Thanks so much for the page on deciding whether a gerbil is pregnant or fat! With the tip about how the fat is distributed, I was able to guess all four pictures correctly! Now I can check Sunshine and Daisy and be sure about their condition, and then take care of them accordingly.
To update you all on what's going on with them, they stopped drinking from the new water bottle when I had to move it (they built a huge tunnel entrance directly below it so then they couldn't possibly reach and drink from it comfortably). So I kept giving them fresh foods and found that they LOVE pomegranate and cooked sweet potato. I recently started sleeping next to them because I am home working frantically on a thesis, and don't keep normal hours - keeping them in the room with the computer, which also happens to have our bed, is good company. They have now switched for some reason to being almost entirely nocturnal, and so it seems that they wait for the cover of darkness to drink from the old bottle again - maybe they got paranoid about me always watching them during the daylight when they got close to the bottle. In any event, they are not nearly as thirsty as they were before. Also, you would not believe the new play area I have set up for them. I'll send a new link with pictures when I get around to it. Because Joel and I are pretty much consumed by work lately, we don't have much going on around the house and can afford to give large amounts of space to our two little ones. As a result, Sunshine and Daisy now have an area equal to that of a King- sized bed that has been constructed out of cardboard, and which their cage has been placed in, to run around. It is totally enclosed with walls high enough that they can't get out, and has an old comforter lining the bottom that they can hide under, a towel they like to play on, two huge sturdy shipping tubes I bought from Staples, a round oatmeal container with food in it to chew up snacks in, and enough room for both Joel and I to lie down in while they run around and climb all over us. The great part about it is I don't have to worry so much that they'll get hurt in the apartment, and they can jump in and out of their cage any time they want to for safety. It is still taking them a while, however, not to be so skittish. They are very sweet and gentle, but do take a long time each day to calm down enough not to run like mad if I turn my head or breath too loudly, and will crawl over my hands or leg but will not let me pick them up in my hands. One night I did spend enough time that Daisy came up on my chest and let me kiss her a number of times, which almost stopped my heart because that's what my first gerbil, Frisky, used to love, and Sunshine was not much for being kissed but seemed to love climbing up to my waist (while I was lying down) and chewing on the top of my pants. They are such a joy to have during my academic isolation. I'm so glad we made the decision to get gerbils! Dana :) __________________________________________________ Move your email to a better address. Over 1,000 domains to choose from! FREE! PRIVATE! http://www.MailSpace.com
