|
Post by lifeontwowheels on Apr 15, 2011 14:50:15 GMT -8
So we've been enjoying the "boys" and all the smiles and fun they bring to us.
Woke up at 6 am to get ready for work and happily discovered that we had a boy and a girl, despite the pet shop's sexing them as both boys. I've only seen one pup and it looks like the gerbs moved it from one part of the cage to the other. Mom looks like she's in labor or something-anybody have a good you tube video-and the dad is acting real weird towards her. Mom has moved from one end to the end (a glass mason jar) where the pup was when I came home. It looks like it may have been still born and she's still waiting for the others to come.
I'm going to head to Walmart in a bit and grab a second cage and put dad in there for the time being and take out a bunch of the bedding from mom's cage to get a better handle on things.
Any other advice?
|
|
doug
Member
Posts: 2,064
|
Post by doug on Apr 15, 2011 18:48:52 GMT -8
Pulling out dad at this point could result in undue stress on the mom, if you had noticed they were male and female earlier splitting them up then would have given the mom time to adjust prior to the babies arriving.
Doug
|
|
|
Post by seabreezegerbils on Apr 15, 2011 19:45:57 GMT -8
Well said, Doug. Usually it is pretty obvious that the female it pregnant prior to birth. Well lifeontwowheels, looks like you are one of the many victims of bad pet-store sexing I was too, lol! Okay, first of all, males make almost always make Great parents, so please don’t separate unless there is a real reason, Mom may need his help since it is her first litter. But still buy a new tank. Let me explain. Dad gerbil will mate with Mom gerbil right after she gives birth, and it may seem like she is neglecting the babies (called ”pups”), but she will be back to them. So what exactly what do you mean that he is acting weird towards her? You may have something unusual going on. We will be able to better help you if you can give more details. Normally you do not need to interfere with the newborns; Mom and Dad can handle them by themselves. Mom will give birth again in 30 to 35 days, to the second litter. Since you probably don’t want to be overwhelmed by millions of gerbil pups (just kidding lol, they don’t actually reproduce that fast, for rodents!), separate Dad and a few male pups into you new tank, and keep one or two females in with mom to help with the new pups and be her cagemates. You will want to either re-home or separate the new litter when they are about 6-7 weeks old, just make sure that you sex them right! It would be helpful if you could supply us with some more info, what kind of bedding are they currently on, how old are the parents (if the mother is very young, or if the parents are siblings, it could explain about the singleton/stillborn pup), does the pup seem to be breathing or squirming (they will squeak if they are hungry or cold), how big is the “breeding” tank (I had an unfortunate experience during my first accidental breeding situation, in which the mother attacked one of her children because she was overcrowded. 20-30 gallons is, I believe, a good size tank for breeding, anybody please correct me if I am wrong about this.) And WHAT KIND OF BEHAVIOR IS THE FATHER REALLY EXIBITING?!?! Is he mounting her while she runs away (this is normal mating behavior), or is he acting aggressive toward mom and pup(s). If this pup is a singleton, it has little or no chance of surviving, since it will not be able to ‘activate’ the mother’s mammary gland, and the pup will starve. Provide plenty of fresh food and water for the adults, most of the stories you will hear about pups being killed are either actually about hamsters, or the mother didn’t have sufficient food/water, or the pup was stillborn. Do not clean their tank until the pups are at least 2-3 weeks old. Sorry, I’m pouring out a bunch of random stuff; sorry it’s all so mixed up. Finally, READ!!!!!!!!!!!!! There is so much good information out there on the internet! But beware that there is also a good amount of false information, especially on “Ask” site like Yahoo! Some websites that have really helped me: www.gerbilbreeding.com/www.agsgerbils.org/Learn/Gerbil_Care_Handbook/breeding.php There are many more than that, I’m not going to try to list all of those great sites out there, for fear of offending somebody, plus because I can’t remember too many right now. Good luck, and please give us some updates!
|
|
|
Post by johanne on Apr 15, 2011 20:23:02 GMT -8
All good advice above. If by chance there was only the one stillborn, or no more than one living pup, remove the male quick!
|
|
|
Post by lifeontwowheels on Apr 16, 2011 3:18:10 GMT -8
Let's see if I can get all this answered: Age: The tank we had both in is a 10 gallon w/ homemade topper The single pup is dead. No doubt-there was no movement, breathing or noise. Mom still looks pretty pregnant though. For bedding, I had aspen in the cage. Just a bag of the reptile stuff they seem to like along with a ton of TP. They seem to love that stuff. We put in a glass mason jar and one of those half logs and partially cover, then they do the rest making all kinds of spaces. Mom was in the log in what appeared to be in labor (really stretching herself out, then just almost looking like she was seeping, licking herself) and dad would run done and get in the log, trying to lick her and she would kind of chase him out.
|
|
|
Post by lifeontwowheels on Apr 16, 2011 15:00:18 GMT -8
Update:
So apparently the litter size was 3. Not sure if the first I found was premature or still born. 2nd (or 3rd) is still alive. We just found a 3rd and it looked to be half eaten.
Mom doesn't appear to be taking care of the little one, so we got the formula kit which the pup ate up. Should we separate the pup to avoid it being eaten/killed? Or keep it w/ mom and supply formula as needed?
|
|
|
Post by ohmylokix on Apr 16, 2011 15:21:19 GMT -8
There is something wrong with the pups, that's why they were being eaten. They died and the mom had to 'clean up.'
If you take the pup away from mom, chances of survival are close to 0%. It's likely that this pup won't make it anyway.
|
|
|
Post by lifeontwowheels on Apr 16, 2011 15:24:10 GMT -8
would soft music calm the mom down?
|
|
doug
Member
Posts: 2,064
|
Post by doug on Apr 16, 2011 16:25:24 GMT -8
No, if the pups were premature they had low chance of survival, I just recently had a GP that had 3 little ones and unfortunately 2 were premature, my vet who is a small animal vet explained what probably happened but it was beyond me.
If this pup doesn't survive put the adults in their own tank and then look for some young ones for them.
Doug
|
|
|
Post by lifeontwowheels on Apr 17, 2011 3:48:02 GMT -8
Just woke up to find mom taking care of the surviving pup. She is sleeping with it and keeping it warm.
|
|
|
Post by ohmylokix on Apr 17, 2011 15:06:30 GMT -8
I would not get attached or name this pup. Its very common for single babies to die near/at weaning.
|
|