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Post by roadrunner on Mar 2, 2015 22:57:25 GMT -8
I have two females from the same litter and I would like to breed them once. I know I can only breed one female with male at the time, but I prefer not to leave male in with the new mom after delivery to avoid more pregnancies. I was wondering if a sister of the pregnant female will be helping to raise the babies once they are born or she will be a thread to them. Can she possibly kill them?And what would happened if both girls were pregnant at the same time. Would it be safe to leave them together and have them raise 2 litters in one tank or is better to separate them? Anyone has experienced something similar? Any feedback will be appreciated.
Thank you.
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Post by betty on Mar 3, 2015 0:15:37 GMT -8
As far as I am aware, Gerbils raise pups best as a couple and have 2 litters as part of that process. I have never tried anything else because if this has worked for decades of breeding and doesn't cause me or my gerbils any issues, I am not going to try anything new as part of my hobby breeding program.
Making changes to this 'usual' process just adds more things to worry about.
People do try other things like one single litter and leave the new mum to do it all by herself (which most of them can) but it is not perhaps what she was expecting.
And what are you going to do with the other sister until you can split her back to her mated sister? It could take a week or more to get the male and breeding sister together, and then mating and THEN you can start the sister split? What if it doesn't take or the whole process takes longer than the 3 week gestation? And if the other sister is ALSO pregnant and you end up splitting them up after birth due to fighting or pup eating - how will you split the pups? How will you make a new nest in a new tank? And then you will have two tanks instead of one as you might never get the mums back together assuming you rehome all the pups?
Based on other stories I have heard or seen on forums, other people try trios and other adult helpers and it just adds to the unpredictability of the pups upbringing. You could be fine with a second mum and all is fine; or you could start finding the mum or the sister keep moving the pups out of the nest or to a new nest, you could find that something else could happen to make you worried, you could just wake up one morning to find a pup missing or dead or you could find that the mum and sister have fought - and it isn't always the mum that wins.
So if this is your first litter, I think you will have enough to worry about with experiencing a natural litter - I think you might find it more difficult and stressful with all the added worries of above. Wait to hear from someone who has done it of course - but I know I wouldn't want to risk it just because I could.
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Post by roadrunner on Mar 3, 2015 8:13:10 GMT -8
Thank you for a reply. I don't want you to try anything new, I was only wondering if anyone done it. I bred mice in the past and leaving few females with a pregnant and nursing mom was ok. They took turns to take care of babies. I guess gerbils are totally different parents. I think that some people just make it sound too complicated to discourage other people from breeding. There is always a way to make things work with least possible stress on the animals as long as you have patience. I'm not saying that I'm going to do it no matter what. I'm still in a process of researching this subject and if there is extremely hight risk that this may not work, I will not go ahead with it. I love my 2 girls too much to put them through that but also I don't want to rob them of the opportunity to be moms either.
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Post by crittercrazy on Mar 3, 2015 10:38:44 GMT -8
I'm not going to try and discourage you from breeding- I've bred gerbils and in most people's opinions I probably wasn't "ready" to do so but it worked out fine and I'm glad I did. However, you do need to make sure you're prepared for the responsibility. You will no doubt hear that over and over, as I did, but its really true! You may be surprised by what a hassle it can be. (For instance, I ended up with eleven gerbils due to my decision to breed, and that is definitely enough to keep me busy!) And, as Betty said, its generally considered a bad idea to leave another female (sister or not) in with the pregnant mom. Really, the best thing for your gerbil is to have two litters so that Dad can stay in. Hope that helps and let us know if you have any more questions.
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Post by betty on Mar 3, 2015 13:13:53 GMT -8
If ONLY gerbil mums were like mice it would be so much easier!
Roadrunner - I hope you didn't think my comments were an attempt to stop you breeding - they were intended to help you to see all the potential things that can go wrong or simply cause you concern in a trio coupling based on your original comments.
If you had suggested that you were going to breed both females to males one at a time for your first breeding attempt and leave each mother with a daughter or two, I would have said - go ahead and here's a few tips on the side.
However, you were suggesting something that most breeders I know don't even try and those odd few who did try it had negative results that they told me about.
Also, your final comment about not wanting to rob them of the opportunity to be moms just isn't how gerbils feel - it's how humans feel. And if you are staying with the human comparisons: if you breed from them to experience motherhood, they will lose their sister for ever. Surely keeping your sister when you know nothing of children is better than having children and never seeing your sister again? And the only way to put the two sisters back together means they will never see their children again? It just makes things more complicated.
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Post by ninestone on Mar 3, 2015 15:53:16 GMT -8
If you wind up breeding the less-dominant sister, then the more-dominant sister might kill the pups when they are born. A clan would typically only have one breeding pair, with the dominant female.
If you can afford it and have a vet nearby that is experienced and willing, you could breed a pair then have the male "fixed" after the female is pregnant. Then he can help raise the pups without having a second litter.
Also, to reinforce the point betty made - gerbils have no concept of the idea of being parents until they have pups. So they don't feel they are "missing out" on something if they are not bred.
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Post by roadrunner on Mar 4, 2015 10:11:15 GMT -8
Thank you everybody for your feedback. I have lots to take into consideration and I will make my final decision based on that. It would be nice to have a chance to hand raise the babies, but if it's going to put lots of stress on my girls, and they will have to be separated for the rest of the lives, it's not worth it.
Thanx again.
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