|
Post by sweetie on Nov 15, 2004 18:02:45 GMT -8
Hey Pixie,
You can keep the same bedding if it is Aspen, Corncob, or Carefresh. I prefer Aspen and so do my gerbils!!
The diet can remain the same but I would suppliment protien. You can do this by adding a little cat food, yogurt, or mealworms.
Have you decided to separate them or keep them together?
|
|
|
Post by devun on Nov 15, 2004 19:46:53 GMT -8
are you positive that they're different sexes??? This happened to me too-- I had to take the boy back and started crying in the middle of the petshop, like a fool. But I decided to do that for the reason you mentioned-- you've got to separate the male from the female so that he doesn't get her pregnant again, though it's much better to have the male help the female raise the kids. Also the male's got to wait around for a few weeks for one of the kids to grow up and live with him. So basically you've got one lonely gerbil, another overworked mother gerbil, and a litter that is unexpected, not cared for by two parents, and (if the parents are brother and sister) inbred too! I also looked into neutering-- it's 70$ in the United States and the vet said that it's hard to care for them and prevent them from getting infected. I'm sorry you've got to go through this too. I was so stressed out that I felt sick. I hope they aren't really opposite sexes-- you should post a picture so that someone can make sure! good luck!
|
|
pixytwinkle
Member
Molly and Misty, my lovely gerbils.
Posts: 737
|
Post by pixytwinkle on Nov 16, 2004 6:43:10 GMT -8
well i havent split them up yet but i am pretty sure that misty is a male last night he was chasing misty all around the cage for hours and everytime he caught up with her he would mount her. I have tried them with yoghurt before and i dont know where toget those wax worms froms from so it will have to be cat food.I have mamnged to get homes for at leats ten gerbils and i doubt that she would have that many especially as its her first litter so everything is ok with that.
|
|
|
Post by doomgerbiluk on Nov 16, 2004 6:57:24 GMT -8
well she wasnt pregnant before then but she almost certainly will be now why haven't you seperated??
what you have just described is typical mating behaviour. Females will mount other females in an all female clony though (and boys will mount boys in an all boy one )
|
|
pixytwinkle
Member
Molly and Misty, my lovely gerbils.
Posts: 737
|
Post by pixytwinkle on Nov 16, 2004 9:26:16 GMT -8
i seperated them at the but in a previous post i put that they have bitten right through the divider. I was going to get a new one at the weekned but was unable to as my sister went to college and i had to go with to take her and this is a long way. So we wrent home all weekend only for a while on sunday They havent been mating since but yesterday they were doing it for ages misty wouldnt let molly have a moments peace everytime she tried to eat sleep or drink she was being mounted. Is it still possible for misty to be a female then i hope so. However i am almost sre its a male as testicles can even be seen wthout looking underneath it
|
|
|
Post by doomgerbiluk on Nov 16, 2004 11:06:56 GMT -8
Ok yes you definitely ahve a male Thats sure fire proof Now thats cleared up they have finished mating for one simple reason.....she came off heat It is highly likely she will now have pups Get the divider anyway, just in case she hasn't 'taken' (it does happen) and then i'm afraid its a waiting game
|
|
pixytwinkle
Member
Molly and Misty, my lovely gerbils.
Posts: 737
|
Post by pixytwinkle on Nov 17, 2004 6:32:34 GMT -8
ok thanx for ur help doomgerbil i really appreciate it. I wont be able to divide them till the weekned though will this still be ok? Will she be ok brining up the pups on he own? cause ive heard that this could cause the mom to kill her pups.
|
|
|
Post by doomgerbiluk on Nov 17, 2004 8:07:54 GMT -8
No problem make sure she has extra protein and lots of bedding it will be harder on her but at least she wont be pregnant when the pups are weaning!!! you could give her bread soaked in cat milk as a supplement and if its a large litter you may need to supplement the pups but only time will tell but they come on heat evry 8 days or so and if she hasn't fallen you could prevent it by seperating them before that time
|
|
pixytwinkle
Member
Molly and Misty, my lovely gerbils.
Posts: 737
|
Post by pixytwinkle on Nov 18, 2004 6:10:52 GMT -8
ok thanx i will seperate them first thing saturday morning.
|
|
|
Post by sandy on Nov 18, 2004 11:46:15 GMT -8
She's for sure pregnant, I wouldn't divide until she gets fat with pups at this stage. Let them have each other's company until the pups are nearly there. She'll get fat about 1 week before the pups arrive.
You can keep them split caged when the pups arrive, then after the pups are about 5 weeks old put the boys in another tank with dad and leave the girls with mum.
