Post by davejhon on Jul 11, 2007 5:01:17 GMT -5
Guide on Breeding Gerbils
Guys, Some of my research when I started breeding gerbils hope it can help you
A breeding pair of gerbils will be very dedicated to each other
Environment?
A breeding pair (as with any pair of gerbils) will require at least a 10 gallon tank to breed in. More space is, of course, always welcome
I recommend you stick to aquariums rather than cages or plastic Habitrail-type setups for a couple of reasons. First of all a cage is likely to be drafty, which might harm pups that are born when it's chilly out. Also there is a chance they could be kicked out of the bars or otherwise hurt on them. As for the plastic habitats, these I've found make it difficult to get ahold of the young pups, therefore making them harder to tame, but if you're already using one it will probably do.
I would also like to warn people about the dangers of pine and cedar bedding. Cedar is bad for ALL gerbils, regardless of age, but my own experiences have led me to believe that pine is also largely responsible for respiratory problems (fatal) in young pups.
When you're breeding (or owning gerbils for that matter) there are some basic things you ought to have around. You'll want at least polysporin or neosporin (a topical antibiotic) for sore noses and cuts, and tetracyclene (available from your vet sold as Ornacyclene for birds) for respiratory problems or to prevent infection. I would also recommend, just to keep things neat, getting a couple of shelves. This is nice if you have 2 or 3 tanks (the perfect size is a 10 gallon tanks). and then miscellaneous things (such as food "bins" and bags of bedding) regarding gerbils all in one room. Don’t use commercial bedding (such as "Sleep Stuff", etc.) because it is quite possible that a baby will get tangled up in the fibers and die, or else have its limbs badly severed. The same goes for cloth. Just give gerbils tissues if you want them to have a soft nest. Cardboard also works.
Shelves are helpful for organization
Now what?
Once you have the 2 gerbils, they need to be living together. Maybe you got a hold of 2 that are already together (whether they're littermates, or were just put together at a young age) or maybe you didn't. If you didn't, you'll have to introduce them. Two gerbils between 5-8 weeks of age will likely get along without any special introduction. Just put them in a tank together and keep an eye on them. Some scuffling may occur but unless they get hurt don't separate them. Now if you have 2 adults, or one adult and a young pup, you'll want to employ more cautious methods.
The split tank method is the generally recommended form of introduction. What it involves is this. Take a 10 gallon aquarium, and put a metal grid or screen through the middle of it, to "split" it. Put food and water on both sides, and a gerbil on each side (make sure they can't escape!). Then, switch the gerbils from side to side twice every day for a week (or two; depending on whether or not you think the introduction is going favorably. If they show aggression through the screen at each other, then go for the 2 weeks). Once that is done you have two options. 1. simply remove the divider and watch what happens, or 2. put them in a neutral territory and watch what happens. I personally have done a little bit of both and I have had few introductions fail. However some people insist that the neutral territory ruins the intro (I don't agree with that, though, because it doesn't make sense). So that's up to you.
In any case, watch the couple for 3-4 hours after placing them in their tank together. Be prepared to break up a fight if one should occur. Expect a little bit of scuffling, and lots of grooming, perhaps some chasing, but there shouldn't be any behavior that could injure the gerbils. If they do fight (they'll roll up in a ball and try to kill each other) separate them and put them back in the split tank for another week or two and try again. By the 3rd try, if they haven't gotten along, they aren't going to. But usually all goes well and you have your new pair = )
It should be mentioned that this method DOES NOT work for introducing established groups. It can be employed when introducing male to female, female to female, male to male, but you CANNOT introduce a group or pair to any group or individual gerbil. Introductions only work on a one-on-one basis. This is because introducing a newcomer into an established pair or group, no matter the method, will disrupt the "chain of command" and chaos and fighting will likely ensue. The only exception is a pair of 5-8 week old males to a lone male. That usually works out.
A split aquarium
Now that they're together....
Once your pair is together, you just have to wait. Breeding takes a lot of patience. Maybe the pair will mate the week after they're together. But, maybe it will take months. By now I'm sure you can see why the "in and out" breeding technique (ie using stud males only to breed the female & then separating them) would not be terribly successful!
Female gerbils go into heat every 4-6 days, in the evening, so that is when mating will occur. Gerbils are sexually mature at 8-12 weeks old but they won't necessarily start breeding then. Young females who are placed with mature males often come into heat sooner (at 7-8 weeks instead of 10 or so). Typically, a female is never "too young" to breed because she won't breed until she is capable of giving birth without ill effects. There are sometimes exceptions, though, but there's no real reason to wait to pair a female up until she is older.
