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Post by Mygerbiliscute on Sept 21, 2022 15:29:21 GMT -8
One of my gerbils seems to be missing!
Yesterday evening I realized that I hadn't seen SnowFlake all day. I opened up the cage and looked, but saw no sign of him. Today I searched again, more thoroughly, but still no trace of my gerbil.
Does anybody have any suggestions?
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Post by gerbilord on Sept 22, 2022 1:47:29 GMT -8
any updates on him? Is there anywhere he could have escaped from the cage? Otherwise maybe he has burrowed deep down somewhere in the bedding...?
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Post by tanzanyte on Sept 22, 2022 2:45:25 GMT -8
I hope you've managed to find him by now. It's a horrible feeling when you don't see them and can't find them when you have a feel around, but the chances of escape are usually slim.
We had a similar thing with one of ours and went through the bedding multiple times and still had no luck. In the end we started to take the bedding out as I began thinking that something had happened and was worried about what we might find. She must have been burrowing away from us each time so hopefully it's a similar case with Snowflake.
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Post by Mygerbiliscute on Sept 22, 2022 15:11:19 GMT -8
After going through the cage thoroughly and removing most of the bedding, I did locate my missing gerbil- unfortunately, clearly no longer alive. He must have died a day or two ago.
Is this typical for gerbils? I bought him from PetSmart in August 2021, and he seemed fairly healthy when I saw him last.
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Post by Markpd on Sept 23, 2022 2:06:07 GMT -8
Sorry to hear that  How old was he when you got him? If he was a pup when you bought him just over a year ago, then no that isn't a typical age. Gerbils typically live 2.5-4 yrs old, 3-4yrs is an often quoted age range too. |
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Post by Mygerbiliscute on Sept 23, 2022 4:21:30 GMT -8
The pet shop didn't know how old my gerbils were when I bought them; they said that the supplier doesn't provide them with that information.
I've heard somewhere that pet shop gerbils do tend to live shorter lives than average, has anyone here ever heard that?
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Post by Markpd on Sept 23, 2022 4:59:19 GMT -8
Yes I have often heard that, and have occasionally seen posts here of that occurring too to their petshop gerbils.
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Post by gerbilord on Sept 23, 2022 11:50:49 GMT -8
So sorry for your loss :,(
Some pet shops might not be supplying from a very good stock so there can be genetic issues which might lead to a shorter lifespan. Other times it may seem that the gerbils are young but they’re actually a year old in the pet shop so when you buy them you have less time than you imagined.. or it could just be a case of rotten luck.
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Post by tanzanyte on Sept 23, 2022 12:26:41 GMT -8
I'm so sorry to hear this.
I lost a gerbil at a youngish age and she came from a breeder so you really never know. My gerbil had a stroke so was perfectly healthy the night before and died shortly after I found her paralysed the next morning.
Do you now have the dilemma of a lone gerbil or did you have 3 or more in the cage to begin with?
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Post by Mygerbiliscute on Sept 24, 2022 17:08:48 GMT -8
Yes, I do have a dilemma as to what to do with my lone gerbil now.
I don't have time to deal with this at the moment (Monday and Tuesday are Rosh Hashana, so things are super busy) but I hope to post here on Wednesday asking for opinions.
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), late 70s