At 09:17 PM 3/14/00 -0500, Donna Anastasi wrote:
> I read somewhere that you could
>use a bird nesting box. I found a wooden finch one, 5 inches cube with a lid
>that lifts up. The hole is about 1 1/2 inches in diameter and about 2 1/2
>inches up off the ground.
I have these nesting boxes in two of my aquariums. I have them on their
sides, so the gerbs can go in and out the hole or the "lid" which is now a
door. I believe Whitney was the one who first suggested putting the box on
its side, so that pups could crawl in & out.
>Also, when does a pregnant female gerbil look obviously fatter? It's been 15
>days since the pair exhibited a night of textbook mating behavior.
In my limited experience, when she stands up and looks like a small furry
hippo, she'll have babies by the next day. For this reason, I'm thinking
that Violet (she of the hairless nose) may give birth tonight. She is
suddenly hippo shaped today. Also, I have seen gerbils mating when the
female had to have been pregnant (she gave birth just a few days later), so
that's not necessarily a sign that there won't be babies for a month -- it
could be much sooner.
Rebecca...
