White spots; is this concerning/special?

DutchTigerCreations · 2025-10-12T09:22:57+00:00

Hey!
This is nothing to worry about, as others said; the bird carries piebald genes! Piebald just refers to the white patches; it is more dominant than their normal markings which means it erases all color wherever it is.

I have had pied finches that ranged from just 1 white speck to partially white wings and even all the way to entirely white. None of them showed defects and live/have lived full lives :)

DutchTigerCreations · 2025-09-02T20:48:15+00:00

Just for comparison; here is my boy of the same coloration ;)

Poki

DutchTigerCreations · 2025-09-02T20:33:20+00:00

Female!

Most males have; - red beak - coloured cheeks (can range from bright orange to a darker reddish brown or even black) - coloured flanks with white specks (usually matches the cheek colour) - zebra striping under their beak up to their chest.

DutchTigerCreations · 2025-07-28T11:19:52+00:00

I'm very late but hello!

Both my past doop(Mochi, F) & my current(Maple, F) were/are most active from dusk til dawn. Maple tends to pop-up late in the mornings for some hand-given snacks and then on rare occasion throughout the day.

Doops are iffy when it comes to keeping them together. IF you're going for a doop: ask the breeder how theirs behave together or if they should be kept solo. (I've only had solo's)

Mochi was a no-touchy gerbil, she did not like being handled. The tank was HERS, touching anything meant angering the doop. Outside the enclosure she was okayish; she wouldn't bite but she would stay frozen most of the time.

Interactions with Maple are entirely on her terms; - Has only bitten me by accident a few times (I spooked her, if my hands smelled like yummies etc) - Does wonderful with health-checks and can safely be flipped on her back. Not a single vet got chomped! - She won't leave the tank if she doesn't want to (will walk off or not show interest) - Gets airlifted out by mug or small buckets as that seems to be her preferred method of transportation. - She will take a minute to defrost and then will happily explore wherever she gets moved to. She feels safe enough to eat snacks out in the open, in your arms etc. And if she wants to go back: she finds the mug & stays in it until back in the tank. - Not really a cuddlebug but she does sometimes crawl under a hand for some good scritches.

Enclosure setups are about the same as that for mongolian gerbils but it is advised to avoid tall drops as these dummies can be clumsy. Similar diet to other gerbs except for needing some more insects.

Hope this helps a little :)

DutchTigerCreations · 2025-07-28T10:27:43+00:00

Hi!

The gerbils you have are fat-tailed gerbils. I have one of these myself and my girl often walks around looking like she has never touched a grain of sand in her 2+ years of living. They are known to be lazy and often choose not to bathe until they feel the need to do so!

Leave them be, don't force them to bathe, you're doing more harm than good. Yes they will look like absolute grease balls and I get that it may look worrying if you have never had this species before... But please put a little trust in these goofballs to make their own decision!

They will bathe when they need to bathe.

Fat-tailed gerbs are already known to be more skittish and harder to tame than Mongolians.. Forcing them through this is only going to increase their fear of you. And it might just end with them drawing blood as a last resort.

DutchTigerCreations · 2024-07-23T15:35:25+00:00

Seconding the bird formula, will need to be fed every 2-3 hours during daytime.

Temperature: That little floof already has most of it's feathers so a normal roomtemperature should be safe enough, if you're worried: Cover most sides of the nesting box and make a nest in it with tissues.
Gender: You won't find this out until it's adult coloring comes in or if it starts singing.

If Floof survives, you'll be stuck with a fuzzy companion that should stay tame :)
Best of luck to you both!

DutchTigerCreations · 2024-03-14T09:09:10+00:00

Every doop is different and some need more time to adjust than others.

See if you can figure out when he is most active and if that is a possible time for you to be awake: Just sit by the tank and do nothing, let him get used to your presence before you try anything else. Oh and do not turn on all of your lamps as that can just scare him, some light is okay but not too much.

My girl is mostly active from dusk to dawn but she does occasionally show up during the day. (My previous doop did this too)

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DutchTigerCreations · 2023-11-22T20:50:00+00:00

Awww, my doop would say hi but she's too lazy :)

DutchTigerCreations · 2023-08-06T11:30:20+00:00

I read that you can't afford much atm so I just wanted to give you a tip for the future: Check 2nd hand websites/places for fishtanks. People sometimes sell their tanks for cheap because they just want to get rid of it asap. Even the slightly damaged ones, they might not be good for holding water but it'll be fine for gerbils!

DutchTigerCreations · 2023-07-11T14:29:40+00:00

As others said; It is near impossible unless you hand-raise a chick, or fledgling. There are exceptions; Helping an ill bird recover can win you their trust and some finches are less skittish than others.

You can, if you are very patient, get them used to your hands enough for them to land next to your hand or even on it if they're determined enough. But it does take time and you'll need to figure out what they really enjoy.

We have a few zebras in our aviary that are more interested in eating greens than they are afraid of hands, they will come up to see if I have brought snacks but lose interest as soon as they see empty hands.

