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Post by mszgenevieve on Apr 11, 2015 6:37:38 GMT -8
Hi yall, last night when I got home from shopping I noticed my mom gerbil shaking like she was cold. She wouldn't open her eyes & couldn't even move, she would just flip over. I was able to hold her & it seemed to be better after that, when I woke up today I saw she passed away through the night. She had 6 pups that recently opened their eyes on Monday. So they're a little over a month old, I know they're supposed to still have moms milk until they're about 3 months old or so once they're weaned. I have seen them nibble at the adult food but I'm more worried about the water, I haven't seen them drink water yet. Is there any chance of the pups surviving with just dad taking care of them until they're old enough to be separated from each other ?
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Post by betty on Apr 11, 2015 6:43:34 GMT -8
If they are nearly 3 weeks they should be able to survive, but you need to start offering them wet food, like kitten milk with perhaps bread or Cheerios in it so they are getting food and water in them at the same time.
Put it right next to them in a shallow dish so they can get at it really easily and change regularly so it's always fresh. Offer loads of what I call easy food too like sunflower hearts and nuts that they don't have to shell first, all at ground level and scattered about. Just make it 100% easy for them to find food and drink.
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Post by Shooting Star on Apr 12, 2015 4:42:37 GMT -8
At almost 4 weeks, they'll be fine. Just make sure the water bottle is low enough for them to reach, and provide lots of easy, accessible food like Betty's described. Millet sprays are great too.
Gerbil pups are usually weaned around 4 weeks. They can continue to nurse past 5 weeks, but only if mom doesn't have another litter in the nest. They need to stay with their parents a few weeks after they're weaned, but since yours are still with their dad, they should pick up any necessary behaviors (like navigating the water bottle) from him.
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