If they flip each other on their bellies and groom every area, I doubt it's
anything to be concerned about. However, if one of them checks the females
underside every few days, it's likely that's the male and he's checking to
see if the female is in heat. Around 18 days after you heard them thumping,
if they were mating, then one of them should be getting some sort of a
tummy bulge, she's eat/drink more, sleep a lot, and usually one of both of
them will make a nice nest.
If you have any pictures of them, you can send them to me or anyone on the
list and I'm sure they would be happy to tell you the genders :)
Paige
ANDREA SPIEGLE wrote:
> I got a pair of new gerbils about a week ago from the pet store. They
> weren't sure what gender they were (thought they were both male) and
> I've tried to tell, but being a complete novice I'm not sure I'm doing
> it right (I think they're both female). So I was wondering if there were
> any signs of pregnancy in gerbils. Do they act or look any different? I
> want to know what to look for, just in case I'm wrong about their
> genders. Earlier today at about 4 AM I heard thumping coming from their
> tank. I don't think it was a nervous thumping because the house was
> quiet and dark. Unless it was another noise that just sounds like
> thumping, I'm thinking that maybe it was a mating thump. I've also
> noticed them a few times licking their private areas (for lack of a
> better term) and I've heard they do this after mating. Is it also a part
> of regular grooming? Hopefully somebody can help clear this up.
