Ok – the most important thing to remember is – everything will be fine – just leave them be until you have read all of this article.
If you have had your gerbils more than 4 weeks – and found mum laying with some pups – she is already pregnant with the next litter – taking the other gerbil (most likely a male) out from the tank will make no difference – apart from maybe stress out the mother.
Leave both of them together in your enclosure and read on.
Female gerbils mate AS SOON AS THE PUPS ARE BORN – and even before feeding them for the first time. So, you have missed them mating already – just leave them to have some peace and quiet.
It is possible – if you have had your gerbils LESS than 4 weeks – that they are both females – they were just with a male before you homed them. Either way, leaving the other gerbil in is essential to help her raise the litter – whether it is a male of female doesn’t matter (it just means you won’t get a second litter is all).
Anyway, whatever you do – don’t worry about trying to sex either of them – it doesn’t matter right now.
Just leave them be.
If you are leaving them both in together there is no mad rush to sex them anyway. You will soon see who is dad as he may well sleep outside of the nest for the first night – and depending where mum has had the pups, you may see her feeding (you will certainly see her belly hair parted around her nipples where the pups paddle when feeding).
Anyway – so now onto the important things.
Is My Enclosure Safe For My Gerbil & Her New Pups?
There are a few things to check first – for the pups safety:
Step 1: Where is the Gerbil Nest?
So, no need to go digging around looking for the pups – but let’s just make sure we know where the nest is so we can make sure that it is safe.
Mummy gerbils are usually very good with their pups – and so is dad – so all we are checking really is to see if the pups could accidentally hurt themselves if they wandered out or got dragged out of the nest.
If the nest is up on a ledge, shelf or the opening, or the nest is directly over a drop of any sort, then where possible, you need to block that drop.
Either place some thick cardboard over a hole, or use a bendy bridge to span the drop or place it so that it will divert any exiting pups to either side of the drop. If possible (say they are inside a solid chamber) turn the chamber to face the other way.
Never lift up an open-bottomed house as you won’t be able to 100% put the whole thing back down on the nest without risk of squishing a pup.
Best thing to try is to add in a new enclosed house to a ground-level spot in the enclosure and fill with soft shredded kitchen roll, paper crinkles or similar and hope that over the next few days, mum move all the pups over to the new nest and then you can quickly remove the precarious one completely.
If your nest is already on ground level but is inside or under something that isn’t very stable, then simply try the second nest option as above OR put something stronger over the top of the existing nest. Whether it is a sturdy cardboard box, a wooden table or platform or a giant bendy bridge. Something like this will prevent anything falling onto or crushing the nest.
Even the lightest things to us – like a small bowl of fruit or a wooden toy – could trap a baby if the nest container wasn’t solidly on the ground. Often these nest boxes are just balancing on the substrate or have a side tunnel coming out under them, and if a baby is part was through and you make the nest container drop down onto the baby, it could be trapped or crushed. And honestly it does happen.
If they didn’t give birth in a nest container and the babies are out in the open – offer nesting material and a new nest as above to see if they move them somewhere warmer – if not – just leave them where they are.
Step 2: Thinning Out The Enclosure:
Another thing to consider – and remember you don’t have to do this immediately if the mother appears stressed after you have made the nest safe – is the levels, the wheel and the water bowl (if you have one).
For the first week or so, the babies shouldn’t be doing anything but sleeping in the nest, staying warm. So most of this prep is just precautionary.
Sometimes, a pup will fall out of the nest, get dragged out while feeding when the mum bolts, or get carried out by the dad/auntie – and they need to go back. Pups can’t get warm enough on their own – and even if they are with dad or auntie now – they won’t care for them as well as the mum if they get distracted.
You will need to move the pup back into or as close as you can to the mums main nest. Do this by picking the pup up with a tissue between your fingers and the pup – or wash your finges in the existing dirty substrate before picking up the pup. Pop the pup as close to the nest as you can reach without moving anything or shoving it in somewhere you can’t see. It’s crying will alert the mum and she wil move it back into the warm.
This might happen often – so to make this easier for you – and mum – it would be a good idea to thin out some of the substrate where you can – so that the enclosure is less of an obstacle course if one of the pups gets out. Being able to see if one is out – and to keep an eye on the mum and dad/auntie – is really helpful for the pups. Also, with less clutter the mum can spend more time with the pups rather than playing around with everything else. It will also be easier for mum to save energy (to feed the pups) if she isn’t charging around making tunnels.
If your (solid) wheel is at ground level – take that out completely or suspend it from a higher position. Babies shouldn’t get in it anyway – but if mum/dad/auntie carry them to the wheel, then someone runs in it – the baby could get seriously injured being spun around. Barred or mesh wheels should be removed permanently.
