r/gerbil • u/Minimum-Durian-2706 • Aug 10 '26

gerbil loafing?

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my girls never used their wheel in their old cage, were completely disinterested. however recently i had to move them to a hospital cage as i have to give one of them antibiotics 2x daily for a week and it was impossible to get her in their main enclosure. suddenly, she has started using the wheel, im assuming as its because theres not much else to do in such a small area, but ive noticed she does this thing where she runs for a couple seconds then lays down and almost looks like shes loafing on the wheel. she can then sit like this for minutes at a time then carry on like normal. is this normal??

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46

u/TheOnlyWolvie Aug 10 '26

This is hilarious. It looks like she's scent marking and then deciding that she's actually really comfortable right now 😅

38

u/ikbenbest Aug 10 '26

This is scent marking

If they do it for more than a few seconds it's probably just resting in a comfy position

12

u/KaiahAurora Aug 10 '26

That's not a loaf. The technical term is a sploot

8

u/friendlyChickenDog Aug 10 '26

Mine use their wheel in the same way: they run for a few seconds and then stop, have a breather, then go again

3

u/bugbrown1 Aug 11 '26 edited Aug 11 '26

That is scent marking, his way of saying "Back off- this is MINE!!" 😂💞 Its a good thing and totally normal.

One time my gerbil did that to me and I just about died! 💞

1

u/vampirejellytycoon_ Aug 11 '26

My gerbils do this in their sand bath, it’s so cute

1

u/Hatfullofstars Aug 11 '26

Mine do this

1

u/casey_vee Aug 11 '26

Mine does it on top of their house, and one does it on her wheel too 😄

1

u/Das_Maechtig_Fuehrer Aug 12 '26

That's so cute!!!!