Is this Safe?

[Crystal]

Got a new question lol

I'm not 100% certain my female (Mochi) is pregnant with her second litter and I planned to have just the two litters. It's been thirty-four days and she sometimes looks thick but then doesn't, but I'm counting until the 9th of this month. I'm sure she'd have a pear shape by now--But that's not my question.

Let's say she is not pregnant, but I want one more litter so I therefore allow the parents to mate again.
Can I still keep in a daughter to help her raise the pups? I haven't had a double litter in years but do know the older pups from first litter can stay to help Mom raise them. But what I'm unsure of is their age; Is it too risky to keep in a daughter since it'll be another month until the next litter?
Would it be a case of no longer helping mom raise pups, and try to steal or possibly kill the litter out of jealousy/dominance?

I want to know so I do the right thing, whether to remove all of her daughters and just let her raise the next litter on her own or to keep a daughter with her if it is safe.

[t1gg3er]

Our girl (Gizzy) had her 2nd litter 35 days after her 1st but I know it can be longer than that. Bother her litters were relatively small with 4 pups in each & she only looked visibly pregnant 24 hours before the 2nd lot came along.

If she isn't pregnant & you let them mate again & leave an older girl with her then the older pup would be around 10-11 weeks old when the new litter arrives? I'm not sure whether that would be ok or not as the older pup would then be 14-15 weeks by the time the new babies are weaned.

Difficult one for you but (and I'm no expert) I think I'd err on the side of caution & leave mum to raise the litter on her own.

Hope she is pregnant now & then you won't have to worry about it. Good luck.

[betty]

Is the male still with her? I presume not then (otherwise she would have mated anyway if she wasn't already pregs) so it might not be advised to put him back in with the older pup. Dads are normally very good with their own pups for several weeks after being apart - so he might be alright to go back in if you haven't cleaned the tank out since he left. I would be rather cautious about this though - so perhaps you could wait until the mum shows sign of a 'heat' and then put her and the male together (carefully) in a bath tub or clean tank and let them mate for a while, then put the mum back in with the daughter. (Someone else on here says they have done this successfully several times - but I have not tried it myself - I suppose it depends on how confident you are with your gerbils characters).

I have had a second litter at 60 days before (!) and the older daughter was totally fine with it. I have also had an older sister in for 3 litters (missed a single pup being born in the middle after just 30 days, so she got pregnant with the third litter before I even knew she'd had the second poor girl) - so dad straight out and left the older sister in. All was fine .

[Crystal]

Hmm, thanks guys. Dad is still living with mom and her three girls. They're living in a recently upgraded tank (20 long by 10 gallon). I just handled her and doesn't seem pregnant at all. She just has baby weight from the first (such as baggage where she nursed) and hasn't been in heat yet.

Their three daughters are 38 days old today, fully weaned and eating solid food, drinking water, and learning gerbil habits from their parents. There hasn't been any tension, they're overall happy. Mochi acts restless at times but I'm more 80% she is not carrying any pups.

I really wanted at least one daughter to gain experience helping raise the next litter but I won't risk anything.
If she comes into heat, would it best to remove all the daughters then? I'm wondering if Dad trying to mate will cause tension towards the daughters (and may even try mounting them, trying to go after Mom).

[betty]

She wouldn't have shown a heat if they mated the day she gave birth to the last girls - and a pregnancy can easily be 5 weeks for the second litter. So you are still on track for 'normal'.

If she is holding extra weight (due to eating more nutrient rich foods during lactation) then you may not see when the next litter comes as easily - so do be careful about taking the male out in time.

Any time from now that you see them mating could mean that she has had a second litter. Not necessarily though, as I have had several females who 'skipped' a litter. I don't check my pups for a week after birth so I don't know whether they had any or not.

Anyway, while your pups are under 6 weeks it is totally natural for the previous litter to be hanging around with the parents - unless the mum starts chasing them or being a bit grumpy with them. You need to make a choice though, as to whether you want to leave everyone in and hope she isn't pregnant (so you get your second litter) or assume that she IS pregnant (just a long one) and plan to take out the dad and 2 of the females over the next week or so before she has it.

I would leave one female in with her whatever happens, as otherwise you will have a mother all alone, and a trio of girl pups which can be harder to home. I would leave the spare female in with the mum and then - if needed - she can be paired with a younger sister from the second litter. Plan to home the other 2 as normal.

[Crystal]

This was her just yesterday (playing in protected space, in a model house)


Yes, she has not been in heat since the day she gave birth. She's pretty happy at the moment with dad and the kids living all together. I did have one litter many years ago where a second pregnancy didn't take place, and Mom went into heat when the first litter was 6-7 weeks, though.

I'll be monitoring to see if she is pregnant, but if she is not then I'll remove the two daughters when they're a bit older and hope she comes into heat sometime soon lol. I'll do like you said Thank you for your input