Occasionally you might hear your gerbils thumping the ground. Usually if one gerbil starts it they all follow suit. Gerbils live in small family groups in the wild, they send on distress calls by thumping the ground when they are scared, frightened, or nervous. If you notice your gerbils are thumping, try and decide if what they might be trying to alert each other about. Sometimes new sounds, places, or even people can cause them to thump. Usually gerbils are standing up looking around, but not always.
Gerbils will also thump as part of their mating routine. The two types do sound very different. The mating thumping pattern is not as loud, and is quicker. Males are more likely to display this thumping pattern than females, especially when introduced to a novel female. Females only do this when they are in heat, and usually only when they are desperately trying to get the males attention. I usually don’t see this type of thumping pattern in same-sex pairs, I usually only see it in my breeding pairs.
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