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Post by kerry on Mar 22, 2022 0:48:47 GMT -8
I wondered if anyone had any advice. 2 sisters together and one weighs 109g and her sister weighs 79g. The heaviest has steadily been increasing while her sister has stayed the same. We regularly take the smaller out to give her extra seeds but I want to stop the other one getting any bigger as she's huge next to her sis!
Any advice?
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Mar 22, 2022 8:03:09 GMT -8
109g is quite big for a female. 79g is about average. What food are they on? Giving extra treats or withholding treats can help with weight issues, but sometimes it's more effective to tweak the base diet.
Just to check, is it definitely fat with the bigger one, rather than any abdominal bloating or swelling? An overweight gerbil will feel quite chubby all over, including the neck and shoulder areas, whereas a large abdomen (a "pot-bellied" appearance) is more likely to be a sign of illness.
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Post by kerry on Mar 22, 2022 9:06:05 GMT -8
Yes it's definitely weight. She just overheats. Her sister often doesn't get a look in! We don't over feed, wait until its all gone before refreshing. They're on Gerri Gerbil. Just the usual flakes, grains etc and a few pumpkin seeds.
Just hard as her sister is so dinky and needs the food!
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Post by catnut on Mar 22, 2022 13:45:58 GMT -8
some of Gerri gerbil could be fattening, maybe try adding another food like a pellet food if they will eat those? some don't like it as much, pumpkin seeds can be fattening so i use mine as treats only. Check other foods that may be healthier with less fat in it.
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Mar 22, 2022 15:29:22 GMT -8
Scatter feed if you don't already as it will give the smaller one a better chance at finding some food. It also makes food less of a defendable commodity when it's scattered all over the place vs in a bowl. You can also try taking the larger one out for a few minutes when you feed them to give the small one a head start (but make sure she doesn't harass her sister too much on her return).
Extra exercise (in a playpen or free roaming) and lots of fresh vegetables can help a gerbil lose weight. Rather than restricting the amount a gerbil eats, it's better to replace some of their usual daily ration with vegetables so that they don't feel like they're being starved. You could even have one day a week when she doesn't get any Gerri Gerbil, only vegetables (but you might want to still give her sister some "real" food on the side since she probably needs the calories).
One thing with Gerri Gerbil is that most of the pieces are quite large which means there are fewer of them in a gerbil's daily ration, than a more seedy mix. This means that it takes a gerbil much less time to find all of their food each day, even if it's scattered, and it's also easier for a dominant gerbil in a pair to grab all of the fatty parts like the pumpkin seeds (because there are only going to be 2-3 per day), leaving the other with the wheat pellets etc. With a mix that contains smaller seeds such as Bunny, Rodipet etc, if it's scattered over the bedding, a subordinate gerbil probably has a slightly better chance at finding at least some of the nicer, fatty seeds. Experimenting with different kinds of food can definitely be worthwhile until you find what works for your gerbils.
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