Gerbil noises?

[Miss Z]

Twilight, one of my gerbils, has been making some strange noises lately that neither of her sisters have ever made nor have I ever heard any other gerbil make them. It happens mainly when Ebony is trying to play-fight with her, and the sound she makes is almost guinea-pig like and quite loud. In other words, nothing like the tiny, snuffly squeak that gerbils usually make.

Of course the sound alarmed me a little so I checked her nose and there's definitely no discharge. She breathes normally when not making the sound, but when she does make it her sides heave a little, but not drastically. Her condition is near-perfect and she still acts normal. It really is puzzling me.

Do you think it's just some sort of warning to Ebony to leave her alone? Eb does get a little boisterous with her sisters and more often than not Nightshade and Twilight get bored of her antics fast. Any info would be appreciated. :)

(I'll be trying to get some more pics of my lot over the next week!)

[KittyGurl]

Maybe Twilight is telling Ebony to leave her alone and not to mess with her right now. Do you seem to hear it anyother time? If not, maybe it's a warning. Hopefully nothing is wrong with Twilight. Can't wait to see some pics :)

[Miss Z]

Thanks, yes it does just seem to be when Ebony gets too boisterous. Alison (Blue_frog) very kindly found a website for me about gerbil health, and I found that Twilight's probably whining (apparently, yes, gerbils whine! :p ) I'm glad that it doesn't seem to be anything to do with her health. :)

[andriticus]

my two young female gerbils are making that same noise. I have heard them make the noise when they are grooming eachother and my older male gerbil just died today and I'm hearing that noise again.

[KittyGurl]

my two young female gerbils are making that same noise. I have heard them make the noise when they are grooming eachother and my older male gerbil just died today and I'm hearing that noise again.

I'm so sorry about your gerbil :(

[Vermontcat]

I wouldn't worry about it. It sounds like pretty normal gerbil behavior to me.
My two gerbils would wrestle each other or fight over food sometimes and complain like that.
I would just move them apart or offer them each a treat.
It's just typical sibling rivalry among gerbil sisters. :)