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Post by mygerbilprince on Sept 3, 2023 15:59:45 GMT -8
Long time since I've posted here, but I adopted 3 female gerbils in May that were about 8-10 weeks old. I've had them for about 4 months now, and they haven't gained much weight. I've been feeding them the same diet I give to my adult gerbils. The mix is homemade and has 7.6% fat, 14.7% fiber, and 14.5% protein. I've heard the healthy weight for a gerbil is anywhere from 70-100g. I've mostly had male gerbils until I adopted these girls, so I'm not sure if they have different healthy weights. My girls currently weigh as follows:
Valencia: 58g
Vanilla: 63g
Vixen: 67g
They have gained weight, because when I originally adopted them they weighed this much:
Valencia: 44g
Vanilla: 50g
Vixen: 50g
I was just wondering if this is a healthy weight for them? I haven't seen any health issues or reasons for concern, but I just wanted to be sure. I think Valencia is the runt because she looks smallest and weighs the least. If it wasn't obvious, they are all siblings and I adopted them from an ethical breeder in my area. If they are underweight, what are some foods I could feed them to help? Thanks!
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Sept 3, 2023 16:47:11 GMT -8
It's hard to say whether they're underweight really. A healthy weight range depends on the individual gerbil and it's much easier to judge whether a gerbil is normal weight from their body shape than their weight alone. Generally, a gerbil shouldn't feel excessively bony and you shouldn't be able to see their bones sticking out. However, some female gerbils are incredibly slight when young and that appears to be normal for them.
For example, my past gerbil Lily, although she had a fairly large frame which meant her weight was reasonable (80g-ish if I remember rightly), was also very skinny when young. My current gerbil Astra (nearly 18 months old) is both skinny and small in frame. She weighs 66-70g, and hasn't really gained any weight since she was 6 months old.
Astra is very active (addicted to her wheel) so I do tend to give her a lot of high calorie foods like fatty seeds and malt paste, though it doesn't seem to make any difference to her weight. I'm not really worried because it seems like that's just the weight her body wants to be at at the moment.
Since your gerbils are still pretty young, the weights alone wouldn't make me concerned, unless they also looked visibly bony (rather than just slim). You could try giving them lots of fatty seeds (e.g sunflower, pumpkin, linseed, hemp) as well things like cheese and waxworms. If they are underweight (and not due to an internal health issue), extra caloric food should help them gain weight, whereas if they're at the right weight for their bodies, it may not make any difference.
The fat and protein levels of your food look reasonable but it's possible for a mix to be deficient in something else which could stunt growth, though fairly unlikely if your mix has plenty of variety and whole ingredients. But if you are concerned about a dietary cause you could potentially look into that possibility.
The weight ranges you find online are just averages really and individual gerbils can fall outside of the range and still potentially be healthy. For adult female gerbils I would actually say 60-95g is a more accurate average weight range.
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Post by TJ's Rodent Ranch on Sept 3, 2023 16:49:24 GMT -8
Hmm, their weights seem okay to me. How old are they? I know females do generally weigh a bit less than males, but not by a strict rule. If you don't see any signs of illness I wouldn't worry, just keep a steady track on their weight.
Based on how long you've had them and how much they've gained, I think it should probably be okay.
If you feel like they're just a little too light for comfort, I would feed them lots of seeds, such as sunflower, pumpkin, and other squash. This is something that helps my gerbils gain some weight if they need it, that they seem to really like (pumpkin in particular!).
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