New pups! How to keep bored mum happy?

[loxy]

Hi guys!

So Bee had her pups on monday the 8th in the morning, we have seven adorable little babies. They seem healthy so far. I haven't got any good picture atm, don't want to take them out of the nest yet. Maybe today or tomorrow if she's not feeding when I see them.

Bee has always been a very energetic gerbil and while Sherlock may be content to sit in the corner and chew cardboard/tissue she's craving extra activity. I've kept the tank relatively bare as recommended but with 5 inches of bedding. She hasn't made any tunnels and just keeps digging at the corners. She used to do this a lot when she was in the split tank but stopped when I put them both in their current tank with lots of toys and levels etc. Now the toys and levels have gone in favour of a pup friendly environment she's getting restless again.

She likes to come out of the tank a lot but I'm not sure how long I can let her play away from the pups at this stage? I taught her before the pups arrived to jump into my hand for play time and now she's constantly trying to get on my hand whenever I go in there.

I'm not sure if I should put some things back in to help stimulate her a little more. All the advice around says to never introduce toys or cardboard so she doesn't ignore the pups. But on the other hand I don't want her passing on stereotypical burrowing behaviour onto the pups either

To give you an idea of my options:

I have wooden stick bridges used to make levels and nest areas (are the gaps between them dangerous for little pup limbs?)

I have a large wooden reptile hideout that's solid with some peeps holes and open at the bottom, like an elongated igloo

There's some larger permanent cardboard tubes about 3 inches in diameter, they are too dense to chew through quickly but they always have a go on the ends

I also have soft cardboard moulded packing material that I usually stack and cover with bedding for them to chew through and make an underground network or place on top for an extra house

I have a terracota candle holder which I usually put in on its side so they can run right through it.

Would love to hear what you guys think. Even if the solution is that I can have her out for a good run around for half an hour/1 hour in the evening like normal that might tire her out enough to calm her down, but I honestly wasn't sure how long she can be away from the pups in the first week.

[loxy]

Mkay I think I have the exact opposite problem now. I didn't change anything but today when I got home she's decided that she wants to build a tunnel from one end of the tank to the other and is ignoring the pups. I know mums spend time away from the nest but I worry when they all squeak for her and she doesn't check on them. Sherlock sometimes sits on the nest but mostly watches her dig. I can't win!

I'm probably worrying far too much.

[Crystal]

Hello! As it is recommended to keep the parents' environment as bare as possible, it can be a little problem when they/or mom becomes restless and bored as you stated. (Which seems to be an increasing behavior in females lately, or it seems...)

But anyway, before I read your second post, all I use are empty toilet paper rolls or towel paper rolls for mothers, because it is quickly 'consumed' haha. But How is she doing now? I hope she has tired out by now and is resting/tending to pups after all that tunneling. I know it can worry an owner, it would for me too! But sometimes you just have to put your faith into the parent(s). Usually after a long session of digging or chewing (if there are things to gnaw on) they'll retire and go back to baby duties. I try not to worry unless she goes to nest entirely away from her pups after all that digging and doesn't check on them/feed them.

Hope all is all Sorry it's not much, but it's what I do.
I give thin pieces of cardboard and towel paper and they go at it until it's completely gone and then return to their pups.

[loxy]

Thanks Crystal, I tell you this forum keeps me sane. Yesterday I thought for a while that we'd lost a pup but a few hours later we did another count and found all seven still accounted for, phew!

The tunnelling seems to be an ongoing project as it won't quite stay up without any large cardboard to support it. It's currently serving at a length of loose bedding that she dives through like a ball pit, haha. She does eventually tend to the pups and dad's on the nest sometimes. I've not seen her nest away from the pups, she used to go to sherlock's nest for bit of a cuddle and groom when the pups were first born but wouldn't sleep there. Now they're both with the pups.

I think I'll stick with the occasional toilet paper roll and try to keep her focused on feeding them.

I guess I assumed that she'd spend most of her time on the nest with the pups and get worried when I see them both running around doing their own thing. Maybe they're more active in the morning and evening when I'm checking on them and spend more of the day and night with the pups when I'm at work or asleep. Before the pups were born I have observed at weekends that Bee and Sherlock spend most afternoons sleeping.

*sigh* I'll be so much happier when they've got their fur and are running around by themselves