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Post by Markpd on Apr 28, 2022 13:44:52 GMT -8
No worries  Hmm, not sure, Blake's weight seems to be fluctuating, but Avon's has dropped a little (see table, I've just updated it), but probably too early to tell atm. |
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Post by Markpd on May 11, 2022 11:36:08 GMT -8
Another weight update, Avon's down a little, Blake's near enough the same. Avon ... date .... Blake 63g ... 15/08/20 .. 65g 70g ... 01/09/20 .. 65g 74g ... 22/09/20 .. 70g 74g ... 07/10/20 .. 73g 76g ... 20/10/20 .. 76g 78g ... 09/11/20 .. 79g 81g ... 24/11/20 .. 84g 81g ... 14/12/20 .. 83g 93g ... 12/01/21 .. 93g 93g ... 03/02/21 .. 92g 94g ... 26/02/21 .. 91g 98g ... 15/03/21 .. 95g 107g .. 06/04/21 .. 102g (cut treats from 3 to 2 per day) 108g .. 20/04/21 .. 101g 112g .. 04/05/21 .. 105g (cut feed to 15g/day, may have only been a tiny cut) 106g .. 18/05/21 .. 108g 99g ... 01/06/21 .. 107g (cut feed to 12g/day, increased Avon's treats to 4) 99g ... 16/06/21 .. 107g 99g ... 30/06/21 .. 104g (declanned this date!) 93g ... 14/07/21 ... 95g
97 .... 22/07/21 ... 94 97 .... 28/07/21 ... 95 92 .... 11/08/21 ... 96 90 .... 25/08/21 ... 97 (increased feed to 14g/day, been unable to feed Avon 4 treats/day, he ignored them!) 92 .... 16/09/21 ... 99 93 .... 30/09/21 ... 99 95 .... 15/10/21 ... 96 (declanned again 3/10) 95 .... 27/10/21 ... 95 91 .... 10/11/21 ... 93 (Mostly been able to feed Avon treats again, but only if I drop them in front of him, he won't take them from my fingers! lol) 96 .... 24/11/21 ... 96 92 .... 09/12/21 ... 97 97 .... 24/12/21 .. 102 Avon is beginning to take treats more often from my fingers again  98 .... 07/01/22 .. 100 103 .. 22/01/22 .. 107 107 .. 07/02/22 .. 114 108 .. 21/02/22 .. 116 104 .. 07/03/22 .. 120 Cut Blake's feed to 5g 113 .. 21/03/22 .. 120 120 .. 04/04/22 .. 110 Cut Avon's treats to 2, and feed to 5g 117 .. 18/04/22 .. 115 110 .. 11/05/22 .. 117 (forgot to set a 2 week reminder on my phone! Hence overshot  ) 111 .. 25/05/22 .. 121 115 .. 22/06/22 .. 115 (as above, forgot again! Cut Avon's feed to 4g/day).
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Post by Markpd on May 25, 2022 11:56:07 GMT -8
Updated table again, Blake's confounding the cut to his feed and putting on weight again! The only thing I can think of is that I randomly chuck a few loose seeds from the bread I have into the sandpen and their playpen, now both my boys go in there, with Avon taking greater interest in it these days than he used to , but Blake still goes in their much more. That said, I really don't put that much in there! I'm baffled, I suppose I could just stop it and see what happens, but putting those random seeds in there, and them searching and digging around for it is part of the fun and reason they're eager to go there, would be a shame to stop that  . |
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Thea
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Post by Thea on May 26, 2022 11:07:36 GMT -8
That's really strange and confusing! It seems unlikely that a few seeds would change Blake's weight, although as you say it might be worth trying. Could it be natural age weight gain? Not that your boys are old of course because they aren't, but of course they'll get less active over time which can contribute to weight gain (although you'd probabl be able to tell if they becme less active). How much is he weighing now Mark? Hope it's ok to add, I'm struggling with low weights in Mali again  Mali's always been really light but seems healthy and active. I weighed her just a minute ago and it seemed to say that she was 51g/53g (switching), although the scales I used were different to normal and are quite unreliable. Of course I'm really worried, but she's gotten as low as 48g as an adult (a year ago though, and it could have been a bad weighing) looking back on this thread, so it might not be the worst. I don't like to admit it but I'm terrible at weighing my girls so I can't remember exactly how much she weighed last time, but I believe it was the mid-higher 50s so I'm pretty worried. She doesn't appear very skinny compared to normal though so I'm really hoping it's just the scales. I'll buy some good quality food to see if she gains weight, in which case I might switch back to shopbought rather than home made as that is the diet she's been on for the past 6 months. Until then, I'll increase the amount of food I give the girls. |
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Post by Markpd on May 31, 2022 11:55:59 GMT -8
My boys weights are in the table above (including the weighing from the 25th). Btw, they'll be 2yrs old end of this week!  Re your scales, have you got something of a known weight you could put on it to see if it's accurate? I hope Mali's fine, and that she's just petite! Afraid I can't help much really, but if she doesn't look or feel skinny, then hopefully she's ok. Have you tried feeding her loads of treats? lol |
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Thea
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Post by Thea on May 31, 2022 12:09:17 GMT -8
Ah yes sorry, I'm not sure why but I thought you'd forgotten to add the update!