If the pregnancy is successful you will usually notice some swelling by the 18th day. There are exceptions, like if the litter is very small. Some females are already very large and plump by day 18, others are barely noticeable. This isn't necessarily a sign of litter size, as some can stay quite small and have large litters while others balloon with only 3. It's largely an individual thing. By day 23-25 they are very "pear shaped" and will be obviously pregnant.
Adair 23 days pregnant with 6 pups
Once a pair mates, you can expect the litter to be born 25-27 days later. They're almost always on time. Sometimes they'll mate a week or two later, though, if the pregnancy didn't take. Sometimes it will take a number of "practice tries" before the female gets pregnant, so don't be discouraged. When the babies are born (which usually happens in the early, early morning although births at all times of the day are possible) you do NOT have to remove the male. He makes a perfect daddy and helps mom out with the pups. Some dads even make better "moms" than the females do!
Babies usually arrive in the early morning hours although they can be born any time of the day. After each baby the mom will eat the afterbirth (placenta) so if you happen to witness the event, to not become alarmed if you see her eating something. The male usually retreats during the first 24-72 hours of the litter's life, but will eventually be welcomed back into the nest. The mom will go into heat usually the evening after the birth. This is normal, and it will not distract her from her maternal duties. She and the male will mate, and in between she will tend to the babies. The embryos for the next litter will not implant until the current litter is several weeks old so don't worry that the mother will get exhausted.
The babies are born deaf, blind, and hairless. If you check out any of my litters you can watch the development of babies day-by-day. If you want to know if mom is feeding them or not, wait a couple hours after the birth and then peek at the babies. Fed babies will have a white substance (milk) in their bellies that you can see through their skin. When they're born you can immediately tell what color their eyes are. Black eyed colors will have dark eye splotches, and pink eyes will have no visible splotches. In a day or two, dark furred colors such as agouti and black will have darkly pigmented skin, and pink eyed colors will be bright pink still. If you have a pup with bright pink skin, dark eyes, and dark points of skin resembling a siamese pattern, you have an ee or e(f)e(f) pup (dark eyed honey, nutmeg, schimmel, or champagne).
The first question that will probably come to mind is "When can I hold them?" Many people think you can't hold gerbils until their eyes are open or else the mom will eat them. Not true. (although I learned firsthand at school, that this IS true with hamsters...) If your gerbil mom is comfortable with your presence (as almost any properly looked after pet gerbil will be) she will likely not mind at all. At school I cleaned the cage of a mother gerbil (who wasn't very familiar with me at all and had only been at school about 2 weeks) and her 8 two day old babies and nothing bad came of it.
Of course, until they have hair there's not much reason to touch them anyway. But if you need to move a pup because it's too far from the nest, etc. then you'll want to know. You should probably wait a week to clean the cage, unless it's absolutely necessary, just because the mom's don't like having their nests destroyed and will spend a good 45min reconstructing it while her babies grow chilly. But if you absolutely must, try to conserve a good portion of the nest so the babies have something to snuggle in.
Mom usually builds a big nest for the pups, especially in the cold winter months. This nest can move every now and then, sometimes every day. If you notice that a new mother keeps moving her pups all over the place this might be a sign that you're bothering her and should put her someplace quiet for a while. But usually a mother moves her nest according to where she is comfortable at a particular point in time. The parents will often bury their pups, especially when it's chilly, and if none of them are on the nest. Sometimes one parent will bury the other, or themselves, so they can keep warm along with the babies.
6 pups snug in the nest
Babies have their ears opened at about 3 or 4 days old. By day 4, if you have any ee or e(f)e(f) animals they will be quite obvious because of their siamese pattern. The contrast between dark eyed and pink eyed will also be very obvious. By about day 10, the babies should have a fine coat of fur all over their bodies. Usually by then you can tell for sure what color they are, although there are exceptions. At this age they begin bumbling out of the nest if given the opportunity, and are much more active. You must be very cautious holding the little ones, because they can startled and jerk out of your hands at a moment's notice, and you could kill them if they fall too far. So it is best to hold them in their aquarium, or over a bed.
Also, around 10 days you can tell the gender by the "dot method". If you flip the babies over on their backs, you will notice that some have little dimples on their bellies and some do not (this is assuming you have some males and some females in the litter). The ones with "dimples" (nipples) are girls, the ones without are boys. Boys also have a larger scent gland patch on their belly than females. This method will only work up until the time their eyes open, because then there will be too much fur.
