I have a quick question for you. How do you know if your gerbil is
pregnant?
My son purchased a pair on April 12. Zach, our male was about 12-15
weeks old. Shelby our little girl was much smaller and from a different
litter. The owner of our local pet store wasn't there and her employee
didn't know how old she was. I think she was 6-8 weeks old. At the time,
she couldn't navigate the vertical tubes to get to the second level of the
tank. When I held her tonight, I think she felt much fatter....but if
could be my imagination. So after rambling on here....How do you know if
your girl is pregnant? or is it the sunflower seeds?
Male gerbils can 'do the deed' anytime after six weeks although
a lot don't until they're older. Someone else on the forum (Donna A
of ABC Gerbils) reported that a 9 week old son managed to sire
a litter on his mother... So assume that Zach was capable.
As far as your little girl, she is six weeks older than when you purchased
her, and in the 12-14 week age. She could very well be pregnant.
A 'fat' gerbil tends to be plump period, and a 'pregnant' gerbil tends
to show in the lower rear stomach, if she stands up on the tank side
to check something out, she will have a full stomach sort of lower to
the bottom than sticking out the sides, until the last few days of blimp
hooded-ness. It's a difficult thing to describe, but the heft of the
stomach doesn't shift quite the same between fat and pups if the
female stretches.
Donna had some pictures on her site and a contest to have
people guess if the gerbil pictured was preggers or fat, and
the A&B pics (if it's still up) are pregnant females. The other
two are fat males.
You will know as she gets close to delivery, if she's having a
full litter (6-8) she will get very large the last few days and
her nipples will stick out. She will spend a lot of energy in
building elaborate nests and probably kick the male out of
the nest also.
In latter stages sometimes you can see the pups move in
her stomach as well....
I don't suggest 'feeling' her stomach as unless you know
what you're doing you might injure an unborn pup, the mother,
and/or induce a premature birth.
I suggest you keep an eye on her and prepare for being
grandparents. :)
Deb
Rebel's Rodent Ranch
