a pup died

[gooda]

my breeding pair 3 weeks ago had 9 pups, but one of them died today. this particular pup was a lot smaller in size than the other 8 pups. i guessed he was possibly a runt or a deformed pup. he was at least half the size of his litter mates. i'm especially concerned because this is my first breeding pair, and their first litter. i just hope i'm not doing something wrong. can someone please tell me if that is normal for one to die after a few weeks like this one did, especially in this case when he was a lot smaller than the other pups.

[Ritzie/Admin]

Yes it is normal that sometimes a much smaller pup will not survive! It was most likely much weaker than the other pups. Especially with som many pups, 9 is a lot (fertile gerbil)! It is also normal that the first litter of a gerbil pair has problems, due to the unexperience of the mother, so your gerbils and you are doing well! ;D So don't you worry, you have done nothing wrong!