It's very important to start handling and taming the pups from an early age. After they're 6 or 7 days old I take the babies out of the tank and put them into a little plastic bin with a cloth on the bottom for about 5-10 minutes. I examine them carefully to determine gender (when they're old enough) and fur color and make sure nothing is wrong with them. Also once they're 10 days old and bumble around a bit more, I let them crawl on my hands. It's very important to pick them up and hold them and "pet" their fur with your fingers, to get them used to being played with by humans.
Taming young pups is the best part of breeding!
Around day 16-21, the eyes start to pop open. Some babies take longer than their siblings. At this age they start to nibble on food, but don't take this as a sign that they're ready to be weaned! While they could possibly survive after 3 weeks of age, on their own, it is absolutely unnecessary to wean them at such a young age, when they lack socialization and could succumb to "childhood illnesses" without access to their mother's milk and antibodies. Babies shouldn't be removed from their mother until they're at least 5 weeks old (although there are exceptions--see "What could go wrong?" below).
You don't really have to remove the pups until they're 8 weeks old, when it would get somewhat crowded in the tank, but usually you'd take them out at about 6 weeks. You can keep them all in a communal tank, and put them with other litters if the newcomers are between 5-8 weeks old. Sometimes there is scuffling when new pups are placed together, but it's usually harmless. Of course if someone drew blood, you would separate some of them. At 5 or 6 weeks it's generally very easy to tell the gender by the "traditional" method as described on the NGS page.
By 8-10 weeks of age it's a good idea to separate the sexes. Mating usually doesn't occur among pups until 10 weeks old but it's kind of silly to take the chance. If you want to breed the pups, separate them into whatever pairings you've decided on, and the others may go their new homes.
What might go wrong?
Sometimes unforeseen circumstances pop up. Here is what you can do in some of them.
Neglect or cannibalism of a litter
Sometimes first time mothers will neglect their first litter, but this isn't often the case. It also can take them a few hours to settle in. So wait till the pups are several hours old and check their tummies for milk before deciding to foster. Small litters of 1 or 2 are especially prone to abandonment but this isn't always the case. As for cannibalism, you first want to be sure you're not overreacting. Sometimes new gerbil breeders mistake a mom or dad eating a dead pup for cannibalism. Unless you see them tackle the live pup and consume it, don't assume she killed it because that will probably do more harm than good. If you did see the act, or a mom has repeatedly eaten her young after several litters, then you have two options. 1. foster them - which is by far the most favorable. If you have another mother with babies born within a day to a week or two of the pups, you may be able to give them to her. Just take mom and dad out of the tank, rub each pup in their soiled bedding, and bury it amongst the other siblings. A gerbil mom can probably handle up to about 10 pups. Most mothers will take to new young pups but this isn't always the case. I have had mothers kill other mother's pups even when they're rubbed on and buried. However if circumstances are that dire, the pup would have died if left with its original mother anyway. Option 2, you could try to hand feed them yourself. This will probably not be successful. You can try feeding them KMR (Kitten Milk Replacer) from the pet store. But hand-rearing baby rodents is very rarely successful if they're newborn. You'll need to keep them warm under a heat lamp (NEVER put them directly on a heating pad or they may get burned, even on "low"), or if mom just isn't feeding them, dad might keep them warm enough between feedings. Also you'll need to feed them every 2 hours, including in the middle of the night!
If a mother gerbil eats or doesn't feed a litter, give her one or two more chances. Sometimes first-time mothers don't know what to do, and sometimes they eat their babies, or don't know how to feed them. They may learn next time. But if this behavior continues, separate the pair and do not breed this female.
Small litters (1 or 2)
Again, if you have the opportunity to foster, do so. Several of my females have successfully raised litters of 2, but I have never had a litter of one survive. If you have a litter of 2, and one pup dies, that isn't a good sign. In that case you should definitely try to foster the remaining pup. If you can't, hope for the best, or try to hand feed it (as I described above).
Runts
Runts usually do just fine. They catch up to their siblings eventually, and can go about a normal life. So just let mom do the best she can. You might want to help her out by giving the pup a little extra supplementation with rodent milk replacer (or kitten milk replacer if you can't find any of this) to give a runt a kickstart.
Death early in life (1-3 days)
Sometimes very young pups die, for reasons we may never know. Usually mom or dad will bury the body or sometimes eat it. Don't be alarmed, they're trying to keep their "burrow" clean. If mysterious deaths continue, though, you may have a cannibalism situation going on (see above).
