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Post by devun on Sept 6, 2004 11:42:52 GMT -8
what is molting and when does it happen?? Thanks!
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Post by gerbilicious on Sept 6, 2004 11:51:08 GMT -8
I thought it was only something birds do but...apparently not.
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RW
Member
When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure. Puppy 6/6/07
Posts: 530
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Post by RW on Sept 6, 2004 12:37:12 GMT -8
It's basically the same thing that birds do, except with fur instead of feathers. Molting is when a gerbil sheds its coat and gets new hair. It's not always noticeable, but on some lighter gerbils, you can sometimes see a molt line across their backs. It sort of looks like a line, with the hair on one side being a slightly different shade from the hair on the other side. Gerbils go through their first molt between about 6-10 weeks old, losing their "baby fur" and getting their adult coat. There are some great photos on Peter's site www.petermaas.nl/gerbils/english.htmof a nutmeg going through it's first molt. You can see plainly how it happens, because with nutmegs, who start out orange and get heavy black ticking in their first molt, the change is very dramatic. Gerbils molt throughout their lives--we mainly just can't see it. RW |
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Post by sweetie on Sept 6, 2004 16:56:20 GMT -8
It's funny you mention that.....Honeymunch is moulting. He was a soft yellow/orange and now, he is getting a dark tint on the ends of his fur. I tried to take pictures because the line is very clear between the two colors. I will try to post it tomorrow.
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