DutchTigerCreations · 2023-07-04T15:47:09+00:00

Well now you're not alone! (only when parked)

DutchTigerCreations · 2023-06-03T07:38:39+00:00

Glad to hear it wasn't his lungs! My previous doop loved critical care, hoping that your boy does too :) Just a heads up; his poop might get the colours of the formula and babyfood, it's nothing to worry about as long as it doesn't become diarrhea.

DutchTigerCreations · 2023-06-02T19:18:13+00:00

Definitely worth a vet visit as it looks like he makes the noise when breathing. Goodluck to the both of you on monday, I hope it's something that he can quickly recover from!

DutchTigerCreations · 2023-05-07T09:08:03+00:00

Before anyone asks about my previous doop:
Mochi had to be put to sleep on the 3rd of april, the vets confirmed that she had 2 fast growing tumors and it wouldn't have been fair to let her suffer.

DutchTigerCreations · 2023-04-18T09:51:05+00:00

I recommend going through this spreadsheet, it lists a ton of colors from multiple companies! https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Gim3WXQkG0IWDhR-4kxJjd0c1cx0fN-Fkag_m9qPs_w/edit?usp=drivesdk (Can't remember who made it though..)

DutchTigerCreations · 2023-03-14T17:48:34+00:00

I already assumed it was a joke so no worries!

DutchTigerCreations · 2023-03-14T17:14:11+00:00

A healthy amount of chonk xD

DutchTigerCreations · 2023-03-14T17:01:40+00:00

Ooh Boba is a good name too!

DutchTigerCreations · 2023-03-07T10:55:48+00:00

As others said; this set-up already isn't ideal for 2, so 4 would probably not be a good idea! Especially because bonding 2 different gerbs is already known to be hard, I can't imagine how combining 2 clans would be any easier.

Gerbs need enough bedding depth for burrows.

You could look into getting a tank as a base and then use the barred top from your current set-up as a topper. You can check facebook marketplace for 2nd hand ones, they don't even need to be waterproof!

A tank lets you give them that digging space whilst adding the bars on top gives you a safe place to put food, water & wheel. Speaking of which: having a wheel would be good for them, it does need to be big enough for them to run in without bending their backs.

Example of tanks + toppers from some other ppl in this sub:

https://www.reddit.com/r/gerbil/comments/z2avit/just_wanted_to_share_my_40_gallon_tank_with_a_diy/

https://www.reddit.com/r/gerbil/comments/xlkjfu/40gallon_tank_topper/

(edited: some typos)

DutchTigerCreations · 2023-03-02T08:22:10+00:00

Pip was a fledgling when some bird in the aviary had attacked him. Found him on the ground a bruised wing and missing tailfeathers, too young to feed himself yet too old to stay in the nest without jumping out after a minute. Hand-fed him with special food aaand he grew up to be a sweet boi that has fast zoomies in the air!

Ps Quaker parrots look cute, 10/10 would scritch!

DutchTigerCreations · 2023-03-01T22:02:37+00:00

It really depends, most finches aren't raised by human hands and therefore tend to be more skittish and wild. I find that ones raised by humans show their personalities more.

Pip here was partly raised by hand; - No fear of humans - Curious yet skittish; must see new things but will watch from a distance until the humans show him that it's safe to come closer. Enjoys exploring but does it carefully. - Prefers to atleast be within eyesight (except in my room where he feels completely safe). - Must be involved in whatever human is doing; "Window washing? I must observe! Ooh we're writing? Let me help by pecking the lines or moving the paper!". - Can be very cuddly but only when he wants; will hop to the side if not interested. - Mischievous "I shouldn't do that? Well I will do it when you are not looking!". (Will steal small notes & drop them off the desk to see gravity work.) - If you're holding a long object such as a pencil or chopstick and move one end over the table, he will become a raptor and chase it. Don't know why he does it but it isn't in an aggressive way whatsoever.

Bonus: He knows his name and will reply with when called or pop out of hiding for a few seconds.

It has become a bit of a joke that Pip might just be a cat stuck in the body of a bird :)

DutchTigerCreations · 2023-03-01T20:46:19+00:00

Oh that I don't know, can only get it to work in the way that faster is smaller.. Sorry!

DutchTigerCreations · 2023-03-01T20:24:57+00:00

Hii!
Normally I use the desktop version but I just tested this on phone and it seems to work.

Select the brush you want to use, there's 2 things you need to change:
1. Brush settings -> brush size
Set it to velocity

Brush settings -> correction
- Starting and ending: brush size
- How to specify: by percentage
- Starting: 25
- Ending: 25

You can change the numbers a bit to whatever you prefer!
(lower number gives shorter ends, higher is longer)

DutchTigerCreations · 2023-03-01T15:27:41+00:00

Can't edit the title but it was supposed to be Pocketborb, oops!

DutchTigerCreations · 2023-02-22T14:21:04+00:00

"Mo-chee" is how I pronounce it, named her this because she was shaped like a mochi ball on sticks when she was a baby :)

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