Gerbil size difference...?

[Thea]

I've always noticed Mali is quite a bit smaller than Pippa. They're from the same litter, so it couldn't be age, and they were bred ethically so I'm hoping it isn't illness? She's very bright and happy and eats and drinks fine. 

They've both grown a lot since I got them, but Mali has always been smaller than Pippa. She isn't smaller in the way that she's skinny, she just looks a fair bit smaller than Pippa when they're sitting next to each other or cuddling. 

I'm afraid I don't have any pictures as they don't often sit next to each other and they sleep in their nest unless it's really sunny, but I will try to get one. 

Anyway, does anyone know what this could be? Could Mali have been the runt? She was 7g lighter than Pippa when I weighed them a couple of weeks ago (Mali was 56g and Pippa was 63g. They are about to turn 5 months, and this was 2-3 weeks ago), but as I said she just feels smaller in my hand, but not skinny. 

I'm hoping this is normal. It isn't a massive difference at all, I'm not sure if a photo would show it, but it's something I've noticed from the start. If anyone's had any experiences where one if smaller but not skinnier, that would be great to know too.

Thanks!

Thea

[yeti218]

Shark weighs 80 grams and his brother is 100. I would say hes a bit skinnier though.

Cant say I know too much about this topic but I'd just keepm weighing them regularly and maybe try to give the smaller one some fatty treats when her sister isnt watching to make sure shes getting enough food.

[Thea]

Thanks for the reply! Yes I've heard it's quite normal for weight differences, it's just a bit worrying since Mali is 5 months and only around 55g (I'm not sure if that's light for a female her age?)

I have been giving her some fatty treats when she's away from Pippa, but because she's not skinny I wasn't sure if that would do her good. I was a bit worried that Pippa was taking all the food which was preventing Mali from growing as much as she should, is this possible? They're very sweet together though, Pippa always grooms Mali and snuggles with her.

[yeti218]

I’d say it’s definitely possible. I had that problem at one point, Chicken is a much more motivated eater than Shark, so when I’d feed them Chicken would right away set to work finding and eating all the food. Shark was much more laid back so by the time he got around to looking for food, Chicken had already eaten a lot of the really tasty or fatty foods. Chickens gluttony had no limits so I couldn’t feed more because Chicken would just eat it. I would try to sneak food to Shark, but he wasn’t always interested in eating because he just gets caught up in his important gerbil business,

I had to do an experiment where I put them both on a boring pellet food for a few weeks. It wasn’t as interesting to Chicken so he ate less of it and stopped gaining weight. Since there was more food leftover, Shark gained a bit of weight, but not much because I think his appetite genuinely just isn’t as robust as his brothers. Now I’m on the hunt for a “goldilocks” food that’s healthy and tasty enough to eat, but not so good that Chicken indulges his gluttonous side again.

Anyway, back to the topic of your gerbils, they may or may not be fully grown at 5 months. The internet tells me 60-80 grams for an adult female, so I wouldn’t really be worried. But I do think continuing to keep track of their weight and offering Mali some extra food when you can is a good idea in case she is still hungry.

[Thea]

Thanks again for the reply.

Okay, maybe it's worth keeping a close eye on her eating then - I do notice that when I put in thing like oat, flax and millet sprays Pippa runs off with them, so maybe I should be making sure Mali is getting as much as Pippa. That's very interesting about Chicken and Shark, it sounds like something similar *could* be happening to my girls, possibly?

Would it be worth taking Mali out and offering her food so that Pippa can't take any, or could that cause issues? If I put her in the sand pen every now an then with a bowl of food to see if she eats while Pippa isn't there, would that be okay? It's fine if you don't know, but I think I need to do something to find out if Pippa is taking most of the food.

Thank you, so if she has around a month of her main growth left she should be in the normal range. I think I've heard on here that 7-100 is a better weight for females, but I'm sure she'll gain weight as she ages. I'll keep a close eye on her, and watch what happens when I feed them tomorrow!

[Markpd]

7-100g? That's light at the lower end .

I don't think the 7g weight difference is anything to worry about (my boys weight difference is and has mostly been ~7g), I've no idea on the absolute weight of young female gerbils though.
(PS about to post an update about my boys weight (if I can remember which thread it was!), they've both gained 4g in 2 weeks ....)

[yeti218]

I was feeding Shark seperately when I could. I put a tube between their cage and their playpen when I want to give them some playtime, and Shark is always the first to the playpen, and stays out longer. So I would always take these opportunities to offer him food.

They never seem to have any problems getting along together in the cage after ones been in the playpen longer than the other.

[Thea]

Is it for females though? As they get older, around 2 or 3, they gain some weight often, and my girls were both around 90-100g. But when they're younger, I thought females were around 70-80g? (at least, I think my girls were!!)

That's true, it isn't too much difference, but it isn't so much the actual weight that worries me, it's more that Mali looks quite definitely smaller next to Pippa!

Oh no Have you fed them any extra treats/food or is that natural weight gain?

