----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Cole" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Gerbils Newsletter" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Saturday, July 03, 1999 1:29 PM
Subject: Ooops ... the saga continues
| On 6/30 I posted "Oooops ... joke's on me" about the surprise birth of
six
| pups as I had reported it to family via email. Some of you emailed to
say
| you liked it.
|
| So here are another four emails to family, all animal lovers but
| gerbil-ignorant.
|
| Background: Our Seattle-area household comprised me, age 65; Cocoa the
| Siamese cat, age 9; her three pets, allegedly female Mongols*, ages 4-5
| mos.; and two tanks of goldfish being toughened for pond residence.
|
| And now we have six Mongol pups. The post "Ooops ... joke's on me"
tells
| about day 1.
|
| (* "Mongols" is short for Mongolian Desert Mice, which is perhaps a more
apt
| term for the common variety than "gerbils." I re-dubbed them shortly
after
| I got them when a wordly daughter couldn't help snickering whenever I
said
| "gerbil." I'm thinking of mounting a public relations campaign to get
this
| terminology generally recognized.
|
| (This term might not be popular among traditionalists and others who
know
| more than I. Julian Barker kindly reviewed this piece for
appropriateness
| before I posted it. He informed me that "Mongies" is a term in England
for
| the everyday Mongolian gerbil; and that the species aren't mice. Of
course
| the English need lots of terms -- Julian himself has seven species to
keep
| track of. And of course they aren't mice -- but neither are they of
order
| Gerbillus. So I shall persevere with "Mongols.") [*big
smile*]
|
| Please take all of this with your sense of humor at full alert.
|
| -0-
|
| MONGOL REPRODUCTION INFO (email 7/1)
|
| [For the curious, and to correct something I mis-told Wendy last night]:
|
| Sexually mature: 3 mos.
|
| Female heat: every 5-10 days
|
| Gestation: 24-28 days (This means that Gloria mated here, not at the
| store.)
|
| Litters per year: 6
|
| Litter size: 1-10, average 4-5
|
| Survival rate: 75%
|
| Baby development: At birth - toothless, blind, deaf and totally bald;
but
| vocal. By two weeks - light coat; incisor teeth a few days later. At
3-4
| weeks - weaning. At 3 months - ready to set up housekeeping and mate.
|
| Female menopause: 2-3 years
|
| Lifespan: 5 years
|
| An active female theoretically can produce about 6 x 4.5 x 2.5 = 68
pups in
| her lifetime, and about 51 will survive infancy. In practice the female
| avoids getting worn out.
|
| There's a formula for computing theoretically how many descendants
(children
| + grandchildren + ...) a single female will have in a lifetime, but I
can't
| think of it or find it right now. It would be a BIG number, you can
see.
|
| The gerbil book also tells me it's easy to tell males from females.
Hah!
| easy for someone else maybe.
| -0-
|
| NEW MONGOLS -- DAY 2 (email 7/1)
|
| Six healthy-looking pups. They've grown noticeably.
|
| Gloria nurses and the other two pile on top of her for naps. I've seen
| Sally nosing in at the pups when Gloria was away, and have hoped nothing
bad
| was happening -- but it wasn't. Gene also is deeply involved.
|
| The three adults must have cooperated to build the huge mound of bedding
in
| one corner. They dug a nest dead center, where the pups are. It
somehow
| resembles a Mayan pyramid with altar.
|
| I resist looking much, and have relied on Gloria to leave the nest for
me to
| get a peek. Only once made a round of touching to be sure each was
| responding.
|
| They must be squeaky babies. I can't hear it but Cocoa can. Last night
she
| was on my lap out on the lanai. Suddenly she moved to peer into the
Mongol
| tank, dipping her head under the covering I've put over it to stop wind
| chill and hold heat. She pondered and patted glass. Gene came over to
her
| to explain what had gone on.