If you have a water bowl for your gerbils on ground level – it needs to go up for the first few weeks at least. Babies shouldn’t get wet as they will get too cold, and of course if they get dropped in a bowl – they may not survive.
Step 3: Keeping Them In A Quiet Place
If you can – move their enclosure to a quiet spot. Gerbils normally make great parents – but they are very nosey – and if they are new to your house they may be a bit more jittery than normal.
Imagine you are sitting in a bright, noisy hospital waiting room – you are watching everything around you, checking things, moving things, watching out for anything that might cause you harm or need your attention. You’d be stressed for sure.
Now imagine you are in your own bedroom, snuggled under a blanket, with the house to yourself. You can totally relax?
Now think about your gerbils – where can you put them where they won’t be disturbed – where can they relax?
Everytime they get spooked, hear something, need to check on a new smell or sound, or feel unsafe – they are disturbing the babies AND using up vital energy.
If it is a large litter, some of the smaller pups might not manage to get a meal every time the mum goes in the nest if she is always in and out worrying about things. BUT, if she has little to worry about, she stays in the nest for longer and everyone gets their fair share of the milk.
Even just laying a towel over the part of the tank that is most exposed or nearest to a light (gerbils get spooked easily by shadows) – or standing up a big sheet or cardboard over the corner or side that humans walk past the most. It all helps her relax. And you need her to relax.
Step 4: Sexing Your Adult Gerbils:
Although you don’t need to do this as soon as Step 1 & 2 – sexing your gerbils will need to be done within the first few days – just so you can tell if you have a father or an auntie.
Mainly because an auntie could be pregnant too of course!
If you don’t know how to sex gerbils yourself it doesn’t matter – as all you are doing is seeing if they look the same downstairs – or if they look very different. Holding them half on their backs at the same time (have a friend help you) is the easiest way as you will have them side by side.
- If they are both the same – you have two females – an auntie
- If they are both very different – you have a dad
If you can’t handle them both very easily, then you can sex them in a small plastic-bottomed container or large jars. Have them both in the container or the jars and look at them from underneath. Males are very easy to see if they are adults (over 12 weeks), if they are younger than that – you can still see, but it might be harder in a jar.
If you are still unsure – then take a clear picture of each (see image) and post online in a gerbil facebook group. If people in the group say ‘it is male’ – then tell you you take the male out – please don’t. As said above, the female is already pregnant, so it won’t make any difference – it will only make her sad and tired – as she will have to raise this first litter alone.
If you have a male: don’t worry – leave him where he is and ignore him for the first 3 weeks – but do start sourcing yourself a second tank for him. At the 3 week mark you will need to take the male out (before the female has her next litter) and by that time her first pups will be old enough to help her raise this second litter.
All gerbils breeders pair their gerbils for these two litters – it is the normal way for gerbils to breed. The father always helps with the first litter, and the mother has the pups to help with the second litter.
Some of the male pups can be put with dad when they are 5/6 weeks old and he will accept them as his own sons. Male gerbils are lovely. Mum gets to keep a female pup – and the rest can be homed. Mum and dad won’t ‘miss’ each other and shouldn’t meet again. They will both have separate lives and letting them meet could cause a fight.
If you have a female: don’t worry either straight away – but you will have to get your second tank ready sooner. Gerbil sisters don’t always help each other with pups – they sometimes do though. Sometimes females who live together will pool all the babies in the same nest and be one big happy family.
However, sometimes, particularly in older females, the dominant female won’t let the other female have her pups (in nature only the dominant female is allowed to have pups) – she will either steal them or kick them out of the nest. She may even kill the other female’s pups. You just never can tell.
Because of this – most people would recommend that if you notice the non-mum female stealing pups out the main nest OR the non-mum female gets super fat (pregnant) herself around the same time – she needs to move to her own tank.
Now, yes, although we said above that it is best for a mum to have someone help her raise her pups – sometimes this is the exception.
*See below for more details
Step 5: Making The Enclosure Safe For Wandering Pups:
As the pups age they will start wandering around by themselves – usually starting around 10-15 days. They will still have their eyes closed at this point as the skin that holds them together is still in place. They won’t open until that skin has reformed as two separate eyelids – you can’t force it.
Once you see them running around, you need to start scatter-feeding smaller foods like bird seed, sunflower hearts or just their normal food. You need it scatter fed as they might not make it all the way to the feeding area – and most likely can’t reach in a bowl.