Stuck eyes
Sometimes it takes up to 24 days for the eyes to open. Usually it's 17-21 but not always. But if after day 24 they're still tightly shut, try wiping an eye gently with a damp tissue. Be gentle! Sometimes they get "stuck". Also every now and then, you might have a blind pup born. This is sometimes a fluke but if this happens more than once or twice there's probably something wrong with the pair and they should be separated.
Respiratory problems ("clicking", fluffy fur, chilly)
Around 3-5 weeks old, gerbil pups sometimes get respiratory problems. I've been told this is common for this age but I as of 12/30/98 I haven't had any in the past year of breeding, when I've been using aspen. I suspect this is tied to the use of pine bedding. But at any rate, if you get a sick pup you should 1. change to aspen, carefresh, corncob, or plain paper and 2. get Ornacyclene (tetracyclene) from a pet store and put it in the family's water. It may not save that pup but it will prevent the others from succumbing. You can also try to get some tetracyclene-water into the pups mouth with a needle less syringe (like you would use to hand feed) but you have to be careful you don't choke the pup. It's not really infectious, but if you're using something that is aggravating the respiratory problems then all the other babies have been exposed as well. Their weak immune systems can't handle the fumes, but the parents can (it's still not too great for them, though).
I have also noticed that litters raised on pine have a high mortality rate of young pups sometimes as well, or an unusually high number of runts. Depending on the brand of pine you use you could lose anywhere from no pups to entire litters. It's just better not to use it than to play Russian roulette.
3wk+ pups being chased off
Sometimes mothers (especially first time ones) will get sick of their babies and will start to chase them off. This usually occurs after the 3 weeks mark so if you see her chasing a pup and acting like she's trying to hurt it, it's a good idea to remove the entire litter. Put them in with 5 or 6 week old pups if you have any (in a cage without the adults of course!) so they can snuggle up with somebody, or else put them in a tank with a lot of bedding and make sure they stay warm. Also make sure they're eating okay and everything. Usually after 21 days they can adjust to living on their own, if they HAVE to.
If a mom does this once, don't despair. Sometimes first time moms just don't realize motherhood is a 5 week long job. They usually do better with their next litter. Sometimes established moms do this too, I don't know why, but usually they're okay afterwards too. Probably just had a bad week But as with all forms of gerbil child abuse, if they do it more than twice, you shouldn't breed them.
Birth defects
The birth defects I'm aware of aren't too severe. I have seen fixed wrists (one of the paws is bent so that it's largely immovable. This is harmless and the babies will make good pets. I don't know if it's genetic or not, from what I've seen it's not, but you probably wouldn't want to breed such a gerbil anyway. Also I've seen something I call "squint eye" where their eyes look slightly odd. One looks like it's squinting or is a little smaller than the other. This, too, is harmless and probably not genetic but you never know. Sometimes baby gerbils end up being blind. This can be harmless but it also might be a sign of more severe problems and the gerbil may eventually die. If you notice a baby missing limbs or with half a tail, this could be either a birth defect or just an injury as a young pup. If these pop up more than once or twice I would separate the pair because there is obviously something wrong.
The Future Litters
After her first litter is born, assuming they mated right after the arrival of the first batch of pups, you will have another litter usually within 7 weeks (typically after about 5 weeks). Gerbils naturally pace themselves so that they do not get worn out. In general they will not have more litters than they can handle. Sometimes they will have a few litters, and then rest for a few weeks or even months, and then resume breeding. This is especially true of older pairs.
Gerbils have about 7 litters in their lifetime, but I have heard of up to 20-something. They generally start smallish, and then get to their peak about 12 months of age when they have litters of 6 and 7. Then as they get towards 1.5 years old, the litters will get smaller and less frequent, until eventually they'll stop. However I have had 4 month olds have litters of 7 and 2 yr olds have litters of 6 so this is not set in stone.
It is possible to leave a litter in with mom & dad and their younger siblings for a little while. They will help raise the next litter and usually there is no trouble.
Homing The Pups
Now that your litter is grown, you need to find the pups homes! Your first stop should NOT be the pet shop. First there are a few things you should try out. First of all, talk to friends and family (if you think they're trustworthy with a pet). They might be interested in a pair of pups. Then, you can start making flyers and posting them on local bulletin boards, at schools or your office, at grocery stores, libraries, etc. Some pet stores that only sell supplies also might not mind letting you post a litter announcement. Vets as well. You can also place a classified ad in newspapers, I'm told this work very well.
