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Post by paperdoves on Jul 16, 2014 10:26:31 GMT -8
I made a mistake in sexing the gerbil that I bought as a companion for my solo male, and this morning there is a pile of babies under the new one, and the male is standing in the middle of the tank looking lost lol. I have a couple of questions, I hope that someone will help me.
I feed the mom as normal and I leave the dad in there right? Are there any supplements or treats that I should be providing now? I assume that it is best to leave them alone as much as humanly possible for the next few days? Do gerbils eat their young like mice do? When can we start to interact more with them- even looking at them through the tank wall? I'm afraid to even go near the tank now, I don't want to stress her into eating them. Can a black gerbil and a spotted black gerbil produce any colors other than black and spotted black?
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Post by johanne on Jul 16, 2014 11:17:17 GMT -8
Leave the dad in there. And check the protein and fat contents of what you're feeding. She'll need around 18% protein and 7% fat. You can supplement with things like dog food, cooked egg, extra sunflower seeds, mealworms... well, go by what she'll eat. They like some things and not others. Gerbils are not like other rodents that eat their young at the drop of a hat. With moms who are used to being handled the pups can be handled from the beginning. Distract mom with treats if you do, but don't bother the pups unnecessarily. Do keep them in a peaceful area. You do want to be sure she has enough nesting material to fully cover the pups with a huge mound if she wishes. Lots of tissues will be welcome. Whether or not there are colours other than black and spotted black depends on whether there are matching recessive genes being carried by the parents. Wait and see what you get. Keep us posted on how they're doing
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Post by paperdoves on Jul 16, 2014 13:07:13 GMT -8
Thank you. She is used to being handled although she seems sort of skittish in general- like if a person walks past the tank she dives under the bedding very quickly. It's possible that she is not skittish but just has fast reflexes and moves at a faster rate than our other gerbils do, she doesn't show any fear while being handled.
I gave them half a roll of toilet paper so that they can make more nesting material if they want to. I usually give bedding (aside from the usual deep shavings) by giving a half empty box of Kleenex, they all enjoy that, but I am out of boxes of Kleenex right now. Hopefully they'll enjoy the toilet paper, I gave them the half with the roll inside.
Should I buy a little bit of cat food or something? Is dog food better, or ferret food or something else? I'll get whatever is best for them. The nearest pet store (so, live food like mealworms) is almost an hour's drive but I'll be near it in a few days. I'll stop then and pick up some mealworms and crickets to see if she likes one of those. Do I have to take the heads off of the mealworms, or can the gerbils dispatch them fine?
I got a little peek at them this morning, not enough to count or tell much at all but there are at least a few of them, and the ones that I saw looked blotchy colored although I can't tell whether the blotches will turn out to be black fur or another color. I'm hoping that there are some other colors, but of course I'll be happy either way. I'll keep any that I can't find good homes for, and in any event I want to keep at least one or two.
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Post by paperdoves on Jul 24, 2014 12:04:53 GMT -8
They're starting to be more mobile! Their eyes are still sealed shut, and they stay in the nest but the mom uncovered them and they are moving around a bit. They have peach fuzz fur now, and at least a couple look to be black and a couple more look maybe black and white, although the colored portion of one of them looks much lighter than the rest. There is one who is sort of light tan or off-white, I think it might turn out to be argente or another golden color. It's not spotted, I don't think, and the belly seems white. We'll keep that one for sure, and we'll see about the others. We're really looking forward to them getting big enough to be handled regularly.
When I went over to look at them, she was nursing them but jumped up when I leaned over to look at them. A couple of them got dragged out of the nest accidentally, and the dad ran over to see what I wanted and then he started cleaning them and putting them back in the nest. I'm strangely touched by the dad's paternal behavior.
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