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When choosing your Gerbils, you want to make sure that they are young, healthy, and have a good relationship with each other. You also want to ask the pet store owner or breeder to allow you to handle the gerbils and see which ones are friendly. The first thing you must do is observe. Watch the gerbils' behavior. It's normal to see them 'wrestling', but wrestling can go too far and you need to be able to tell if they're actually fighting. To tell if they are really fighting, usually there will be biting and even drawing of blood. A healthy gerbil will have soft, smooth, clean fur and bright eyes with no discharge. Look at their tail to make sure it's long, fully furred, and not missing any skin. The next thing to look out for is weight. Male gerbils normally tend to be heavier than the females, so it's normal for them to look chubby. Female gerbils are more athletic, so they normally have a slim body. If they look chunky, it either means they're pregnant or overweight. It's hard to tell if a female gerbil is pregnant. Sometimes gerbils don't show, even if they are far in the pregnancy.

The first photo is a healthy gerbil. The second photo is of a gerbil with an illness, most likely a respiratory infection.  

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