Guys, Some of my research when I started breeding gerbils hope it can help you
A breeding pair of gerbils will be very dedicated to each other
Environment?
A breeding pair (as with any pair of gerbils) will require at least a 10 gallon tank to breed in. More space is, of course, always welcome
I recommend you stick to aquariums rather than cages or plastic Habitrail-type setups for a couple of reasons. First of all a cage is likely to be drafty, which might harm pups that are born when it's chilly out. Also there is a chance they could be kicked out of the bars or otherwise hurt on them. As for the plastic habitats, these I've found make it difficult to get ahold of the young pups, therefore making them harder to tame, but if you're already using one it will probably do.I would also like to warn people about the dangers of pine and cedar bedding. Cedar is bad for ALL gerbils, regardless of age, but my own experiences have led me to believe that pine is also largely responsible for respiratory problems (fatal) in young pups.
When you're breeding (or owning gerbils for that matter) there are some basic things you ought to have around. You'll want at least polysporin or neosporin (a topical antibiotic) for sore noses and cuts, and tetracyclene (available from your vet sold as Ornacyclene for birds) for respiratory problems or to prevent infection. I would also recommend, just to keep things neat, getting a couple of shelves. This is nice if you have 2 or 3 tanks (the perfect size is a 10 gallon tanks). and then miscellaneous things (such as food "bins" and bags of bedding) regarding gerbils all in one room. Don’t use commercial bedding (such as "Sleep Stuff", etc.) because it is quite possible that a baby will get tangled up in the fibers and die, or else have its limbs badly severed. The same goes for cloth. Just give gerbils tissues if you want them to have a soft nest. Cardboard also works.
Shelves are helpful for organization
Now what?
Once you have the 2 gerbils, they need to be living together. Maybe you got a hold of 2 that are already together (whether they're littermates, or were just put together at a young age) or maybe you didn't. If you didn't, you'll have to introduce them. Two gerbils between 5-8 weeks of age will likely get along without any special introduction. Just put them in a tank together and keep an eye on them. Some scuffling may occur but unless they get hurt don't separate them. Now if you have 2 adults, or one adult and a young pup, you'll want to employ more cautious methods.
The split tank method is the generally recommended form of introduction. What it involves is this. Take a 10 gallon aquarium, and put a metal grid or screen through the middle of it, to "split" it. Put food and water on both sides, and a gerbil on each side (make sure they can't escape!). Then, switch the gerbils from side to side twice every day for a week (or two; depending on whether or not you think the introduction is going favorably. If they show aggression through the screen at each other, then go for the 2 weeks). Once that is done you have two options. 1. simply remove the divider and watch what happens, or 2. put them in a neutral territory and watch what happens. I personally have done a little bit of both and I have had few introductions fail. However some people insist that the neutral territory ruins the intro (I don't agree with that, though, because it doesn't make sense). So that's up to you.
In any case, watch the couple for 3-4 hours after placing them in their tank together. Be prepared to break up a fight if one should occur. Expect a little bit of scuffling, and lots of grooming, perhaps some chasing, but there shouldn't be any behavior that could injure the gerbils. If they do fight (they'll roll up in a ball and try to kill each other) separate them and put them back in the split tank for another week or two and try again. By the 3rd try, if they haven't gotten along, they aren't going to. But usually all goes well and you have your new pair = )
It should be mentioned that this method DOES NOT work for introducing established groups. It can be employed when introducing male to female, female to female, male to male, but you CANNOT introduce a group or pair to any group or individual gerbil. Introductions only work on a one-on-one basis. This is because introducing a newcomer into an established pair or group, no matter the method, will disrupt the "chain of command" and chaos and fighting will likely ensue. The only exception is a pair of 5-8 week old males to a lone male. That usually works out.
A split aquarium
Now that they're together....
Once your pair is together, you just have to wait. Breeding takes a lot of patience. Maybe the pair will mate the week after they're together. But, maybe it will take months. By now I'm sure you can see why the "in and out" breeding technique (ie using stud males only to breed the female & then separating them) would not be terribly successful!
Female gerbils go into heat every 4-6 days, in the evening, so that is when mating will occur. Gerbils are sexually mature at 8-12 weeks old but they won't necessarily start breeding then. Young females who are placed with mature males often come into heat sooner (at 7-8 weeks instead of 10 or so). Typically, a female is never "too young" to breed because she won't breed until she is capable of giving birth without ill effects. There are sometimes exceptions, though, but there's no real reason to wait to pair a female up until she is older.
