Re: Gerbil

by Peachy Wed 16 May 2018, 9:33 am

Exciting!! I hope Oghren will come around. I never had to intro, the shelter never got babies before Polly was too old. I know some people just let them live permanently split if they don't seem to settle, though. Wish we could do that for mice without stressing them out! lol

by Rodents rock! Fri 18 May 2018, 2:26 pm

Hi CallaLily,
Not sure if you remember but I've had gerbils in the past. They are a lot of fun! I had adopted a lone male, Pip, from the Humane Society. He was the sweetest boy. I didn't want him to live his life alone so I contacted a breeder and got a tiny baby boy, Pup. I did the split cage and Pip didn't show any aggression at all, so the next day I took out the divider, I was so nervous. Pip immediately started grooming Pup. From that day on, that was Pip's baby. I was so impressed at how caring Pip was towards Pup. He was so attentive to Pup. Good luck with your introductions, I hope it goes well.

by CallaLily Fri 18 May 2018, 7:38 pm

Hi Rodents rock! I do remember hearing about Pip and Pup. Good to hear intros can go so smoothly. Oghren seems to have settled in after that first hour or so. No more lunging at the divider. I’m not sure if I’m seeing any bonding behavior between the divider yet though. But I’m hopeful! I’m going to start swapping sides and see where it goes from there. Thanks!

by Rodents rock! Fri 18 May 2018, 7:44 pm

Yes, swapping sides is a great idea. Looking forward to hearing more about them. All three of them are so cute!

by scaredymouse Sat 19 May 2018, 1:44 pm

I'm loving your gerbs

by CallaLily Sun 29 Jul 2018, 5:28 pm

So all 3 boys have been together for coming up on 2 months with no problems. :::knock on wood:::

Things went so smoothly. Even better than most mouse introductions I’ve done. Oghren at first just ignored the other two but after a while they started interacting more and more. Snuggling together, eating together, giving little “kisses” (I’m guessing it’s a similar behavior as mice do - smelling/greeting).

At first I kept their setup really boring but I’ve been slowly adding to it. I’ve got the topper on with steps leading up to a temporary platform. I had a hanging coconut house but they chewed that down so I’ll need to rehang it. Eventually I plan to add a more permanent second level, another higher level, and more hanging toys. Also deepened the bedding but eventually it’ll be even deeper - with almost the whole bottom 40 breeder being filled. Of course they have hides and toys hidden within the bedding. Some I put there myself, others they’ve buried and rearranged to their liking.

They really really love cardboard tubes! Even more so than any mouse I’ve had. I slit them longways down the middle for fear of them getting stuck. They chew them up quick! I’ll get full tank pics to share eventually, probably when it’s closer to being finished.

Here’s a few pics from today. If you follow my Instagram you’ve already seen them.

Please ignore the mess that scatter feeding causes plus poo.

I’m really enjoying the gerbils. They seem to be out more during the day than the mice were and though they still don’t seem too keen on being held, they’re very gentle and sweet.

by Blessed Mon 30 Jul 2018, 12:48 am

CallaLily wrote:So all 3 boys have been together for coming up on 2 months with no problems. :::knock on wood:::

Things went so smoothly. Even better than most mouse introductions I’ve done. Oghren at first just ignored the other two but after a while they started interacting more and more. Snuggling together, eating together, giving little “kisses” (I’m guessing it’s a similar behavior as mice do - smelling/greeting).

At first I kept their setup really boring but I’ve been slowly adding to it. I’ve got the topper on with steps leading up to a temporary platform. I had a hanging coconut house but they chewed that down so I’ll need to rehang it. Eventually I plan to add a more permanent second level, another higher level, and more hanging toys. Also deepened the bedding but eventually it’ll be even deeper - with almost the whole bottom 40 breeder being filled. Of course they have hides and toys hidden within the bedding. Some I put there myself, others they’ve buried and rearranged to their liking.

They really really love cardboard tubes! Even more so than any mouse I’ve had. I slit them longways down the middle for fear of them getting stuck. They chew them up quick! I’ll get full tank pics to share eventually, probably when it’s closer to being finished.

Here’s a few pics from today. If you follow my Instagram you’ve already seen them.

Please ignore the mess that scatter feeding causes plus poo.

I’m really enjoying the gerbils. They seem to be out more during the day than the mice were and though they still don’t seem too keen on being held, they’re very gentle and sweet.

Aww..., you have gerbils! ? Very Happy

If Irene dies and leaves Natalie by herself eventually, I think I would like to get Natty a gerbil friend. Smile

I'm just not sure about it, though, because gerbils' lifespans can be a bit longer, I think, right?
Irene is so sweet, though. And Natalie has gotten so much calmer, but is still a one-person mouse! She's probably close to the size of a gerbil, being an ASF rat (and I think Irene is a small mouse).

There's a big size difference, and they didn't grow up together, but they get along so well and really like each other. Love

by CallaLily Tue 07 Aug 2018, 3:31 pm

Oh

!

Funny story....or not really but... Emrys. Is. A. Girl. Doh

I can’t believe I missed this! Three employees checked and agreed she was male when I adopted them from Petco. I checked myself several times and felt confident she was a he. So much so that I was completely shocked when I stumbled across 6 babies during today’s deep clean! I’m guessing they’re between 10-14 days old??? Fully furred, eyes closed, bumbling around.

