Average Gerbil Size

[wendybird]

I was pretty shocked when I read that the average size is 80-120g. Although I have read as low as 60-80g so now I'm unsure. My largest gerbil is an 80g male. Some of them are young but three are for sure full grown males. And two out of those three are from completely different lines and upbringing. Could it be that most of the gerbils in Utah are just on the smaller end? I have tried everything for the last two months since I learned they "should" be bigger. They get as much seed mix and pellet and dog food as they want. Loads of fatty treats like seeds and nuts. And nothing. At one point one of them lost weight but has put it back on now. So I don't feel like it's a husbandry issue. Thoughts?

We do have one baby that has been consistently 10 grams larger than the rest of the litters his same age so we are holding him back in hopes of breeding some size into our line. At 10 weeks he is already 71 grams WHOOT! Thankfully he is a gorgeous nutmeg too, the one in my avatar

[LilyandDaisy]

I think most gerbils would be overweight at 120g. 100g is probably fine for many males but overweight or verging on overweight for most females.

Gerbils come in a range of sizes and as long as they aren't either excessively bony or excessively "well-padded" (overweight gerbils don't tend to get big bellies like humans do, the fat collects around the neck, shoulders, hips etc), they're probably ok at the weight they are. They also tend to gain weight, at least sporadically, throughout life.

[betty]

Also, I think, 'show' gerbils are usually on the more weighty side as this helps the coat to lay better on the body. And seeing as shows ae all about appearances - this could often be a factor in lines.

I have had gerbils at both end of the scale and only a few that reached the 100+ club started to get the neck hump. I also found no difference in longevity or character/behaviours related to either end of that spectrum.

80g sounds fine to me.