Not sure what happened...

[Andrew H]

Hi everyone-

My gerbils gave birth to 5 pups 24 days ago. I made sure to follow the recommended guidelines about how to take care of them, and everything appeared to be fine. Within the last week the pups had begun to open their eyes (as I read they would), with the exception of one. At first I wasn't concerned, and I tried rubbing its eye gently with a warm washcloth but they still wouldn't open. Last night I noticed she wasn't nesting with the rest of the family, and seemed kind of weak, but I shrugged it off because I had seen the mother nursing her recently. Today I discovered an unfortunate sight; the pup l was dead, lying on her back with what appeared to be part of her belly ripped open and looked as if one of the parents had sucked the fluid out of her. The mother had a steady supply of water which I observed her to drink regularly so I'm assuming she didn't sacrifice the pup for hydration to nurse the others. I'm curious as to what could have happened so I can prevent this from happening to any of the other pups. I'm not sure if this has anything to even do with her not opening her eyes/appearing weak, I just wanted to include all possibly relevant information. Other details: she was found underneath a wire ledge about 3-4 inches above the bedding, but I don't think this contributed a factor as I've never seen the pups have problem with this before; she was under the ledge, meaning she couldn't have fallen from the top anyway. Her leg appeared to be broken as well, but I couldn't tell if that was just the way it appeared because the rest of her body was stiff but her leg seemed twisted. If anyone out there can help me figure out what happened I'd greatly appreciate it, I don't want the rest of the gerbils to encounter a similar fate. Sorry for the long post, but if theres any more info that could help please ask. Thank you!

Andrew

[Andrew H]

I guess additionally the pup could have died and the parents were doing their part to get rid of it. This is my first set of gerbils and the first time they've given birth so I unfortunately don't have a lot of experience with this. I hope there was nothing I did that neglected the pup's well-being; like I said it seemed a little weak and lost yesterday but it didn't seem like anything serious, she was still breathing and moving around okay. Thanks again-

[lilwhiskers]

Hello, I'm sorry you had to go through this loss. It is never easy to lose a little pup. It sounds like the little one had problems of some sort- and gerbil parents can pick that out quite easily. The pup very well could have died of natural causes and then like you said, the parents were trying to "clean up" after it. I don't think I would be too concerned about this happening to the other pups. Good luck!

[Andrew H]

Thanks; yeah I was more shocked by the way they left the pup, I didn't think at first that the pup probably died naturally and they were "cleaning up." I guess I also didn't realize that these furry little creatures were capable of cannibalism; I thought maybe the Mom would eat the babies during the first week but once they grew and became furry I didn't think this was possible. Anyway thanks for the advice, hopefully it won't happen again.

[Yet another sad update]

Sorry to bother everyone with this, just thought I would share and get the reactions of more experienced gerbil owners than myself. I couldn't find one of the other pups today, and I searched both cages (connected by a tube) and couldn't find any "evidence" of him. The only place I didn't bother was their nest, but I felt in there briefly to look for him and I'm assuming of all the places to bury him it wouldn't be there. There are a bunch of odd looking particles in one of the cages (where I found the other one yesterday) that look like normal waste but appear a little different. Additionally, the cages seem kind of smelly, should I change them? (I did 3 days ago for the first time since they've been born)

I guess my question is; is this something normal? It sounds like it is, but since the gerbils were getting so big and seemed healthy I didn't think the parents would "be able" to get rid of them, Basically, when a pup disappears, should I assume the parents took care of it? The only other option would be that he/she escaped, and I don't think theyre capable of that given that the much stronger parents are. Anyways thought I'd share, thanks for the support everyone.

[ohmylokix]

I'd reduce them to one tank. Having a connected tank is very bad for gerbils, for exactly that reason-- the pups can get lost.. and it can lead to a fight to the death between adults! It'll also reduce stress, which will help the pups out.

Do you have ANY toys in the tank which could hurt the pups? What about cotton fluff or cloth? These can lead to death by strangulation, choking, and even loss of limb.

Are any remaining pups clicking while breathing? What is their bedding made of?

[Andrew H]

They were originally in one tank from the time the pups were born til 3 days ago (when I cleaned out the cage and added another one). The reason I did this is because they seemed cramped in 10 gallon tank, and I bought another one for when I separate them in a couple weeks. The mom had been digging in the corners alot more than usual and the pups were moving around alot more and quicker so I figured they needed the space. The pups weren't really using the tube, it was a little out of reach for them. The only things in the tank were a wooden nestng box and a hollowed out log they could crawl under, but I don;t think they were having any difficulty with either; no plastic chew toys or anything wasin there. I haven't used any commercial nesting material or fluff as I understand that's not supposed to work well, plus unscented toilet paper is cheaper and easier anyway, thats all ive given them. No clicking sounds when breathing either, I listened for that. I'm pretty sure the other 3 pups are in good health and I'm not expecting this to happen again, hopefully I won't have to put another sad post up. Thank you for helping.