If the pregnancy is successful you will usually notice some swelling by the 18th day. There are exceptions, like if the litter is very small. Some females are already very large and plump by day 18, others are barely noticeable. This isn't necessarily a sign of litter size, as some can stay quite small and have large litters while others balloon with only 3. It's largely an individual thing. By day 23-25 they are very "pear shaped" and will be obviously pregnant.
Adair 23 days pregnant with 6 pups
Once a pair mates, you can expect the litter to be born 25-27 days later. They're almost always on time. Sometimes they'll mate a week or two later, though, if the pregnancy didn't take. Sometimes it will take a number of "practice tries" before the female gets pregnant, so don't be discouraged. When the babies are born (which usually happens in the early, early morning although births at all times of the day are possible) you do NOT have to remove the male. He makes a perfect daddy and helps mom out with the pups. Some dads even make better "moms" than the females do!
Babies usually arrive in the early morning hours although they can be born any time of the day. After each baby the mom will eat the afterbirth (placenta) so if you happen to witness the event, to not become alarmed if you see her eating something. The male usually retreats during the first 24-72 hours of the litter's life, but will eventually be welcomed back into the nest. The mom will go into heat usually the evening after the birth. This is normal, and it will not distract her from her maternal duties. She and the male will mate, and in between she will tend to the babies. The embryos for the next litter will not implant until the current litter is several weeks old so don't worry that the mother will get exhausted.
The babies are born deaf, blind, and hairless. If you check out any of my litters you can watch the development of babies day-by-day. If you want to know if mom is feeding them or not, wait a couple hours after the birth and then peek at the babies. Fed babies will have a white substance (milk) in their bellies that you can see through their skin. When they're born you can immediately tell what color their eyes are. Black eyed colors will have dark eye splotches, and pink eyes will have no visible splotches. In a day or two, dark furred colors such as agouti and black will have darkly pigmented skin, and pink eyed colors will be bright pink still. If you have a pup with bright pink skin, dark eyes, and dark points of skin resembling a siamese pattern, you have an ee or e(f)e(f) pup (dark eyed honey, nutmeg, schimmel, or champagne).
The first question that will probably come to mind is "When can I hold them?" Many people think you can't hold gerbils until their eyes are open or else the mom will eat them. Not true. (although I learned firsthand at school, that this IS true with hamsters...) If your gerbil mom is comfortable with your presence (as almost any properly looked after pet gerbil will be) she will likely not mind at all. At school I cleaned the cage of a mother gerbil (who wasn't very familiar with me at all and had only been at school about 2 weeks) and her 8 two day old babies and nothing bad came of it.
Of course, until they have hair there's not much reason to touch them anyway. But if you need to move a pup because it's too far from the nest, etc. then you'll want to know. You should probably wait a week to clean the cage, unless it's absolutely necessary, just because the mom's don't like having their nests destroyed and will spend a good 45min reconstructing it while her babies grow chilly. But if you absolutely must, try to conserve a good portion of the nest so the babies have something to snuggle in.
Mom usually builds a big nest for the pups, especially in the cold winter months. This nest can move every now and then, sometimes every day. If you notice that a new mother keeps moving her pups all over the place this might be a sign that you're bothering her and should put her someplace quiet for a while. But usually a mother moves her nest according to where she is comfortable at a particular point in time. The parents will often bury their pups, especially when it's chilly, and if none of them are on the nest. Sometimes one parent will bury the other, or themselves, so they can keep warm along with the babies.
6 pups snug in the nest
Babies have their ears opened at about 3 or 4 days old. By day 4, if you have any ee or e(f)e(f) animals they will be quite obvious because of their siamese pattern. The contrast between dark eyed and pink eyed will also be very obvious. By about day 10, the babies should have a fine coat of fur all over their bodies. Usually by then you can tell for sure what color they are, although there are exceptions. At this age they begin bumbling out of the nest if given the opportunity, and are much more active. You must be very cautious holding the little ones, because they can startled and jerk out of your hands at a moment's notice, and you could kill them if they fall too far. So it is best to hold them in their aquarium, or over a bed.
Also, around 10 days you can tell the gender by the "dot method". If you flip the babies over on their backs, you will notice that some have little dimples on their bellies and some do not (this is assuming you have some males and some females in the litter). The ones with "dimples" (nipples) are girls, the ones without are boys. Boys also have a larger scent gland patch on their belly than females. This method will only work up until the time their eyes open, because then there will be too much fur.