|
| I've had a stern talk with Gene and Sally about using contraception, and
may
| send her to Planned Parenthood.
| -0-
| NEW MONGOLS -- DAY 3 (email 7/2)
|
| AOK. I think.
|
| Earlier I had fed them as usual without poking at the babies. When I
went
| specifically on my pediatric clinical rounds, Sally and Gene greeted me
| happily -- dashing around, wheel-spinning, nuzzling my hand, etc. Mom
| Gloria was totally buried under bedding over the nest, but came out to
say
| hi and rest her nipples.
|
| Lots of squirming in the nest. Saw at least 4 pups. But Sally kept
getting
| in the way. Then Gloria came over and chomped my finger a few times. I
| took the hint and will try another census tomorrow.
|
| If there's been a loss, the adults are inclined to eat the body just to
keep
| their habitat clean, something that's very important to Mongols.
|
| I gave them a couple tissues to shred. Gloria grabbed one and, as I
left,
| was stuffing it into the nest. Maybe one of the babies has a HUGE cold.
|
| Things are about to get out of hand. I suspect that Gene and Aunt Sally
| must have been Doing It, so Sally could give birth any day now (although
she
| doesn't look pregnant -- yet). And today I read that within minutes
after
| birth, Mom and Dad again Do It. (Way to celebrate, guys!)
|
| Mom is cleverly constructed so that those fetuses don't attach for a
week or
| two, but I can expect Gloria to have another litter in 5-7 weeks.
|
| As I figure it, less than two months from now there'll be the three
original
| adults plus 12-18 babies, or as many as 26. PLUS, unless I move Gene
| before the next births, the two adult females prolly will be pregnant.
| PLUS, all six of this litter will be nearly ready to Do It too.
|
| Maybe I'll acquire a big, hungry boa constrictor to balance the
environment.
| (Makes sense, but I couldn't do it.) Maybe I'll open a snake food
business
| and not think about what that means.
|
| Gene can be moved, of course. But Mongols are so social that putting
him
| alone would devastate him. Best advice has been to move him with 1-2 of
his
| sons after they are weaned. By then I certainly hope I can identify
SONS.
|
| If only they were a bit older, I'd send a whole bunch of babies to Pat
next
| weekend as a stay-well present. The rest of you might want to check
your
| mailboxes frequently, especially if it's hot.
|
| PS -- Don't sigh. These nursery updates will not be daily.
|
| And BTW -- This didn't come about because at the store I pointed to
which
| Mongols I wanted . No -- I asked the clerk, a Mongol owner herself, pls
to
| pick me three healthy females -- just different colors so I could tell
them
| apart. Previously while discussing which same-sex I wanted, she allowed
as
| how she didn't favor males "because their genitals are just so gross."
| Well, Gene, guess you showed her what a little weeny can do, huh?
| -0-
| NEW MONGOLS -- DAY 4 (email 7/3)
|
| I know you've been waiting with bated breath, so: YES, all six are
still
| healthy.
|
| The pups have grown 50-100% by volume since birth. They're lined up in
the
| nest, waiting to resume when Gloria returns to them. She must have been
| hungry -- their bowl was empty for the first time ever. I'll start
adding
| some of Cocoa's dry cat food to theirs.
|
| They show black markings around their eyes. Black-on-pink is so
attractive,
| don't you think? I think this means all will be black-eyed, not
red-eyed.
| Whew! I suppose I could get used to it, but presently red-eyed animals
give
| me the creeps. It's as if they're albinos that didn't commit
completely.
| Or subjects in a bad flash photo. Or little animal characters from a
| Stephen King story.
|
| Too early to predict colors. There's much gerbil genetics info on the
Web,
| but I haven't looked into it much. The gerbil pros whip off formal
genetic
| descriptions like "AA Spsp ..." but it's all genetic Greek to me.
|
| Don't be the last to place your order. YOU don't want to be the one who
| receives all the leftovers.
|