Wow that's crazy! It doesn't seem long ago you got them at all.
I've been weighing a small glass pot over the past few days and (apart from the first weighing) it's stayed the same weight on the scales I used to weigh Mali, I guess the scales probably were accurate, but I'll weigh her again when I get home as I'm away currently.
She certainly looks and feels somewhat skinny (but not to the point where I'm particularly concerned), but the reason I'm confused is that she doesn't seem less skinny than usual - she's just always been that way.
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Post by Markpd on Jun 1, 2022 15:07:38 GMT -8
Re something to weigh, I was thinking more like something that had the weight printed on it, e.g a bag of sugar. So you would at least know if your scales are close.
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Post by Markpd on Jun 27, 2022 11:34:30 GMT -8
Updated table in my earlier post, after forgetting to weigh them at 2 weeks because I forgot to set up a reminder on my phone again! After 4 weeks Blake has lost weight this time (hurray! ), but Avon has put on a little, so I've cut his feed from 5g to 4g/day too). Oh and say Happy Birthday to my boys who were 2yrs old a few weeks ago  Perhaps we're battling middle age spread for them? lol |
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Post by tanzanyte on Jul 4, 2022 13:25:35 GMT -8
I'm glad you are still putting the weights up Mark. I'm beginning to think it's middle age spread too! My boys are hefty little things at 110g and 112g. I've tried cutting their food and it's not made much difference, but I perhaps I haven't given it long enough. I think I'm fighting a losing battle with my daughter giving them treats but did get her to cut it out and they barely lost anything so it must be a double whammy.
How is Mali's weight going Thea?
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Thea
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Post by Thea on Jul 6, 2022 12:38:36 GMT -8
Happy birthday to Avon and Blake recently! I agree, although my boys never gained too much weight with age, Rolo definitely did! She was around 95g at the end of her life, which was definitely more than her weight as a younger gerbil. Mali's weight is pretty good at the moment thanks tanzanyte, I completely forgot to update but I weighed her a couple of weeks ago and she was 61g - a much more ideal weight! I'm wondering if the scales were wrong before, but I have been a little more generous with their food recently (not much though). I should weigh her again really! Obviously that's a lot to gain in a short amount of time and she didn't feel much bigger, so I'm just hoping that she is the heavier rather than the lighter weight. By the way, so sorry to hear that Little My has passed on, hope you're all doing ok |
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Post by tanzanyte on Jul 15, 2022 11:12:11 GMT -8
I'm pleased Mali's weight's going back in the right direction. I hope it's still the same if you've weigher her again since.
My girls got much heavier in their old age too. Given that they aren't as speedy and are so much more chilled so less likely to burn off as much nervous energy I think it's probably more normal than we realise. My stepdaughter has this with her rats too so it's not just gerbils that get chunkier.
Thanks, Thea. We're ok. I'm grateful it was sudden and there wasn't much suffering, although it wasn't instant enough for my liking but we didn't even make it to the vets before she'd gone. We're just trying to be there as much as possible for Mymble and still searching everywhere for a new cage mate for her. I'm worried because she's losing weight and part of me is now wondering if we give her up whether she'd find a cage mate faster and be a lot happier, but I just can't bear to lose her and would hate to think that she might end up in a smaller enclosure without the enrichment she has now.