I had to check both Merin and Emrys to be sure. Obvious testicles on Merin (and Papa Oghren from day one). Emrys is obviously female. How did I miss this!? I mean they were very young -maybe even too young- when I adopted them. Never made this mistake with mice but I guess my luck was bound to run out sooner or later.

Anywhoser. Six babies. Can someone guess age for me? 4 agouti, 1 black, 1 fawn (?). I think I saw nipples on the fawn one but couldn’t see clearly on the others.

Emrys never even looked fat to me. Don't Know

by AmyLynn Tue 07 Aug 2018, 4:30 pm

You boys are extremely cute! I an excited to see how these guys behavior differs from the male mice. Looking forward to more posts about them Smile

by CallaLily Tue 07 Aug 2018, 4:42 pm

AmyLynn wrote:You boys are extremely cute! I an excited to see how these guys behavior differs from the male mice. Looking forward to more posts about them

They’re just as sweet but unlike male mice, they get along great with other males and shouldn’t be housed alone. They hardly smell at all! They’re awake more in the day time than mice. It may just be my gerbils, but they don’t seem to enjoy being held though they’ll happily climb on you and play around you. My boy mouse, Daryl, loved being held and pet - but that may have just been him but my girls were never into it. Gerbils dig a lot more than any mouse I’ve had - they move and kick bedding every where. They seem more energetic. Not that my mice didn’t have tons of energy but these guys seem hype. They chew way more than any mouse I’ve had and that’s saying something. They’re neater about pottying.

by CallaLily Wed 08 Aug 2018, 12:58 pm

Some more baby pics from today.

And the mama, Emrys, taking a break.

My youngest wants me to change her name now that we know she’s a she but I think I’m just going to leave it.

Edit:
Oh and I got the main platform finished and installed yesterday in Oghren and Merin’s tank. I still need to make a platform for higher up in the left corner and install the steps leading up to it. Plus add in some hanging toys from the lid. But here’s a pic of the tank with topper so far.

I feel like it doesn’t look like a lot of bedding but it’s around 11 inches deep. And of course there’s tons of underground hides and toys.

by Peachy Wed 08 Aug 2018, 10:12 pm

Oh my gosh! I read this thread yesterday but totally missed the babies!! So so exciting, congrats. How funny would it have been to just walk in one day and find six new grown up gerbils chilling. Giggle

by CallaLily Thu 09 Aug 2018, 9:45 am

Omgosh. That would be crazy! Missing them for almost 2 weeks is crazy enough! But with the deep bedding that I don’t go digging in until full cleanings, they were easy to miss all the way at the bottom near the back wall. I did hear strange squeaks/chirps a couple times but when I stopped to listen closely they would stop. So I just thought it was one of the 3 or my imagination. Laughing

Now I hear it from the nursery tank and I know I was hearing the babies. I read that mama gerbils typically don’t show until 1-2 days before giving birth. I never noticed Emrys looking tubby at all and I am in there interacting with them daily, tidying the surface, feeding, etc.

But the babies are so cute. I’m enjoying the experience. I have an empty 55g tank because our corn snake passed away unexpectedly last month. Sad

So whichever I have more of (m/f) I will eventually set up in there. The plan is to keep Emrys’ daughters with her and try to intro her sons to Oghren and Merin. Of course there’s a real chance she pregnant again. Neutral

I have a spare 29g but I feel like it’s a bit small but could work for emergencies. I’m thinking I’ll still go grab another 40 breeder as soon as I can. I probably won’t bother trying to find homes for any of these guys unless she does have another litter.

Edit:
Today’s baby pic

I also changed the boys’ platform up a bit:

by CallaLily Sat 11 Aug 2018, 3:23 pm

*I can’t say for sure this is each individual baby. I took a bunch of shots like this and it’s almost impossible to tell the agouti babies apart. These are just some of the cuter shots. They’re also resized for the forum. Full sized ones are on my instagram.*

by CallaLily Sat 18 Aug 2018, 9:40 am

I’ve put up several short videos of the babies on my instagram if anyone’s interested. They’re nothing special but the babies are adorable. Mouse8

Here’s one:
https://instagram.com/p/BmjHesdnOlG/

There are pics there too of course, though they’re getting harder to get now. They all opened their eyes earlier this week and are all over the place. Nibbling food and drinking from the water bottle (as well as mama’s milk). They play fight and bath themselves and mouth everything. The fawn colored girl and one of the agouti babies are very comfortable with my hands. They’ll come right over and climb on. The black baby (the runt and I’m pretty sure a boy) is the most shy. The others just try to ignore me as best they can. Laughing

There are also some pics of my older boys, Oghren and Merin, and of course Mama Emrys too (though she’s not easy to photograph either). From what I’ve been reading, I can expect a second litter as early as next week though could be later. I mean I’m hoping she’s not preggo again but that’s unlikely.

I moved mom and babies over to the 55 gallon tank because Emrys was going stir crazy and the babies have been very mobile. The set up is still very simple and shallow bedding, because that’s the advice I’ve found on nursery setups. Though it seems there’s not a whole lot of info out there ..... or maybe I’m just spoiled with all the clear step-by-step guides on mice. Laughing

Not sure if I should block off a smaller area when she has the next litter?? Or just leave it open?? Any advice is welcome. Smile

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