Pregnant gerbil with two males

[Stefan]

A little over a month ago, I adopted three male (or so I thought) gerbils from the Humane Society. Two looked to be siblings (both about two months old and exact same coloring) and one is a two year old male. All came from the same home.

Last Saturday I saw them mating so I decided to take another closer look at them to verify their genders. I'm quite certain now that one of the siblings is female. I'm assuming she is pregnant now, which is fine, but I am wondering if anybody here has any advice on whether it is best to leave both males with her through her pregnancy and delivery or remove one (or both).

I understand it's helpful to have the father around after the babies are born but as I'm not sure which one is the father I wasn't sure what would be the best thing to do in this situation.

Thanks for any help.
Stefan

[crittercrazy]

Are you sure they're two months old? Most gerbils can't impregnate/get pregnant until 12 weeks.
My guess is that it would be the older male doing the mating. . . I've heard younger gerbils don't always do it right away.
It is best to have the father in there, but if he is, you're going to end up with another litter. (with a potential for seven pups per litter, you might end up with a lot of gerbils!) But both males can't be in there, as that will probably cause issues later.
I guess if it was me I would either leave the older male in or take both out. . . it's possible she's not pregnant (my breeding pair mated a few times before she actually got pregnant) and I really don't know what happens if you leave the wrong male in there.
I don't know for sure though, maybe one of the more experienced breeders on here will have a better answer.

[betty]

I would assume that the older male is the father anyway as the younger one might not yet have worked out how to use his equipment anyway - but either way, males are very loving of pups and so it wouldn't matter which one you left with her really - however - we don't want a second litter from these related gerbils do we? So both boys out!

Leaving a male in won't help her at all either way - as you would have to take him out before she gives birth anyway (to avoid a second unwanted litter), so she will still be raising the pups alone.

Anyway, if you have definitely sexed them correctly, then I would be tempted to take both males out together leaving her on her own, or put them in a permanent split with the 2 males one side and the female the other as my main thinking would be that she isn't actually pregnant as she is on the young side of young - not impossible to get pregnant, but very young really (I don't breed until they are nearer 6 months and fully matured).

In the split - they can't mate with her again if she ISN'T pregnant, but they are close enough together that if she hasn't had an obvious 'heat' within a week and you assume that she IS pregnant, she will still 'have friends' close by.

This way if she isn't pregnant - we are all good (no father/daughter babies) and you just need to find her a new female friend; but if she IS pregnant, then you can leave the 2 boys together and she can move to a new tank - and then keep one of her daughters after you have homed the rest.

Well - this is one option anyway for you to ponder...

[Stefan]

Thanks for all the great advice. I really appreciate it.

[betty]

Let us know what you do and what the outcome is - especially if the little lady has some pups...