You want them to be able to try to eat solid food as soon as they can really (to take the pressure off mum), so give them every opportunity to do so. It also helps mum having all this food all over the place – so she doesn’t need to walk as far to eat herself. In fact many breeders scatter feed for the mum as soon as they find a litter.
They will open their eyes around Day 18 (usually one at a time) – and at this point they speed up. Now they can see you – and shadows – they will ping all over the place.
Ideally you will still have them on one level – but just check nothing is too steep or runged. Steep or high ledges will just increase the chances of them falling off – they won’t have proper depth perception this early – and generally the urge to run overwhelms the senses and they will just ping off anything. Also rungs are terrible for getting tiny feet and tails caught in them – and a caught tail followed by a panic leap could spell disaster.
Options For Your Unexpected Gerbil Litter
Finally – now we know the pups are safe – you can start to consider what to do with your existing gerbils. There are quite a few options depending on whether you have 2 females and how many of the pups you want to keep – so we have pulled together a few scenarios.
Plan 1: You Have Two Female Gerbils – Only 1 Pregnant
If you find out that your gerbils are both females – and only one of them has pups – they can stay together the whole time (if the auntie doesn’t do anything naughty to the pups).
If you take out the non-mum female (make sure you get the right one of course) these two females won’t be able to go back together – gerbils don’t work that way – they don’t remember ‘friends’. Once separated, assume that the mum will keep a pup or two herself – and the other female can have a female pup too (using a split intro) when they are ready (ideally 6-8 weeks).
If you leave the other female in – you would be best to home as many female pups as possible – as trios of female gerbils aren’t the most stable. If the mum was the dominant of the two original gerbils it might just work out though?
Plan 2: You Have Two Female Gerbils – Both Pregnant
If you find that both your gerbils are females – and both a pregnant – you have either left them both together or you have split them up. In either case you need to consider your final balance.
As above, if you leave them together – you want to make sure you home as many female pups as possible – as trios are hard work. Best have only the two mums left together once all the pups are homed – as this is your safest option. It is possible they will eventually declan – but if you think this will happen before the pups have all been homed – then move them to separate tanks and give them a pup each.
If you have split them up to have pups – then it is extremely unlikely that they will even be friends again. It is best never to let them meet – even just for play time. Gerbil mums can get very hormonal – and if they meet and fight while they still have young pups, it could be bad news.
Even afterwards – when all the pups have gone (you would be unwise to introduce the adults with any pups together – like a trio or foursome – even using a split tank) they may not get back on together even with the longest and most-thorough split tank intro. It really would be a huge gamble long term – and of course by then you have homed all the pups already? Best pair them up with their own pups while they have them.
Plan 3: You Have A Male And A Female
This is the easiest one. Just the normal routine.
Leave them together to raise the first litter, and just before 3 weeks, take out the male into his own tank on his own, and let the female have her second litter. This will be slightly delayed – and can be be born anywhere from 3 weeks to 7 weeks after the first. The pups from the first litter will help her raise them and keep them warm.
Once the first litter of pups reach around 6 weeks – you should be able to sex them (or at least take pictures of them to put online for other people to sex). Holding them next to each other can help you compare. If you find any males – you can move them over to dad’s tank from 5/6 weeks old – as long as there is at least 1 female pup to leave in with mum. If there are no female pups (it happens), then leave at least 1 male pup in with her instead.
When the second litter are 6 weeks – do the same again with all the remaining pups from both litters. Sex them and take out all the males to go with dad (or to a new home that you have found them). Males can go in pairs, trios or quads and are usually quite stable groups. Females however, are best sold to other people (or kept by you) in pairs. So:
If you have 1 female pup – keep it with mum
If you have 2 female pups – keep them both with mum (mum-daughter trios are more stable)
If you have 3 female pups – try to send a pair to a new home and keep one for mum
If you have 4 female pups – home 2 and keep 2 .
If you have 5 female pups – home 2 separate pairs and keep one for mum
If you have 6 female pups – home 2 separate pairs and keep two with mum
Never leave your mum without any of her female pups – UNLESS you wanted to put her back with the dad. However, this isn’t recommended for two reasons:
- They will breed again – and you will have a tonne more pups to home
- Neutering a gerbil is still very specialist – and neutered males can be bullied by the female
It is best to assume that your mum and dad won’t meet again – and they will both be very happy with their new kids!
In Conclusion:
Well, now that is a lot to take in! Best go back over it a read it again before making any decisions based on your new litter.
Gerbil pups are amazing and beautiful – so congratulations on that part – however you will almost certainly need a new full tank set up for your two original gerbils and your new pups.
There is no going back now – you are a new mum!
