a shame - as they are pretty awesome - but can be very difficult to breed sometimes. Do they burrow as much as Mongolians? Yes, they do burrow - but from what I can tell - not in the same way. They tend to just love moving their bedding around a lot and they love being underneath things - so it seems as though they can benefit from a very deep bedding - but they aren't truely living underground like mongolians - more like living in a scrape or small 'cave'.
A lot of people keep doops on a standard but plush substrate layer - just like traditional hamsters - and their doops don't dig at all in that - just run over the top of it.
They do love to be under things like I said - so often after a clean out, they will spend all night just removing all the substrate from underneath, say, a bendy bridge to make more room for themselves and then transport all the kicked out stuff into the nest heap - which with some doop can be MASSIVE.
However, some doops don't even bother with that and just sleep out in the open or in their wheel (they do often fall asleep just about anywhere?)
They do love a wheel though - can't be without one of them I don't think!
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Post by betty on Oct 27, 2020 4:39:58 GMT -8
Ha ha - doops not as popular on here as they are elsewhere it would seem!
Sounds like we have some true dedicated gerbil owners on here!
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Post by Markpd on Oct 29, 2020 12:07:45 GMT -8
Very cute photo of your one there
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Thea
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Posts: 1,012
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Post by Thea on Jan 12, 2021 0:38:22 GMT -8
This thread is so old, but I barely know anything about doops so got a couple of questions!
Is anyone trying to develop a new colour of duprasi?
What is their lifespan? Is it similar to Mongolian or shorter/longer?
Do they like to be held?
Are they prone to any particular health issues?
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Post by betty on Jan 12, 2021 5:57:55 GMT -8
This thread is ongoing - it is never too old to comment.
New Colours: You can't develop a new colour per se because a genetic colour mutation is sort of down to the Gods. They either come up or they don't. What you CAN do though is be more attuned to the range of standard colours so that you can see if anything comes up that is just ever so slightly different - and can then prove it to be inherited - like the Steel gene in normal gerbils. Most people would hardly notice tiny white bits on their gerbils feet or a take any care of a gerbil with grey hairs as it aged - but this turned out to be inherited and therefore IS a new gene.
People COULD however look at stretching out the phenotypics - the appearance - and make them look different without a new gene. All differences in appearance are made up a different genes but aren't quite a whole new thing themselves. Like trying to breed for a certain amount of spotting in mongolian gerbils. The modifiers are all genes, but aren't easy to control visually. So you can breed spotted gerbils with more spotting over and over only the most spotted, but you will still get those with hardly any spots.
Using this theory - it might be possible to breed only the most ginger or most grey duprasi over and over and hope to pull apart the two 'shades'. Therefore although they won't have a new colour gene - like Argente - but you could reliably breed either ginger or grey duprasi from the same parents.
Lifespan: At the moment - with real life duprasi (not what it say on the internet) we are looking at around 2-3 years for a duprasi - whereas the average is 2-4 with mongolians. There are certainly records on both species of 4 and 5 - although there are less people with duprasi so there are less reports.
Handling: Most duprasi are great to be handled and the more regularly you handle them - the more handleable they become. They also don't need to be handled from very young as pups to still be friendly as adults - although it is still always advised. They will also not do as much as normal gerbils once they come out of their enclosure - so once they have had a bit of a sniff, they will often just snuggle up on you and fall asleep. Normal gerbil however will often take more than an hour to settle (if there is a whole sofa involved) if at all! There are the odd duprasi who are grumpy - usually older females in my case - but people do report grumpy young (and old) males just as often.
Health Issues: So far we are still learning, but eye trouble seems to crop up a lot on FB groups. Which is sometimes linked to weightloss and teeth trouble. Duprasi can lose weight rapidly when they are perfectly healthy though - so that one isn't such an indicator of ill health as in normal gerbils (unless it rapidly drops below 40g along with a shirivelled tail). There have been a few other odd things, like tumours, heart failure, kidney trouble, swollen testicles, and itchy skin/allergies mentioned, but not overwhelmingly so.
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Thea
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Post by Thea on Jan 12, 2021 7:24:13 GMT -8
Thanks betty! Really helpful. I would love to get a doop in a few years!
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Post by betty on Jan 12, 2021 7:50:50 GMT -8
I might add 'splitting the shades' to my own list of aims - just need to find a way to scale the existing shades and see what happens?
Hmm - I feel the need for Photoshop here and some existing images of mine...
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Post by yuzername on Feb 15, 2021 20:21:04 GMT -8
Hold on you are talking like doops are pretty new, "So far there is only the one colour" "'Recommended' right now", is this just me being weird or are these guys newly discovered/bred?
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Post by gerbilord on Feb 16, 2021 1:38:35 GMT -8
I’ve got a question which sort of directs itself to both doops and Mongolians - will it ever be possible to have a long-haired gerbil? I’ve seen some hamsters that seem to have over-active bum fluff (what else can I call it) And there’s obviously lots of breeds of cats, dogs, guinea pigs, etc that have long-hair. So would it be possible and what would be the steps to getting there with gerbils?
Also do doops have any foods that they generally go mad for? Or is it more their personal taste like it seems to be for Mongolians?
Last question - it seems that doops are calmer than gerbils, from the way you describe them just falling asleep anywhere... Do they often just flop wherever, or are they actually quite active but also floppy? Oh and are they nocturnal or diurnal?
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Post by betty on Feb 16, 2021 15:10:56 GMT -8
Yuzername - doops are relatively new to the pet market - although they have been kept by scientists and breeders for many decades. Like more unusual animals - they need to have a 'desirable feature for the masses' to kick off. And this is the doops time. People are loving their cute faces and pancake-like attitude. However, as now more people are wanting them - they are asking all sorts of questions and trying all sorts of new things - so there is still much to learn about them.
Gerbilord - I think all long haired hamsters have extra bum fluff - not sure if the short-haired do - although I haven't kept syrians for many, many years - so that could all be different by now? There was an article somehwere in the past that said there had been a one off long-haird gerbil I think. Can't be sure I actually saw that or not - but yes - it is possible - the right gene needs to mutate first.
Seems like so far, doops are the same. Mine love brocolli, kale and waxworms - but other people's wont have any of them?
Doops can be less inquisitve than anormal gerbils - and are also more likely to sit still for hours - which is something that normal gerbils NEVER do. They don't all just flop anywhere - but they have a natural reaction/tendancy to sit still and flatten out like a pancake - especially if you are stroking them. I have a little female right now though who will not sit still for anything - very cheeky little monkey.
Mainly nocturnal (10pm through to 7am) but they will wake up through the day if they get disturbed and start running in their wheel or shuffling around looking for food...
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Thea
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Post by Thea on Feb 16, 2021 23:42:24 GMT -8
Reading all these answers gives me so many more questions! Sorry betty! Where do you even get doops from in the first place? Is there only a few breeders in the UK? How much space do they need to live in? For Mongolians: how long did it take for new colours to be developed? Interested to see how long it could take for doops to have new colours, possibly? Also, how long have doops been around? I can't find anything on the internet even though I've been searching! In a few years as they become more domesticated, could they start to be sold in pet shops? Not that I want to support most pet shops, just interested! I'd actually really like a doop some time. Not soon, I very much love my Mongolian gerbils and I feel like I 'know' them best, but maybe in a few years.
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