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Post by shortlilangel03 on Aug 11, 2004 9:49:50 GMT -8
The one Female had three babies I think. But I only see two and the rear end of the third(deceased) I was wondering the other two look healthy??    Thanks Shorty |
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Post by shortlilangel03 on Aug 11, 2004 10:27:42 GMT -8
Okay there was four pups I found one more sadly it didn't make it either. I was wondering if the fact that my cat some how got in my room knocked off the cover of the cage and possible was in it. would be reason for these two pups Dying? Or was there something most likely wrong with them? Thanks Shorty
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Post by shortlilangel03 on Aug 11, 2004 10:47:54 GMT -8
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Post by crazycritter on Aug 11, 2004 11:13:03 GMT -8
The remaining pups look healthy to me....Just watch them to make sure that they have milk in their bellies. You can see it, it's the white patch underneath their skin.
You sure don't have a very nice nest set up for them though. They need it to be a bit softer. Rip up some toilet paper and put it in the cage so that the mother can make a nice nest for the pups. Take a dark colored towel and cover the half of the cage that has the nest in it. This will make the inside of half of the tank dark and give the mom privacy.
You ought to get a lock for your lid if your cat gets into it.
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Post by j on Aug 12, 2004 21:16:11 GMT -8
Cat probably pissed off the mom and she neglected them or killed them.
Give the mom some kind of small, light, thin box and toilet paper so she can make them a nice nest and feel a lot safer.
And at least put something on top of the lid so the cat cant knock it off. yer lucky nobody else is dead.
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Post by sweetie on Aug 13, 2004 10:04:48 GMT -8
Might be a combination of the cat and maybe a inexperience/stressed Mom. How are the remaining pups?
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Post by shortlilangel03 on Aug 13, 2004 13:58:06 GMT -8
No the babies are doing just fine. The other female is pregnant also. So I have another question. Is it possible for her to nurse the pups even though she hasnt given birth yet. Cause I have noticed her laying on them a couple of times like she was trying to nurse them. You probably think she was trying to keep them warm. But it looked like she was trying to nurse them. Is it possible? Thanks Shorty
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Post by queenofthenile on Aug 13, 2004 15:58:58 GMT -8
It is possible that she is already nursing them. Many animals produce milk before they give birth, so I'm sure that gerbils would be no different.
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Post by sweetie on Aug 15, 2004 18:19:00 GMT -8
Shorty,
I am confused about the dynamics. Do you mean you have 2 Moms in one tank? Is that a good thing? I guess I am confused about the set up. I thought that is was oaky to have on mom in the tank and a second female gerbils would help out but 1 Mom who gave birth and another who is pregnant? Is there any fighting? Could that be an explanaition of the other pups?
Has the pregnant Mom ever had litters or is this the first? If she has had other litters, it is possible that she has milk. If it is her first, she may be producing some milk but it may not be enough to support the pups. Are the pups bellies full with milk most of the time or after the apparant nursing of the pregnant mom?
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Post by shortlilangel03 on Aug 15, 2004 19:40:33 GMT -8
No both mom's have had 1 previous litter when I bought them. The females are doing great. I would of seperated them if there was any fighting. But surprisingly The pregnant female is helping out with the babies. I just hope it all dosen't change when the other one gives birth. If it does then I will seperate. Also the Pregnant female is the Dominante one. I still haven't thought of names for them.
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Post by shortlilangel03 on Aug 15, 2004 19:44:44 GMT -8
Also if your saying the death of the other three was from the pregnant female. Why hasn't she killed the last two? She has had a ton of chances. SHe carries them around all the time. Cleans them. I think what happened with the babies is the cat touched those ones and they either died or were killed. I did end up finding one more sadly. She had 5 all together. Two are still living and thriving. I will post pics later. Cause I have a question on one of the colors of the pups. It looks like dad but really dark. Looks like it is going to be black and white. Shorty
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Post by sweetie on Aug 16, 2004 6:41:48 GMT -8
Shorty, Please don't feel that is what I was suggesting or passing judgement. I am still learning about the dynamics. I thought that it was necessary to place pregnant females in separate tanks due to the aggressive tendencies and jealousies of females gerbils. You are right, if she did do it, she would not be tending to the others. If two pregnant females can have litters in teh same house, it would work perfectly for me!! Less expense when I start to breed. I'm glad all is well now!!  |
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Post by shortlilangel03 on Aug 16, 2004 7:21:58 GMT -8
So confused!!! I don't know what happened last night but one more of her pups died. But the other female gave birth to 9 last yes I said 9. and they are all fine. Could it be possible they were so worried about making a nest and everything this pup got ignored. It was touched and very cold. Thanks Shorty.
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Post by crazycritter on Aug 16, 2004 10:57:09 GMT -8
The mother may be stressed because of the other breeding female in the tank, and is neglecting her pups. I really would reccomend that you seperate the females and get another male for the lone female. The way you have them right now may work sometimes but the success rate is very low. It would be a lot better for your gerbils and more natural to put them in pairs.
Sweetie, don't try it. Just because shorty is having luck (although with the high death rate, it doesn't sound like she is...) doesn't mean that you will.I didn't.
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Post by floppy on Aug 17, 2004 6:29:32 GMT -8
Definitely seperate the females. I had a mother and a couple of daughters in the same tank, the mother had her pups and her older daughters helped to look after them, by that I mean they washed them and kept them warm etc. Everything seemed to be fine but when the new pups were nearly 4 weeks old one of her older daughters killed them. It was so horrible. I have since removed the older daughters.
Females get very jealous of each other and just because things seem to be going well, doesn't mean they always will. You can't watch them 24/7.
I would suggest you leave the other gerbils last remaining pup with the one who has just given birth. Since she'll have 10 babies to feed she may lose some of them. Sometimes, when they have a big litter, they will make 2 nests and that way they can manage to feed all the pups. Make their home as comfortable as you can and remove the dead babies. Don't keep looking in at them, give them peace and quiet to get on with things.
Make sure you give the nursing mother extra protein in the form of small dry cat biscuits or mealworms.
Another really important thing is to KEEP YOUR CAT OUT!!
That, and the fact that you had 2 pregnant females together is probably why you lost so many pups. If you don't make changes you may end up losing the rest.
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