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Post by teambenji543 on Sept 3, 2021 17:18:06 GMT -8
Hello! So here’s the dilemma. Some mornings I look at my gerbils and they look really… fat. Almost like two little round balls on four legs. So, naturally I tried to decrease their food by just a hair. Then in the afternoon, they look almost skinny? How is this possible? This cycle has been happening for a few weeks now, and I’m just so curious how they can lose weight and gain weight so quickly. How much food am I supposed to be feeding them?
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Sept 4, 2021 3:59:28 GMT -8
When they puff their fur up they can look really big. It happens especially when they're cold. If you think they might have gained weight, I would always weigh them to be sure as appearances can be deceiving!
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Post by teambenji543 on Sept 4, 2021 13:38:38 GMT -8
Yeah, they’re definitely not cold. It’s still summer for us and I keep the house at around 78 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Post by catnut on Sept 4, 2021 14:45:46 GMT -8
could it be the way they sit? also you could get a digital scale and something to put them in that they can't jump out and see if their weight changes?
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Post by Markpd on Sept 4, 2021 15:59:16 GMT -8
They puff their fur up sometimes even when it's not cold. 1/2 the time you can't tell how heavy they are just by looking at them, you need to weigh them. Which isn't always easy!
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Post by PipSqueak on Sept 4, 2021 17:19:34 GMT -8
Sometimes it’s hard to tell. It could be the way they are sitting or they could be puffing up their fur. I find it hard to weigh my gerbils since they don’t like me picking them up when they are in their tank. My more social gerbil will let me pick him up while he is free roaming but not while he is in his tank. My other gerbil won’t let me pick him up yet, he has always been more weary of humans but has definitely improved. What I usually do is preset my scale to 0 grams with a storage bin that’s small with some bedding in it and scoop my gerbils up in a mason jar. I then let them crawl out of the jar into the bin and then put the lid on (which has ventilation holes.) Once I have a measurement I open the bin back up in their tank and let them climb out. Probably not the best way but it works and I only do it every so often.
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Post by teambenji543 on Sept 5, 2021 4:57:58 GMT -8
Ok I’ll weigh my gerbils today, maybe it’s just bed hair in the mornings!
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Post by tanzanyte on Sept 5, 2021 8:16:03 GMT -8
Sometimes they look real chunky monkeys and other times they look a lot more svelte. I agree with Pipsqueak in that its often down to their pose although I think humidity has a part to play too. I've found that our gerbils look very floofy since they have a much larger 2nd sand bath - have you noticed this at all with your large sand bath Mark? I weigh our gerbies regularly and their weight is fairly even so I'd definitely try weighing them for a bit so that you know there isn't any fluctuation in their weight. You might find there's nothing to worry about and you don't need to change the amount of food given.
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Post by Markpd on Sept 8, 2021 1:12:45 GMT -8
Can't say I recall that, but I wasn't particularly looking for that either. As pipsqueak said, the angle they sit at makes a big difference too. Below is Blake at about 103g, in one he looks really chubby! In the other he doesn't.
I often can't pick up my boys either, and when I do they tend to run off, putting them in a jar doesn't work as they just keep jumping trying to get out! Lol. So I have to do this :-
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