Is Mimi pregnant?

Question
This morning i took my gerbil "mimi" out and held her. It was then that i noticed her belly felt hard and lumpy. It has never felt that way before. Could it be a sign of pregnancy?
Thanx! Laura xx

Answer
Hi Laura

Have you deliberately tried to mate her?  How old is she - how long have you had her? If you haven't mated her, is there any sign of any external lumps on her belly?  Gerbils have very glandular skin in that area and it is prone to developing tumors there.  When this type of tumor appears providing it isn't attached to anything important internally it can be removed - the vet can cut away the whole of the skin covering the belly area to prevent further tumors appearing. This is fairly routine surgery and the gerbil ends up with a very flat 'tummy' but there are always risks with any surgery with the anaesthetic.

They tend not to have lumps as such when pregnant - they do tend to bulge as they get close to the date of the litter being born.

If there is no way she could be pregnant, then I would suggest you monitor her and if there is any change in her behaviour or the size of these lumps or if they start to appear red and sore, then it would be worth having a vet check her out.

Hope you get on OK.

Regards