Hi Dana, Welcome to the list. And congratulations on your new gerbils.
On the water bottles, gerbils drink very little and very infrequently. I rarely see mine drink unless on my daily waterbottle check I find it has run dry and I fill it up. My guess is that your gerbil is getting plenty of water, but you just have not witness her drinking. I have 20 something gerbils. Of these only about two are real wheel fanatics. The other show no or not much interest. Unlike hamsters and mice who all seem to love the wheel, most gerbils I've seen are not. The couple that like it, really like it though. Also, are you taping the wheel? I'd strongly recomment that so the tail doesn't get caught an amputated. Just tape the inside and outside with masking tape. Donna ABC Gerbils www.abcgerbils.com --- dana grace <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hi all, > > I am new to this list. I just got a pair of female > agoutis less than 2 weeks > ago, many years after my last gerbil died. They are > probably only about two > months old, and seem to be adjusting well. I ended > up rescuing them from a > pet store after a long and fruitless search for > adoptable gerbils in the NYC > city area. They were the only two left, and > fortunately, they did not seem > traumatized or unhealthy. > > We have been adjusting to each other very well, and > they seem very happy. > However, I am noticing some things that concern me. > The first is that while > one sister seems to recognize the water bottle and > drink from it normally, > the other has not picked this up. She will not drink > from it and I am only > able to get fluids into her via moist foods and very > recently, she will drink > from a dropper. I can't figure out why she won't > follow her sister's example, > and I am worried. I tried putting a drop of yogurt > on the tip of the bottle > to get her to nibble at it, but she ignored this. > Any thoughts? > > The other concern I have is that neither gerbil > takes an interest in their > wheel. It is properly lined and safe, but they don't > seem to know how to use > it. I tried putting them in liberty balls, which > they loved, but it took a > while to show them how to use them. I never had this > difficulty with my last > gerbil, who was a born runner. My guess is that > these little ones were > separated from their parents and siblings too early, > and did not learn how to > behave. They are very sweet, but they also do not > chew any of their wooden or > cardboard furniture, only shredding paper and chew > sticks that obviously have > no other purpose - they are very polite. The use of > the balls has not > translated to running on the wheel. When I encourage > them to sit on it, they > raise on their hind legs, and then jump off, > disinterested. > > Also, the sisters have grown noticeably since I > brought them home. This could > be because they are young, but I don't want them to > become obese. If I tried > putting them on a letter scale or something, how > much should they weigh? > > OK, sorry this is so long, but I am a new mother > after a long time of an > empty home, and am very cautious of (ok, nervous > about) the health of my > little ones. > > Thanks, > > Dana :) > > > > > > > __________________________________________________ > Move your email to a better address. > Over 1,000 domains to choose from! FREE! PRIVATE! > http://www.MailSpace.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Check out Yahoo! Shopping and Yahoo! Auctions for all of your unique holiday gifts! Buy at http://shopping.yahoo.com or bid at http://auctions.yahoo.com
