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Post by ashtree93 on Apr 14, 2014 6:10:56 GMT -8
My roommate at uni thought it would be funny to get one of my male gerbils out and put him in the run with my females. One female had escaped (Maybe scared?) but the other was being mounted by the male. This happened twice more before I was able to separate them. Both the male and female cleaned themselves, which suggests that one of the couplings was successful?
What I am asking is whether she is likely to be pregnant. I'm obviously going to keep an eye on her and weigh her to see if there is any drastic change.
Question is, what now? I have a tank with females and a tank with males. Will it be safe to keep the females together if she is pregnant? There are three and Christina is dominant and possibly pregnant. Should I try and keep her with the dad? Again there are three males. How can I introduce her to the male or can I just put them together seeing as they mated?
I'm very cross as they will be due during my exams.... Also, I will need to get another tank.
All thoughts will be much appreciated. |
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Post by ashtree93 on Apr 14, 2014 11:44:06 GMT -8
Can anyone help please
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Post by Shooting Star on Apr 14, 2014 13:05:05 GMT -8
She's most likely pregnant. It's possible the other female is as well. It's not ideal, but females *can* raise litters by themselves. In your situation, I'd build a secure split and keep one female on either side. If neither girl turns out to be pregnant, it will be much easier to reintroduce them. You could also give each female their own tank.
Just because they mated, that does not mean Christina and the male will get along for more than a few minutes, especially when she's not in heat. And having a male present when the pups are born almost guarantees a second litter.
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Post by ashtree93 on Apr 14, 2014 13:28:05 GMT -8
Thanks for the reply. Can I keep the 3 females together for now and then separate if and when I know they are pregnant to prevent declanning from the third female?
If one female is pregnant, could I put her in a split tank with the male to introduce them? I wouldn't allow them in the same tank space until
48 hours after the birth. Shouldn't this avoid the next heat and allow him to help with the pups?
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Post by ashtree93 on Apr 16, 2014 1:52:53 GMT -8
How quickly will I notice a weight change?
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Post by bettina on Apr 16, 2014 12:00:29 GMT -8
Probably after 14 days since they mated. They get "fat" during the last week of pregnancy
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Post by ashtree93 on Apr 18, 2014 6:18:01 GMT -8
I've weighed then today and one girl has gained around 5g whereas my others haven't gained or only 1g. Does this mean she is pregnant and the other isn't?
I'm getting new tanks on Tuesday so should I start a split with the dad? If I keep them in the split until after the pups and 24hours have past; will this avoid the next heat?
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Post by betty on Apr 18, 2014 8:00:26 GMT -8
Don't put a male in with a female ever unless you want more pups?
Even if you miss 'the next' heat after she has her litter, she will only come into heat again and again as all gerbils do. And obviously if you leave a male and female together as tank mates they will continue to have pups for their entire lives.
And if she isn't pregnant this time, you would have taken her away from the other females unnecessarily and have to split her back to them or keep her alone. As Bettina said above, you can't tell they are pregnant until about a week before they give birth or less, so no need to start splitting everyone up just yet - just have your spare tanks ready incase the female start squabbling (as they will no doubt 'know' if the others are pregnant before we can see it).
If you go ahead with the split (which I wouldn't recommend) you will also need another tank for the dad and his son(s) to go in after you don't want them mating anymore - whereas if you leave him with his cagemates now he will be none the wiser about his kids and continue to live happily with his existing buddies...
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Post by ashtree93 on Apr 18, 2014 8:48:14 GMT -8
I spoke to the breeder I got the boys from and they said that the female won't mate whilst she is lactating. It would be her first litter, so I don't want to stress her out. I would wait until I know for definite that she is pregnant and then split tank them?
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Post by bettina on Apr 18, 2014 9:03:45 GMT -8
That's wrong! As soon as she has given birth to the last pup, the parents will mate, and within 3-4 weeks the next litter will be born. Do NOT leave the dad/male with the female unless you want a second litter
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Post by ashtree93 on Apr 18, 2014 9:22:07 GMT -8
Sorry that was unclear, I should have them split for the first 24 hours whilst she is in heat but she won't accept him until after she has finished lactating once she has finished the first heat
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Post by bettina on Apr 18, 2014 10:15:27 GMT -8
I would'nt take any chances. My gerbils have had seven litters, so I do know what I am talking about ;-)
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Post by Shooting Star on Apr 18, 2014 12:25:35 GMT -8
Gerbils *usually* don't go into heat while they're lactating (aside from the postpartum estrus). But it's not foolproof. If they're not together now, and you don't want them together and producing pups later, I don't really see a big benefit to introducing them. If Christina (or any of the others) is pregnant, she should be fine raising the litter by herself.
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Post by ashtree93 on Apr 24, 2014 5:03:45 GMT -8
I've been weighing my gerbils every couple of days. Only one is gaining weight rapidly. She has gained 3g in 5 days. She is now two weeks post mating and there have been some dominance squabbles between the other girls. I have noticed that this gerbil has been fluffing up more also. Is this pregnancy symptoms or is she ill? The other gerbil hasn't been doing this and hasn't been fighting with the third female, but she has been trying to smell Christina, the possibly pregnant. She has only gained 1g in the last two weeks.
Have I only got one pregnant female?
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Post by bettina on Apr 24, 2014 6:27:31 GMT -8
You'll just have to be patient ;-)
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