Hello! I just joined the list and have been happily
reading the archives learning all I can about gerbils.
You are all very knowledgable and experienced. It's
been a pleasure to read so much valuable information!
I was looking in the archives for anything I might
find on a problem we've been experiencing since last
Friday. I just haven't seen anything similar, so I
decided to ask outright. I'd appreciate any advice
anyone might have and apologize in advance for what
I'm certain will be a wordy post (not wanting to leave
out any info that may be important):
My two little boys and I just got three tiny females
last Thursday and have been wondering ever since what
we did for fun before they arrived! :) They are all a
riot and the sweetest things. Very tame, too. They hop
right into our hands and did so from the first day.
The young woman in the pet store said they were
between one and two months old. I looked for days
before finding these three. They are hard to find!
Anyway, I already knew that I shouldn't keep one by
herself, but looking at them all piled together,
sleeping in a corner, I just couldn't bring myself to
split them up and leave one behind, so.... We have
three. Now that we've gotten to know them and their
unique personalities, we can't even imagine which of
them we would have done without.
I haven't a clue what their official colors are, but
one is light honey and white with dark red eyes, while
the other two are brown (with black tips) and white
with dark brown/black eyes. The boys named them
Chuckie, Tommy, and Dill after the Rugrats on TV
because their personalities are so similar to those
characters. Chuckie is the honey and white one who is
the most timid. Tommy is the affectionate, adventurous
one while Dill is a bundle of energy and a real cutie.
Unfortunately, there may be a problem with Chuckie....
The day we got them, Chuckie was very shy. She came
out of her shell little by little, though, and was
eventually very curious. All three girls are small and
slender -- and quick as lightning! The next day,
though, Chuckie looked very different. She looked so
fat, I thought she must have doubled her weight
overnight! Studying her over the weekend (when she
showed herself, which wasn't often!), I realized that
she wasn't fat, she was hunched up with her back
arched and walking (slowly) with her four feet very
close together. Her fur looked very puffed up because
of her strange posture. She occasionally had the
slightest bit of diarrhea, too, and rarely did more
than sleep.
After reading as much as I could, I have been able to
think of only two things which might be wrong. Either
she's allergic to her new bedding or she's very
stressed. Yes, she could be ill, too, but I know
nothing about gerbil illnesses, so I decided to try
working on the allergy possibility first. The cage
(wire bars, two levels, and deep metal base) came with
KayTee pine bedding, so we went out today and bought
Carefresh, corn cob, and alfalfa hay. I went back to
the store where the girls came from and noticed that
they had been on Carefresh, so.... Maybe that's it.
But to be so allergic in one day seems so unusual to
me.
After we changed their bedding this afternoon, all
three appear to be thrilled with their new home. They
have been devouring the alfalfa and happily exploring
the accessories we put in the cage to amuse them.
Hopefully, if there was an allergy, it's been taken
care of. If it was stress, perhaps this will help
relieve it a bit. If I'm way off and anyone knows what
else it might be, please let me know. We'd truly
appreciate it!
Thank you for your time.
Kathy
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