[LilyandDaisy]

55g is likely to be fine for her. Lily was 66g at the same age, but she has a fairly long frame. She was skinny but not unhealthily so, and she filled out as she got older. A smaller gerbil could easily be less and still be healthy.

I think even siblings can have different body shapes and be different sizes, and it's also quite normal for one to weigh more than the other. A 7g weight difference is probably about average. Lily and Daisy are usually about 10g apart these days. The thing to keep an eye on whether the gap between is getting wider because that might indicate that one is eating more at the expense of the other.

[Markpd]

May 4, 2021 11:26:52 GMT -8 Thea said:

Is it for females though? As they get older, around 2 or 3, they gain some weight often, and my girls were both around 90-100g. But when they're younger, I thought females were around 70-80g? (at least, I think my girls were!!)

That's true, it isn't too much difference, but it isn't so much the actual weight that worries me, it's more that Mali looks quite definitely smaller next to Pippa!

Oh no Have you fed them any extra treats/food or is that natural weight gain?

Same food (20g for both) and still just 2 treats each per day, I've posted more info in Yeti's weight gain thread (which I think you're sub'd to).

[Thea]

LilyandDaisy - Thank you for being so reassuring! It's good to hear that Lily gained weight as she got older. Hopefully Mali is just a different size to Pippa and she's fine - after all she seems healthy. I will keep an eye on the food though.

Markpd - Oh no I'm not sure if this would work, but do you think you could feed twice a day instead of one time? In the morning you could feed 10g and in the evening you could feed 10g, so they have it more spread out and don't get into the habit of eating it all at once? I'm not sure if that would work. Or you could try cutting down to 8g each a day and see what that does?

[betty]

Yes, splitting it up does make a difference to what they eat sometimes as I have been trying some silly food experiments and where I give the whole weeks food in one go - they totally eat their favourites first. When split into a few portions it is still weighted but not as much, and when I feed daily, the favouritism is much less noticeable.

My experiments don't take into account exactly what is eaten though - just what is removed from the generous-sized bowl.

One gerbil took absolutely ALL the food out of his weeks dish by day 4 - EXCEPT - the entire 5gs of yellow pellets. Hadn't moved a single one.

[Markpd]

Hmm, I don't really have time in the morning. And they don't eat all of it in 1 go, as I have noticed them eating some of it later on, usually around midnight shortly after waking up. So they don't gorge on it one go, lol .

And seeing as no one's answered at the other thread, but have here , I'll add that post and question here.

Previous weights.

Avon ... date .... Blake
81g ... 24/11/20 .. 84g
81g ... 14/12/20 .. 83g
93g ... 12/01/21 .. 93g
93g ... 3/02/21 ... 92g
94g ... 26/02/21 .. 91g
98g ... 15/03/21 .. 95g
107g .. 6/04/21 ... 102g

May 4, 2021 11:33:15 GMT -8 Markpd said:

So on further weighing of my boys :-

Avon ..................... Blake
108g .. 20/04/21 .. 101g
112g .. 04/05/21 .. 105g

That's after cutting treats from 3/day to 2, so after levelling off they've put on 4g (I've noticed before that their weight goes up in steps).

As a side note, I've noticed that when the lid is off (so no mesh to grab hold of), Blake struggles to jump up onto the ledge now, although Avon is heavier and doesn't usually have any problems with that!

At some angles Blake looks chubby, like here photos.app.goo.gl/JFBdKHuzvQYq8u5a7 , but at others he looks fine! photos.app.goo.gl/3bomTy74BqfCGySe6 (taken on the same day), I'm confused! Blake and Avon side by side - photos.app.goo.gl/bB6aNTT5oVNgBBDm7

But it seems their weight is still increasing, so I think I'll cut their feed from 20g/day (for both) to 15g, does that seem reasonable? Or am I jumping the gun?

[tanzanyte]

I'll add my weights in case it helps you both Mark and Thea.
Pepsi has rather suddenly piled on weight, although I have no idea why. Max looks chunky, especially when in a similar position as one of your photo's of Blake.
Little My was lighter than Mymble and then became heavier. Although both still look quite tiny. I don't know if it's because I'm used to seeing the boys looking all poofed up. I swear having a full time sand lake for them to bath in is making them fluffier.

Pepsi ... Date ... Max 
75g ... 26/12/20 . 83g 
74g ... 16/1/21 .. 85g 
79g ... 9/2/21 ... 84g 
83g ... 4/3/21 ... 89g 
84g ... 25/3/21 .. 92g 
83g ... 15/4/21 .. 92g 
95g ... 8/5/21 ... 96g 

Mymble ... Date ... Little My
45g ... 16/1/21 ...42g
58g ... 9/2/21 ... 55g
63g ... 24/2/21 .. 63g
65g ... 14/3/21 .. 70g
70g ... 25/3/21 .. 74g
69g ... 15/4/21 .. 74g
73g ... 8/5/21 ... 77g

[Thea]

Thanks so much, that is helpful. Do you know around how old Mymble and Little My were on the first weighing? My girls are in between the second and third weighing and are 5 months.