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Mating
The title says it all! We can see here, Strungni et Lélie
having fun! Notice that the female runs in front of the male and
then, he runs after her. We can also see the male softly thump on
the piece of cardboard. |
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The babies are moving!
If you look closely, you can see the bumps moving on the
mom's side. Don't get it mixed up with her regular breathing
movements!
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Pregnant
gerbil Here
is Lélie with her huge belly. She had 13 pups in that
litter!!!
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Birth
This
one is one of my only videos showing a mother gerbil give birth. She
twists from one side to another surely because of the
contractions. Once she curls-up in a ball, you can see
something pinkish/purplish under her who seem to be attached
together. It is a baby who’s still in the placenta. It's kind of
hard to see. |
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Placenta
delight Yes,
I know it doesn't look so yummy. But what can we do? All the mammals
eat it! Besides, it's a really good source of protein and iron. It's
an energy boost during and after giving birth. |
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Placenta delight 2
If you try to peek at your gerbil while she gives birth, the
"eating of the placenta" may be the only thing you get to see. Did
you know that,
in some cultures people do eat their placenta and not only the new
mother get to taste it , but all the members of her family
also!
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Baby retrieving
Mother
gerbils are totally good at parenting. Even a few minutes after
given birth, her instinct tells her to gather up all of her pups in
the same spot. It is believed that babies produce an ultrasound when
they get cold to get the attention of their mother. |
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Baby retrieving 2
Even
a couple of days later, the mom still goes after the straying pups.
In this case, it's my fault; I did it on purpose demonstrate the
behavior. Sadly, my memory card was full so I couldn't record all of
the process. But believe me, she brought back every single one in
the nest. They were 13! |
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Baby retrieving 3 |
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Small
chicks
They are just so cute at this age! They look like
chicks.
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In the wheel
When
a gerbil likes his wheel, here's what it look like! Run, run, slow
down, stop, run, run again, slow down and stop! It's not continuous
like a hamster. |
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Crickets hunt
Gerbils love crickets. Whisky is about to discover that they
move quite faster then sunflower seeds!
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Crickets hunt 2
Gerbils
show their real nature when they hunt down crickets. Notice the
position of the tail. It curves up and it doesn’t touch the ground.
It’s a sign that they're on their guards. |
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Gerbil
Tetany It's
one of the most traumatizing videos I've been “lucky” enough to
capture. Gerbils are known to suffer from epilepsy and tetany
seizures. Here is Scarlette who's not looking so good. Her eyes
are shut tight, and you can see that her face is contracted.
She seems totally disoriented. As time passes, she becomes more and
more paralyzed. At this point, I thought that she was going to die!
But don't worry, she totally recuperated after a good nights sleep.
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Rat and
gerbil?? Did
you, asked yourself once if you could house your gerbils with
another rodent or animal? The answer is NO! Every pet has its own
needs and it's a bad idea to put them together. They can end up with
very severe injuries or one or both of the animal can end up dead..
See for yourself in this video! I never saw a gerbil behave this way
before.
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Professional
Wrestling!
Among the funniest
behaviors the gerbil can execute, wrestling is one of the most
impressive ones! Notice how the one under moves away to avoid the
falling one.
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Boxing
time! More
gerbil boxing-action! Boxing is used to settle who will be the
dominant gerbil. They don't know each other very well. You'll also
see a pursuit at the end.
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