Seven Gerbil pups 1 week old.
We shred tissue and put it in the cage. Gerbils will
shred it more and nest in it. Shadow keeps her pups
warm in it.
Shadow (mama)
These little pups are sooo darling! We're smitten and love them so much. Their mama, Shadow, used to be a "boy." Then he got pregnant and became a girl! Now we have 7 pups and 4 adult gerbils, a leopard gecko, and a cat. Plus our kids. We have a zoo!! We hope to keep a male gerbil to be a companion to the daddy (Cookie) and a female to be a companion to Shadow. I will pay to have a Exotic Pet Vet sex them for us so we don't have to go through this again. I just hope we can place the rest in good homes. I can see why gerbils do better in pairs or groups. Poor Cookie. He's all alone and IS NOT acting the same as he used to. Just not as active and playful. It's really sad. At 6 weeks old we can start introducing a pup to him. Apparently Gerbils will fight to the death unless you introduce them slowly with a split cage method. They will forget their companions/litter mates after a day or two as well.
The kids are excited to start holding the pups. Laura has been really good about caring for them and mama. We have a towel over half the aquarium to help reduce stress. Usually the dads are around to help and make good parents. Poor shadow is doing everything herself. You can't help but fall in love with them when you see how "family like" they are. It's neat and this has been a good experience for us so far.
I was laughing so hard in Primary when you told this story! About the used to be "boy" gerbil that had babies. The babies are sooo cute! Love this story!
ReplyDeleteThat was the first thing Makell told me about when she jumped in the car today! They are so little!
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