Sexing the pups: when they are about 10 days old, turn them over, look at the bellies as only the girls will have all the nipples. You can mark one sex with some food colouring to tell them apart, or clip a bit of hair.
|
|
pixytwinkle
Member
Molly and Misty, my lovely gerbils.
Posts: 737
|
Post by pixytwinkle on Nov 19, 2004 6:13:48 GMT -8
ok thanx sandy i will do that. They ahvent mated again since so i guess she pregnant. Is it a relaible method sexing the gerbils by there nipples i hope so because i dont want to hand my problem on to some one else
|
|
|
Post by doomgerbiluk on Nov 19, 2004 8:32:36 GMT -8
no it isnt I used to think so but discovered that it is not foolproof.
|
|
|
Post by littlesqueakers on Nov 19, 2004 9:52:44 GMT -8
Hello. Though I began owning gerbils in my pre-teen years (I'm now in my 40s) I was shocked to learn that my most recent gerbil purchase was just like your situation. Rather than re-tell the whole thing, here's my story: gerbilforum.proboards21.com/index.cgi?board=newmembers&action=display&thread=1098906651. My male and female are now separated. I worried too about their loneliness, but have been surprised to see that they don't seem to be too upset by it at this point. Mine were separated at the time the litter was born, so it will have been 4 weeks tomorrow. (Long miserable story you don't want to hear, as to the whys. Trust me.) It was the right thing to do though, after many different breeders gave me their take on it. Concerning the separation, their cages sit side by side, all the time, so they are like neighbors. They both seem to notice each other: when one gets on the wheel, the other one will too. I have to set the cages with their beds closest to the other's. Otherwise, they move their bed across the cage so that they are as close in proximity as possible, while they sleep! I feed them at the same time, so both will naturally chow down at the same time. But activities that are not precipitated by something I've done, they like to do whenever the other one does it too. One thing to remember, when they are alone, you will need to spend more individual time with each one. When I owned gerbils as a teenager, when I had one gerbil only, I was her only companion, so to speak. I spent much more time playing with her than I needed to when I had pairs. After she died and I got gerbils in pairs only, they could keep each other company, yet I still had to give them attention then, but my time with them was not as critical. (Does that make sense?) Something that I wished I had known prior to one litter being born: Donna from www.abcgerbils.com/ was VERY helpful. She indicated that if you need to supplement the mother's milk, it was good to have kitten replacement milk handy. She said to get the powdered kind, and mix it in very small quantities. You need an eye-dropper to feed it. The directions are on her website, or follow the links that are on her website. With my litter of at least 5 pups originally born healthy, all but one had died by some point. Prior to the birth, I read advice to place a single pup with another breeder who had a lactating female (I tried in vain to find one) since a female would not produce enough milk for one pup only. If I had it to do over, long before the litter was due, I would nail down a name -- AND phone number! -- of an area breeder who was aware of my situation, and willing to help if they could. And I would have already bought the kitten replacement milk, in powder form. In the US, it's sold in grocery stores or discount department stores like Walmart. I will warn you that it is not as cheap as the premixed form. A small can of powder cost me about $10 at Walmart (known for having cheap prices). Save your receipt and if you don't need the stuff, you can return it later. I had been told not to try it on such a young pup, but when it was my last hope, I went for it. But it was too late. BTW, during the pregnancy, my female wouldn't touch the yogurt. I bought "yogurt chips" specially made for hamsters or gerbils, in a pet store. Neither my male or female would eat them. I bought PLAIN yogurt in a grocery store, same thing. It was tricky trying to figure out how to feed it. I put a tiny amount in a small dish that I held it in my hand, in their cage. The gerbils sniffed it and accidentally stepped in it, but would not eat it. I rolled fresh raisins in powdered milk (read that somewhere) but they wouldn't eat those either. Though I didn't know at the time where to find mealworms, I guess I would have tried that. They should be live, and are sold in pet stores. The idea grosses me out, but in hind sight, I would try it anyway. Just don't watch. Know that you aren't alone in the pet store's mix up. Those of us who never originally intended to have our gerbil pairs breed, wish that pet store employees had to pass a test, or read a gerbil website first!!! You will be in my thoughts and prayers, as will your gerbils.
|
|
|
Post by sandy on Nov 19, 2004 16:40:28 GMT -8
As for sexing 10 day old pups, I've found that some males may have one or 2 nipples but the females will have all 8 of them by 12 days old. I usually sex by the genitalia, though. Queen of the nile on this site has a great page on sexing gerbils, I recommend you have a look and get familiar with it. Best of luck with your coming little family!
|
|
|
Post by queenofthenile on Nov 20, 2004 5:25:08 GMT -8
|
|