Accidental Litter - Help from Gerbil expert wanted

[Pye]

Hi all!

A friend of mine who has had a pair of gerbils for nearly a year has recently found an unexpected litter. It's another case of wrongly sexed gerbils I think.

I will be seeing him some time this week to arrange something. I have agreed to take the offspring and get them homes.

What I need advice on is this:

Can I remove the male to prevent further pregnancy or is he required to tend to the pups?

Is it fairer to let him stay with her until the babies are weaned even if risk of another pregnancy if only to let him live with one of his sons (to avoid loneliness).

Any other help will be greatly appriciated. If anyone can also direct me to a resource telling me about the pups themselves I.E. what age eyes open, weaning etc.

Their little girl will be unhappy that they may have to give away the male but I am sure I can convince her to keep a female baby or vice versa instead.

-
Pye
Thanks in advance!

[sandy]

Hi Pye,
If the mother is indeed tending the pups, then yes, you can remove the father. However, odds are very high that they have already mated again (which they do the day of the birth) so you might as well leave dad in to help until these pups are about a month old, and mom is due to give birth again (in 25 to 40 days after mating). At that time separate the pups and dad from the mom. She will cope with her second litter much better than her first, once she is experienced. When the pups are six weeks old, separate the females from the males and rehome them in same sex pairs and trios.

Be sure to tell your friend to remove toys and food dishes from the tank and provide lots of shredded up tissue for the mother to make a nest. Many mothers appreciate a closed in nest box, but make sure that pups cannot become trapped under or behind a nest box. You can easily make one from tiles or wood, or use a square glass or ceramic container. My gerbils love their square glass jars, cannisters and such. it gives them a greater sense of security and helps them corral runaway pups, increases nest warmth and so on.

When the second litter comes along, let mom raise them on her own and leave a female pup with her when they are about 6 weeks old. You can then rehome the rest, again, in same sex pairs and trios.

The pups will acquire fuzz and fur around 1 week old, and eyes open and they start weaning around 3 weeks old. They start straying from the nest around 10 days old. By 4 weeks old they are eating food but still nursing occasionally, and at 5 weeks old they are able to live on thier own--but still benefit from having an adult or older gerbil around to learn how to behave properly in gerbil society.

Finally, it is a good idea to give mom a bit of supplemental protein in the form of dry cat food, crickets, mealworms etc. When the pups are at weaning age at 3 weeks old, supply some celery and millet sprays to aid them learn to eat and help tide them over the crucial period until they are able to eat the hard food. Make sure the water bottle is lowered so they can reach the water!

I do hope someone stickies this one, so we don't have to keep writing this over and over!

[Pye]

Thanks a million for the info. I will tell him to keep the male with for this litter so. I'm sure I will be able to find homes for them (let's hope the second litter is not too large!). I'm just reluctant to advise him to pass them on to the pet shop that sold him the wrong sexes. I'm not a fan of pet shops myself and this will likely happen with all the pets they sell on.

Now, they have a little girl who the gerbils belong to. I'm not really sure what to advise they do as to which to keep when the litter(s) are all grown. Would it be better to keep the male and one of his sons, or the female and one of her daughters or does it make little difference? I'm not entirely sure if they wouldn't consider having a second cage for the male and a son but I have mentioned it.

I have considered keeping a few myself anyway. I'm going to have a browse and join this forum. Thanks for such a quick response, I really appreciate it!

[cheeseham]

In my opinion out of my gerbils the male is a lot more cuddly and eager to interact with me than the female

so i would keep the dad and a son, also males do better in bigger groups because the females are the dominant sex of the species
however I am not an expert and it could just be my gerbils

[sandy]

I think it depends on which ones the little girl bonds best with.

[pye]

Hi.
Thanks for all the advice on my predicament. The new litter was born the Sunday just gone and with a stroke of luck the first litter was one female and two males. I have brought the three males (including dad) home with me and kept the female with her mother to help with the next lot. I plan to take the next lot as soon as they are mature enough, separate the sexes and home in them in couples and trios.

The boys are settling in well and I have made them a sturdy wooden house they can't chew through (well, at least not too quickly). The girls are happy to know they can visit daddy gerbil (Brian/Blinky) any time they like. They're a lot of fun to watch. (=

[genie]

id like to advise that you dont let the girls 'visit' daddy. Chance of mating....which is wrong on many levels

[picklepot]

I think Pye means the human girls can still visit the daddy gerbil(?).

But I agree that the new pups and female gerbies, mustn't visit with the seperated male gerbies!

[genie]

lol. my mistake then

[pye]

Jun 26, 2008 3:55:54 GMT -8 picklepot said:

I think Pye means the human girls can still visit the daddy gerbil(?).

Spot on. They had him since September 07 so grew quite attached.

We certainly don't want any more. I still don't know if there will be another litter after the one the mother is currently tending too. Let's hope not. As much as I enjoy helping people out with animals, finding homes isn't always easy. Especially here where no one understands the evils of pet shops and their careless staff. )=