It's very important to start handling and taming the pups from an early age. After they're 6 or 7 days old I take the babies out of the tank and put them into a little plastic bin with a cloth on the bottom for about 5-10 minutes. I examine them carefully to determine gender (when they're old enough) and fur color and make sure nothing is wrong with them. Also once they're 10 days old and bumble around a bit more, I let them crawl on my hands. It's very important to pick them up and hold them and "pet" their fur with your fingers, to get them used to being played with by humans.
Taming young pups is the best part of breeding!
Around day 16-21, the eyes start to pop open. Some babies take longer than their siblings. At this age they start to nibble on food, but don't take this as a sign that they're ready to be weaned! While they could possibly survive after 3 weeks of age, on their own, it is absolutely unnecessary to wean them at such a young age, when they lack socialization and could succumb to "childhood illnesses" without access to their mother's milk and antibodies. Babies shouldn't be removed from their mother until they're at least 5 weeks old (although there are exceptions--see "What could go wrong?" below).
You don't really have to remove the pups until they're 8 weeks old, when it would get somewhat crowded in the tank, but usually you'd take them out at about 6 weeks. You can keep them all in a communal tank, and put them with other litters if the newcomers are between 5-8 weeks old. Sometimes there is scuffling when new pups are placed together, but it's usually harmless. Of course if someone drew blood, you would separate some of them. At 5 or 6 weeks it's generally very easy to tell the gender by the "traditional" method as described on the NGS page.
By 8-10 weeks of age it's a good idea to separate the sexes. Mating usually doesn't occur among pups until 10 weeks old but it's kind of silly to take the chance. If you want to breed the pups, separate them into whatever pairings you've decided on, and the others may go their new homes.
What might go wrong?
Sometimes unforeseen circumstances pop up. Here is what you can do in some of them.
Neglect or cannibalism of a litter
Sometimes first time mothers will neglect their first litter, but this isn't often the case. It also can take them a few hours to settle in. So wait till the pups are several hours old and check their tummies for milk before deciding to foster. Small litters of 1 or 2 are especially prone to abandonment but this isn't always the case. As for cannibalism, you first want to be sure you're not overreacting. Sometimes new gerbil breeders mistake a mom or dad eating a dead pup for cannibalism. Unless you see them tackle the live pup and consume it, don't assume she killed it because that will probably do more harm than good. If you did see the act, or a mom has repeatedly eaten her young after several litters, then you have two options. 1. foster them - which is by far the most favorable. If you have another mother with babies born within a day to a week or two of the pups, you may be able to give them to her. Just take mom and dad out of the tank, rub each pup in their soiled bedding, and bury it amongst the other siblings. A gerbil mom can probably handle up to about 10 pups. Most mothers will take to new young pups but this isn't always the case. I have had mothers kill other mother's pups even when they're rubbed on and buried. However if circumstances are that dire, the pup would have died if left with its original mother anyway. Option 2, you could try to hand feed them yourself. This will probably not be successful. You can try feeding them KMR (Kitten Milk Replacer) from the pet store. But hand-rearing baby rodents is very rarely successful if they're newborn. You'll need to keep them warm under a heat lamp (NEVER put them directly on a heating pad or they may get burned, even on "low"), or if mom just isn't feeding them, dad might keep them warm enough between feedings. Also you'll need to feed them every 2 hours, including in the middle of the night!
If a mother gerbil eats or doesn't feed a litter, give her one or two more chances. Sometimes first-time mothers don't know what to do, and sometimes they eat their babies, or don't know how to feed them. They may learn next time. But if this behavior continues, separate the pair and do not breed this female.
Small litters (1 or 2)
Again, if you have the opportunity to foster, do so. Several of my females have successfully raised litters of 2, but I have never had a litter of one survive. If you have a litter of 2, and one pup dies, that isn't a good sign. In that case you should definitely try to foster the remaining pup. If you can't, hope for the best, or try to hand feed it (as I described above).
Runts
Runts usually do just fine. They catch up to their siblings eventually, and can go about a normal life. So just let mom do the best she can. You might want to help her out by giving the pup a little extra supplementation with rodent milk replacer (or kitten milk replacer if you can't find any of this) to give a runt a kickstart.
Death early in life (1-3 days)
Sometimes very young pups die, for reasons we may never know. Usually mom or dad will bury the body or sometimes eat it. Don't be alarmed, they're trying to keep their "burrow" clean. If mysterious deaths continue, though, you may have a cannibalism situation going on (see above).