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Post by Markpd on Jul 17, 2022 4:41:00 GMT -8
Another update, finally they've both lost some weight, will it be consistent?? Avon ... date .... Blake 63g ... 15/08/20 .. 65g 70g ... 01/09/20 .. 65g 74g ... 22/09/20 .. 70g 74g ... 07/10/20 .. 73g 76g ... 20/10/20 .. 76g 78g ... 09/11/20 .. 79g 81g ... 24/11/20 .. 84g 81g ... 14/12/20 .. 83g 93g ... 12/01/21 .. 93g 93g ... 03/02/21 .. 92g 94g ... 26/02/21 .. 91g 98g ... 15/03/21 .. 95g 107g .. 06/04/21 .. 102g (cut treats from 3 to 2 per day) 108g .. 20/04/21 .. 101g 112g .. 04/05/21 .. 105g (cut feed to 15g/day, may have only been a tiny cut) 106g .. 18/05/21 .. 108g 99g ... 01/06/21 .. 107g (cut feed to 12g/day, increased Avon's treats to 4) 99g ... 16/06/21 .. 107g 99g ... 30/06/21 .. 104g (declanned this date!) 93g ... 14/07/21 ... 95g
97 .... 22/07/21 ... 94 97 .... 28/07/21 ... 95 92 .... 11/08/21 ... 96 90 .... 25/08/21 ... 97 (increased feed to 14g/day, been unable to feed Avon 4 treats/day, he ignored them!) 92 .... 16/09/21 ... 99 93 .... 30/09/21 ... 99 95 .... 15/10/21 ... 96 (declanned again 3/10) 95 .... 27/10/21 ... 95 91 .... 10/11/21 ... 93 (Mostly been able to feed Avon treats again, but only if I drop them in front of him, he won't take them from my fingers! lol) 96 .... 24/11/21 ... 96 92 .... 09/12/21 ... 97 97 .... 24/12/21 .. 102 Avon is beginning to take treats more often from my fingers again 98 .... 07/01/22 .. 100 103 .. 22/01/22 .. 107 107 .. 07/02/22 .. 114 108 .. 21/02/22 .. 116 104 .. 07/03/22 .. 120 Cut Blake's feed to 5g/day 113 .. 21/03/22 .. 120 120 .. 04/04/22 .. 110 Cut Avon's treats to 2, and feed to 5g 117 .. 18/04/22 .. 115 110 .. 11/05/22 .. 117 (forgot to set a 2 week reminder on my phone! Hence overshot ) 111 .. 25/05/22 .. 121
03/06 cut Blake's feed to 4g/day
115 .. 22/06/22 .. 115 (as above, forgot again! Cut Avon's feed to 4g/day). 108 .. 06/07/22 .. 109 105 .. 20/07/22 .. 107
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Post by Markpd on Jul 20, 2022 10:49:02 GMT -8
Another update, seems like it is . |
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Jul 20, 2022 12:07:51 GMT -8
Looks like they're pretty reasonable weights now for mature males.
Out of curiosity, which of your boys was dominant when they were together?
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Post by Markpd on Jul 22, 2022 14:04:51 GMT -8
Cool, Blake is looking more trim now too . I wonder if they'll level off at the current feed amount, or whether I'll have to nudge it up again!? lol Avon was, though marginally I think. |
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), late 70s
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Mali's always been really light but seems healthy and active. I weighed her just a minute ago and it seemed to say that she was 51g/53g (switching), although the scales I used were different to normal and are quite unreliable. Of course I'm really worried, but she's gotten as low as 48g as an adult (a year ago though, and it could have been a bad weighing) looking back on this thread, so it might not be the worst. I don't like to admit it but I'm terrible at weighing my girls so I can't remember exactly how much she weighed last time, but I believe it was the mid-higher 50s so I'm pretty worried. She doesn't appear very skinny compared to normal though so I'm really hoping it's just the scales. I'll buy some good quality food to see if she gains weight, in which case I might switch back to shopbought rather than home made as that is the diet she's been on for the past 6 months. Until then, I'll increase the amount of food I give the girls.
