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Post by vacampbell on Mar 19, 2008 9:04:28 GMT -8
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genie
Member
*hello*
Posts: 1,133
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Post by genie on Mar 19, 2008 16:19:42 GMT -8
nteresting article....average live though?  |
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Post by vacampbell on Mar 20, 2008 12:55:27 GMT -8
nteresting article....average live though? I'm confused by this comment?! |
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Post by Manix on Mar 20, 2008 15:19:45 GMT -8
I was startled by the average life span listed in the article as well. I'm assuming the subjects were kept in a colony type enviroment and no intervention was made to reduce fighting, stress, or tend to injury's cuased by fighting. Do you think this might reflect a similar lifespan found in wild gerbils?
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Post by dancinggorditas on Mar 22, 2008 18:58:49 GMT -8
This explains my one female....she really just does not want to accept a mate...I've tried three, this last one is doing a lot better with her, they're sleeping together, but she does NOT want to be mounted.  Too much testosterone? |
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Post by vacampbell on Mar 23, 2008 7:39:04 GMT -8
I was startled by the average life span listed in the article as well. I'm assuming the subjects were kept in a colony type enviroment and no intervention was made to reduce fighting, stress, or tend to injury's cuased by fighting. Do you think this might reflect a similar lifespan found in wild gerbils? Well the article was written in 1998 and so I guessing the research was done a year or two before that...As far as I know the average life span for a pet gerbil was generally quoted to be 2 years back then, which seems to have increased, maybe as knowledge about them increased (maybe people who have had gerbils for over 10 years could addon this...?) Also these females were having litters, possibly more than waht they should have done to ensure they stay healthy as well as having litters and being examined that way. They also had several surgeries (cesarian sections) which will probably have affected the lifespan too. All of this added together will have reduced their lifespan considerably... the article doesn't mention any fighting and I personally dont think they would have been kept in huge clans as we know females dont tend to get on with other nursing females therefore putting the pups at risk and also ruining their experiement! So I would imaging they didnt keep pregnant/nursing females together but probably in male female pairs or trios with 2 males and females but thats just an educated guess... Anyway the main point of the article is about when they become sexually mature (not their lifespans!) which seems is due to the testosterone they are exposed to...I also found the bit about the birds and testosterone very interesting too! |
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Post by Jill on Mar 23, 2008 11:27:45 GMT -8
This explains my one female....she really just does not want to accept a mate...I've tried three, this last one is doing a lot better with her, they're sleeping together, but she does NOT want to be mounted. Too much testosterone? Xena was one of two girls in a litter of 6, so she has a pretty good chance of being stuck between or next to one of her brothers in utero! |
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genie
Member
*hello*
Posts: 1,133
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Post by genie on Mar 26, 2008 8:22:23 GMT -8
oops. i apologise. a few too many beers before attempting to post :S
but yeah, i was just shocked at the average life span it quoted.
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Too much testosterone?
