Help, I unwittingly bought a pregnant gerbil!?

Question

10 days ago i bought a pair of 'male' gerbils from a reputable pet store. When i returned home from work yesterday i found that 1 of these gerbils was obviously female as i now have a litter of 7/8 pups! After contacting the pet store they have given me an additional cage to home the male gerbil in, but i still have the pups with their mum. As i have only had the gerbils a very short period of tim, the female is still quite timid and I think it is best not to try to handle her or her pups at this stage.

I am totally lost when it comes to caring for newborn gerbils, any advice would be appreciated

Answer 1

Seperate the male and female, the female will be able to care for the litter okay, just don't handle the babies too much, and clean the cage buy removing bits at a time and replacing bits at a time every day.Feed the female a richly nutricous diet full of protein and vitimins. Provide water via a water bottle. Place the cage in a draught free/direct sun free area and provide the gerbils with a warm bed and bedding such as an igloo and shredded paper and strips of an old cotton sheet or pillowcase or something similarly warm. Again when you can, reach in and replace bits of the bedding frequently so that it doesnt get too stinky. After a few weeks you will be able to fully clean out the cage and start to handle them.

Answer 2

Good Question. Gerbils can be hard to gain their trust, ecpecially when you are trying to gain their trust when they just had newborns. You do not have to do anything with the newborns because the "mama" will take care of them, which makes it just that much easier on your part. Your "mama" gerbil might be a little skittish around you, since she is not totally used to you yet. I would suggest leaving her alone aswell. When she has had the babies for about four weeks I would take them into the vet for a check-up. Don't worry they will start eating regular food when they are ready, probably about three- four weeks of age. Good-luck with your newborns!

-JoshLuver

Answer 3

You don't have to do anything but watch the ltttle ones grow up to be adorable mini Gerbils.

As the mother isn't used to you yet, I suggest you keep well away from her nest and her pups, at least until they're about 3 weeks old.

All you have to do is make sure she has plenty of water readily available at all times and fresh food everyday. if I were you I would wash my hands with soap before handling anything in the cage (i.e water bottle, food, toys etc.) as your unknown smell may distress the Gerbil and she MAY turn on her babies.

Also, are you using Pine or Cedar Shavings? If the answer is yes then please swap to a different bedding. I used Pine shavings with my first litter (not mine personally but you know what I mean!) and I lost the whole litter, one by one they dropped. They all died from a Respiratory Infection caused by the oils in the wood shavings. Unfortunately it was too late by the time I had realized the cause. I was absolutely devastated. I now use a mixture of Carefresh and Aspen Bedding and have never lost a litter since! All the pups that have been raised on this bedding have grown up to be healthy and happy Gerbils! When changing the bedding, LEAVE THE NEST ALONE. Just change the bedding around it. You don't want Mummy to get too stressed out.

Oh and one more thing, it may be best for you to cover half of the cage with a towel so she can get a bit of peace and privacy.

I promise, if you follow these instructions nothing can go wrong!!

Good luck and if you need any more advice just email me!

Answer 4

you have done all of the right things, personally the pet store ought to help give you advice after all of this! don't be shy to ask them for advice, they owe you more than a free cage Hun.

as long as you leave the mother alone she will do the job of caring for the new babies. give her fresh food and water and maybe some supplements to help keep her strong.

awesome just found a great link with loads of stuff about what you wanted

   http://www.agsgerbils.org/Gerbil_Care_Ha...

It's very easy to google about gerbils and there is a LOT of stuff....

http://www.gerbils.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r3Ym-bNr...

I had to add the video because it made me smile!!! How cute they are so young!!! ENJOY!!!

Answer 5

You don't have to do anything.

Give her fresh food and water everyday, but for now she will feed and take care of the pups. You don't need to touch them or her, because...well, they don't need your input right now. Best to let her get on with it. Keep looking in for any dead or ill babies, and THEN you need to react- take any dead babies out and take any ill ones to the vet. She may also like some extra bedding in the cage to make nests with, but apart from that, you don't needto do anything.

Answer 6

You don`t have to,,,mama gerbil will take care of them...just take care of her...