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Post by TJ's Rodent Ranch on Jul 25, 2023 14:43:15 GMT -8
Hi there,
I'm looking for any suggestions you might have.
I have a gerbil who's extremely fat and I have no idea what to do about it. He has perfectly happy, but he's like a little ball with legs. I've given him a wheel, and exercise ball, and many other things to try to slim him down a bit, but it just won't happen. He's turned his wheel into his favorite nap/meal spot! He won't use the ball, except to sit in it and clean himself, and he's eating way too much. Now, I would put him on a different food or decrease the amount he gets, except that he has a perfectly healthy tank mate who has had trouble with other food and his stomach can only handle the kind I'm currently giving them. It's a good food, so I'm not necessarily worried about the kind, it's just the amount he eats. The problem is he sticks to a certain amount no matter how much is in there, so he'll starve out his tank mate if I start decreasing it. Now, like I said he's very happy, very friendly, he and his tank mate are well bonded, but I'm just worried it'll decrease his health and his lifespan. However, because he's really happy, do you think it's something I should be worrying about, or should I just let him do his thing?
Thanks so much for any replies, and for reading this.
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Post by icecontroller2529 on Jul 26, 2023 7:51:19 GMT -8
Hello,
I don't claim that I am right or in any way entitled to judge here, so this is just the personal opinion of a woman who only had gerbils for two years. However, this seems so clear to me, so obvious! You have a well-functioning situation with your boys. I would strongly advice against making any changes. Both are happy, so I think you should leave it the way is. From what I can see, there are basically two choices: Either leave everything the way it is, risking the overweight guy to have a shorter life span but both being happy in the meantime, or changing things around with unpredictable risks of things not working out.
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Post by TJ's Rodent Ranch on Jul 26, 2023 10:44:20 GMT -8
Okay! Thank you! I agree, but I thought if someone knew more about this, possibly other risks or something I didn't think of, I should give an opportunity to that, or if someone perhaps knew of an easy way for weight loss. Yes, I think it is very true, what you said about the two choices, and I agree. If he wasn't happy, I would most certainly look into some changes, but as he is I think there's no need, although I'm still of course welcome to any other thoughts on this. Apologies for making a whole thread that's not so interesting, but thank you for replying anyway!
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Jul 26, 2023 11:47:37 GMT -8
Gerbils do often get quite big as they get older. Aside from too many treats, the other big contributing factors I've noticed are limited tank and wheel size. So you could consider whether he might benefit from either a bigger wheel (especially if he's a big gerbil anyway) and/or a bigger tank.
If those factors don't seem applicable here, perhaps this is his natural size at his current age.
I assume it is definitely fat, not fluid build up or anything else? It's quite easy to tell the difference because a fat gerbil will be firm and well-padded all over, whereas a gerbil with abdominal bloating/ascites will be very round in the abdomen but the back will feel normal or sometimes bony if they're losing fat due to their illness.
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Post by TJ's Rodent Ranch on Jul 26, 2023 12:16:46 GMT -8
Yes, it's all just fat, thankfully. They share a pretty big tank, and lately, I've noticed him running on the wheel. I don't know if this will help him to lose weight, but he seems perfectly able to use it. When he was younger he wasn't quite this fat, he's always been a pudgy gerbil, but in his old age, he just started putting on tons of weight. his actual frame, however, isn't that large, so I think if he slimmed down a bit he'd actually be a regular, if not kind of small gerbil. Either way, he's still very happy. Is there anything you'd recommend I do, or do you think I should take action as icecontroller2529 suggested, and not take action?
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Jul 26, 2023 15:00:12 GMT -8
I think it depends how big he actually is. How much does he weigh? Does he have a definite fat hump on the back of his neck or is it just general padding all over?
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Post by TJ's Rodent Ranch on Jul 26, 2023 20:17:41 GMT -8
I actually don't yet have something to weigh him with, but I'll look in to that. Yes, it's general padding all over. It's definitely just fat, and I know he eats more than any other gerbil I have so the reason is easy to see. I just don't know if I should be worried, or doing something about it.
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Post by icecontroller2529 on Jul 27, 2023 0:43:33 GMT -8
Apologies for making a whole thread that's not so interesting, but thank you for replying anyway! Sorry if my answer gave a wrong impression! I do not think your thread is not interesting, on the contrary!
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Post by icecontroller2529 on Jul 27, 2023 0:52:09 GMT -8
I actually don't yet have something to weigh him with, but I'll look in to that. I got an electronic kitchen scale, can highly recommend it. I got this one: www.amazon.nl/gp/product/B08WFGRFPB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1Tip: You don't always have to catch the gerbils and put them into a box to weigh them. With tamer gerbils, I just put the scale into their enclosure sometimes (with kitchen paper underneath), and they will be curious and hop onto it. Saves them a lot of stress and works perfectly well with tamer gerbils. With the others, I only weigh them when I clean their enclosures and have to handle them anyway.
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Post by TJ's Rodent Ranch on Jul 27, 2023 10:14:58 GMT -8
Thank you for the tip, and I will definitely see if I can get that scale.
All my gerbils are pretty tame, so it's usually not a matter of having to catch them for me. A lot of times they'll just walk onto my hand, and sit quietly if I set them somewhere. So I don't think weighing them would be too much of a process, but since the scale will be new and strange perhaps it'll be harder than I think, so I will definitely remember that, thank you!
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Jul 27, 2023 10:31:26 GMT -8
I always forget that Americans don't necessarily have kitchen scales due to measuring things in cups!
Any scale that weighs in grams will do really.
Very occasionally there can be a medical reason for rapid fat gain, such as hypothyroidism, a pancreatic tumour or some other endocrine condition. I don't know how common any of these things are in gerbils. Fortunately most of the time weight gain is just down to more calories in and/or less calories out, especially as gerbils get older and may become less active or their metabolisms may slow down.
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Post by icecontroller2529 on Jul 28, 2023 7:28:40 GMT -8
I always forget that Americans don't necessarily have kitchen scales due to measuring things in cups! Really? I had no idea! Kitchen scales are so normal here, and they are so useful for so many things!
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Post by icecontroller2529 on Jul 28, 2023 7:32:33 GMT -8
Thank you for the tip, and I will definitely see if I can get that scale. All my gerbils are pretty tame Perfect. It will most likely be very easy then. A scale is just like any other surface, they hop on and off and at some point they sit quietly for a moment which allows to read the weight. I was so happy when I discovered this.
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Jul 28, 2023 8:01:48 GMT -8
I always forget that Americans don't necessarily have kitchen scales due to measuring things in cups! Really? I had no idea! Kitchen scales are so normal here, and they are so useful for so many things! Yes, everyone in the UK has kitchen scales too but apparently in the US not everyone does. Because they don't measure in weight as often.
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Post by TJ's Rodent Ranch on Jul 28, 2023 22:39:18 GMT -8
Sorry, I haven't been on the forum in a few days and have missed some stuff.
Yes! We (Americans) often don't have kitchen scales due to measuring cups, in fact, it's a little odd to have one. For that reason, I don't. We always just use measuring cups and spoons, of which I have several. Unfortunately, I can't liquify my gerbils and measure them in spoons and cups, and then bring them back, otherwise, this job would be all too easy!
This scale seems to only be available in the Netherlands. A notice comes up on my screen when I click it, and won't show me where the link leads. However, I can still do a little looking for a kitchen scale, now that I know what I'm looking for. I will be one of the odd few with a kitchen scale!
He didn't gain weight suddenly, and he is quite old. So I suspect there's no disease behind it, especially since he's eating quite a bit so there is a visible cause. Do you think it's okay for me to just leave him as he is?
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