Is this inbreeding?

[jewels1171]

So I had Opal and Ember, sisters. Ember had Lark. Is it inbreeding or bad to breed Lark and Opal?

[jewels1171]

Can anyone please help?

[yeti218]

I’ll do my best to answer this although I welcome someone else to weigh in as well. 

I would not recommend this. 

it is considered inbreeding, although in the world of animal breeding, some people would call it “line breeding”. Line breeding is essentially careful inbreeding to increase the likelyhood of a certain trait. Line breeding is only suggested to be practiced by experienced breeders, who have a specific goal (like trying to isolate a trait), and who know their animals are healthy. And when I say healthy I mean you’ve tracked the health of their family for a few generations or with dogs you can DNA test for genetic illness. 

So, I’m not trying to be mean here, but I know you’re new to breeding and I just think this is a pretty tricky thing to do in terms of being reasonably sure you’re making healthy pups. You may have difficulty rehoming sickly pups, or they may live with unnecessary pain if they develop illness later in life, and you have no control over whether they get appropriate vet care after they’ve been adopted out. these are all things a breeder should be considering. And I know you’re hoping to keep one male, so you may end up with a gerbil who needs special care or more vet visits. 

I think you should also consider what’s going on with your clan. So you’ve got lark and Oakley who are bonded, and you later want to introduce woodland when he’s old enough, and then also bond another male pup from opal & larks litter? I know you’ve talked about this on another thread and some experienced owners said they thought this was a pretty unstable clan dynamic. Is this still your plan? 

Babies are fun and more pets is also fun. I get that, but I’d be concerned about :

-the health of this new litter, and whether you can rehome all these pups to people who will care for them properly and provide vet care

-that you now have 4 gerbils (2 who are inbred) so you could easily end up dealing with medical issues (are you or your parents paying for vet bills?)

-that you may have a declan in the future (even if they seem to accept each other right off the bat), and what will you do with housing them all if this occurs? 



I would definitely think all these things over before making a decision.

[LilyandDaisy]

I agree with yeti218 on every point. As discussed in your other thread, there is a suspicion of a genetic problem with your current pups, so even though it might be inherited from the father rather than Opal, I still don't think it's a good idea to breed her again, particularly with a relative.

I'm quite confused about which gerbils you currently have together. I thought you were going to rehome Opal with her daughter Calla? Maybe if you make a list of all your gerbils and who currently lives with who, and who is going to be introduced, and who is going to be rehomed, that might help straighten it out.

I remember you said that you had a limit of 4 gerbils imposed by your parents, so breeding more isn't a good idea. Breeding is unpredictable. You might not find good homes for pups, or expected adoptions might fall through, or you might end with a sick pup that you can't home out.