Stuck eyes
Sometimes it takes up to 24 days for the eyes to open. Usually it's 17-21 but not always. But if after day 24 they're still tightly shut, try wiping an eye gently with a damp tissue. Be gentle! Sometimes they get "stuck". Also every now and then, you might have a blind pup born. This is sometimes a fluke but if this happens more than once or twice there's probably something wrong with the pair and they should be separated.
Respiratory problems ("clicking", fluffy fur, chilly)
Around 3-5 weeks old, gerbil pups sometimes get respiratory problems. I've been told this is common for this age but I as of 12/30/98 I haven't had any in the past year of breeding, when I've been using aspen. I suspect this is tied to the use of pine bedding. But at any rate, if you get a sick pup you should 1. change to aspen, carefresh, corncob, or plain paper and 2. get Ornacyclene (tetracyclene) from a pet store and put it in the family's water. It may not save that pup but it will prevent the others from succumbing. You can also try to get some tetracyclene-water into the pups mouth with a needle less syringe (like you would use to hand feed) but you have to be careful you don't choke the pup. It's not really infectious, but if you're using something that is aggravating the respiratory problems then all the other babies have been exposed as well. Their weak immune systems can't handle the fumes, but the parents can (it's still not too great for them, though).
I have also noticed that litters raised on pine have a high mortality rate of young pups sometimes as well, or an unusually high number of runts. Depending on the brand of pine you use you could lose anywhere from no pups to entire litters. It's just better not to use it than to play Russian roulette.
3wk+ pups being chased off
Sometimes mothers (especially first time ones) will get sick of their babies and will start to chase them off. This usually occurs after the 3 weeks mark so if you see her chasing a pup and acting like she's trying to hurt it, it's a good idea to remove the entire litter. Put them in with 5 or 6 week old pups if you have any (in a cage without the adults of course!) so they can snuggle up with somebody, or else put them in a tank with a lot of bedding and make sure they stay warm. Also make sure they're eating okay and everything. Usually after 21 days they can adjust to living on their own, if they HAVE to.
If a mom does this once, don't despair. Sometimes first time moms just don't realize motherhood is a 5 week long job. They usually do better with their next litter. Sometimes established moms do this too, I don't know why, but usually they're okay afterwards too. Probably just had a bad week
But as with all forms of gerbil child abuse, if they do it more than twice, you shouldn't breed them. Birth defects
The birth defects I'm aware of aren't too severe. I have seen fixed wrists (one of the paws is bent so that it's largely immovable. This is harmless and the babies will make good pets. I don't know if it's genetic or not, from what I've seen it's not, but you probably wouldn't want to breed such a gerbil anyway. Also I've seen something I call "squint eye" where their eyes look slightly odd. One looks like it's squinting or is a little smaller than the other. This, too, is harmless and probably not genetic but you never know. Sometimes baby gerbils end up being blind. This can be harmless but it also might be a sign of more severe problems and the gerbil may eventually die. If you notice a baby missing limbs or with half a tail, this could be either a birth defect or just an injury as a young pup. If these pop up more than once or twice I would separate the pair because there is obviously something wrong.
The Future Litters
After her first litter is born, assuming they mated right after the arrival of the first batch of pups, you will have another litter usually within 7 weeks (typically after about 5 weeks). Gerbils naturally pace themselves so that they do not get worn out. In general they will not have more litters than they can handle. Sometimes they will have a few litters, and then rest for a few weeks or even months, and then resume breeding. This is especially true of older pairs.
Gerbils have about 7 litters in their lifetime, but I have heard of up to 20-something. They generally start smallish, and then get to their peak about 12 months of age when they have litters of 6 and 7. Then as they get towards 1.5 years old, the litters will get smaller and less frequent, until eventually they'll stop. However I have had 4 month olds have litters of 7 and 2 yr olds have litters of 6 so this is not set in stone.
It is possible to leave a litter in with mom & dad and their younger siblings for a little while. They will help raise the next litter and usually there is no trouble.
Homing The Pups
Now that your litter is grown, you need to find the pups homes! Your first stop should NOT be the pet shop. First there are a few things you should try out. First of all, talk to friends and family (if you think they're trustworthy with a pet). They might be interested in a pair of pups. Then, you can start making flyers and posting them on local bulletin boards, at schools or your office, at grocery stores, libraries, etc. Some pet stores that only sell supplies also might not mind letting you post a litter announcement. Vets as well. You can also place a classified ad in newspapers, I'm told this work very well.
