Gerbil Acting Strangely

Question
Hi,

I purchased 2 gerbils from PetCo about 20 days ago.  They are both females and were supposedly kept in gender specific cages at the store.  I keep them together in a wire cage with a plastic bottom.  As far as I can tell they have always gotten along.  The black one seems to be much more energetic and skinnier.  The agouti (sp.?) one is much larger and used to be pretty interested when I opened the cage with her sister.  Sense last night she stopped coming to the edge of the cage.  She doesn't move nearly as much as she used to and she closes her eyes a lot.  Also, last night as i touched the bottom of her belly she started squeaking and stopped when i pulled away.  Her fur seems to be as soft as ever and I can't see any unusually growths on her skin.  The only thing other than her not moving a lot is that she looks as though she's gained a lot of weight aside from her loss of interest in running around outside of the cage.  I feed them a seed mix and I only refill it when its almost empty.  I also change their water ever day along with a weekly bedding replacement.  I take them out of the cage fore about 30 mins in the morning and 30 mins in the evening.  What could be the problem?

Answer
Hi Dan,
you know what I will tell you this much, pet stores generally will give you a pregnant female. Gerbils pregnancy last between 21 - 25 days though. if she doesn't have pups within a week then she may be having an intestinal problem. If you hold her in your hand and she has an oval belly shape than more than likely she's pregnant.