Question
1:
I
tough I had 2 gerbils of the same sex, but I found babies, what do I do
now?
You bought some gerbils in a
petshop and the clerk did his best to sex the gerbils and gave you a breeding
pair (first, never trust a petshop clerk) A morning, you pass by your gerbils
and see 4 or 5 small pink chewing gum in the nest!! Ho my!! Babies!! Now, a
first thing to do is to take a big breath and think about the situation! This
can be a great experience to raise gerbil pups you know. Read the section about
breeding and don't worry, your gerbils know what to do! But if you don't want
this to happen again next month, chose the option that agrees to you. Visit
also the page: "Babies only once"
You
really don't want this to happen again.
In this case, if you are in
the morning, and you are pretty much certain that they are born in the last
night or in the morning, remove the male as soon as possible. If you don't they
will mate again 8 hours after the birth. (to
find who is the male) But be aware that the father helps the mother in
raising the pups and its presence is always advised. Once the father removed,
you'll have to keep her in a quieter place more then usual because she might be
more stressed then usual. You can place a piece of cloth on one side of the tank
to give her some privacy. Don't disturb her and open the tank only for adding
food and to change water. Take the time to visit the pages about breeding.
If,
you realise that babies are there one day too late or if they are mating, keep
the father there as it is already too late to remove him. you'll have to chose
the next option. As my Boyfirend says: "New babies again!
You are pretty surprised of what's happening but
you don't mind if it would hapen once last time again.
In this case, keep the father with the mother and
visit the breeding section to learn more about this topic.
Thereafter, few days before the next litter, take
the father out before she give birth. You can place the baby boys in the other
tank with the father. By leaving the girls with mother, they will help her
raising the next pups. Take care of separate the young girls from the young boys
a little before the males are 3 months old, if you don't, they will mate with
the family members and again "New babies again!"
Up
Question
2:
What
to do with the babies once they are big?
There are not a thousand
solutions. If you don’t keep them, you’ll have to find new home for them.
Here are some ideas.
Speak about it to everyone
Speak about your new gerbil pups to your family, at your school, at your
friend’s parents, the dentist… but don’t become crazy either! You never
know when someone knows someone looking for a cute and funny fuzzy friend.
Advertise in grocery stores
and different boards around town
You can try to place nice
ads a little everywhere in your town. Make your ads as attractive as possible. A
piece of paper half fold and the text hand wrote is not so attractive. Place a
picture if you can on it. This is a hard, long and boring technique. This
doesn’t sell a lot usually. Be careful, in some places publicities are denied or you may have to pay
to place an ad. If you can place a free flyer in a busy place, you’ll have to
come back every week to check if it is still visible and not under a ton of
other one. You can also try in colleges and Universities.
Pet
stores
You can give your pups in a pet store that you trust and that properly
care for their animals. (Preferably not the one who sold you a miss-sexed pair.
I always had the impression that Pet stores used this technique to save money.
They sell you a “same sex” pair for you to breed them and then take back the
pups for free!) The pet store usually won’t give you anything in return. If
you’re lucky they may give you some bedding or free food.
Local advertising website
Those websites may work for you. Some are free but for other you’ll
have to pay a small fee to put an add on it. Try to find a service that targets
the people of your region. Even if 100 people from Hawaii see your add, you
won’t sell much if you live in Toronto.
Search on boards about
gerbils but respect the rules of the boards. If you have to post a minimum of
messages before having access to the “to sell” section, respect it. Don’t
go on one board and place an add without saying anything else. This is very
frustrating to see users subscribe to a board only to post an add. I own a board
and I know what it is. I do post add on boards too so respect the others.
You think about making money by selling gerbils?
If you think you’ll make money with breeding gerbils, you’re wrong.
It’s hard to find homes for the pups. It takes time and effort to take can of
all those critters. The small amount of money you’ll do by selling your babies
will be used to buy food for the ones left; buy a new water bottle, a spare tank
or some bedding. So don’t count on it!! I do breed gerbils since March 2004
and I didn’t make any profit. All the money I make with gerbils is used for
the gerbils and to improve their life.
Up
Question
3:
Is
it possible to feed babies gerbils ourself, because the mom is dead or
sick or doesn't produce enough milk?
It’s often difficult to take the role of a
mother. If you want to provide the complete needs of the babies,
you’ll need time and patience. I know I may seams cruel, but the best
thing to do sometimes is to let things go, as life will decide.
BUT If you want to try saving them, read
this page.
Up
Question
4:
My
gerbil walks on her babies and she seams like she don't care about
them.
If it’s the day the babies are born, you don't
have to worry too much. The parents will run around and mate for several hours.
Once they will be done, the mother will come back to the nest and take care of
the babies.
But if the babies are some days old and that the mother just doesn’t
seems to feed then enough and just dig in the nest throwing babies everywhere,
there may be something to do. It's usually because the mother has a stress. Try
to place the tank in a quieter place until the babies are bigger. If you can’t
move the tank, put a piece of cloth on one side of the tank to provide a little
privacy. Don’t disturb the new family for the first week. Open the tank only
to give food and water and don't disturb them. She will settle down in some time.
Up
Question
5:
The
babies are alone and scattered around in the tank and cold.
You can slowly take then
back to the nest, having previously rolled your hands in the bedding to acquire
the sent of the gerbils. Read the previous question to know what to do else.Question
4
Up
Question
6:
Can
I keep my gerbil with another rodent (hamster, rat, mouse, etc)
No! Every species must be
kept with his own species member. Only the guinea pig and the rabbit can
be kept together.
Once,
I tried to place a one month and half gerbil with a young rat just to
see the behavior of each individual.
Here
is the video
Up
Question
7:
My
gerbil bits me, why?
The gerbil is naturally docile and friendly even
if nervous sometimes. But pure aggressivity is rare in gerbils. It may
happen that the gerbil bits because it is surprised, or injured. If the
gerbil comes from a pet store, don't look any further for the answer.
Maybe that the gerbil been hurt once, felt from you or just been scared
while you had it in your hands. Give it some times to get used to you.
Also, wash you hands, maybe that your hands smell something it would
like to eat!
Ready about the taming process here
Question
8:
My
gerbil has a strange bald spot on his belly
This
is normal! this is his scent gland. Visit the Biology
section for a picture.
