odd pregnancy questions

[MarcsCritters]

Zelda's recent litter will be 4 weeks on Sunday. We just have the 2 girls and Zelda in the cage.

The last few days she has gotten really fat. She must be pregnant- I have never seen her this big. I am assuming she must have gotten pregnant right after the last litter as we have seperated her from Roy for awhile now. What I am wondering is, if it is okay to leave her with the 2 females from her last litter. I know it is recommended to leave one female if the father isn't around. I just would hate to seperate one female and then have to try to reintroduce them. Any suggestions??

This may seem like an odd question, but...... has anyone ever noticed their pregnant gerbils belly "over stretching"? Her stomach looks like it has gotten so big that the fur has seperated- like a stretch mark right down the middle.

Thanks!

[Pinkdarkness]

right after a mother gerbil gives bith the male will mate with her like right after the last pup pops out. so she might be pregnate. this happens to mine when im not looking.

[callimico]

It's alright to leave both females in. Some breeders leave the entire first litter in the tank w/mom and dad and they help raise the second litter until they're 6-7 weeks old and adopted.

But if you see the mom start to get irritated and chasing one or both daughters around (unlikely) better take one out, but unless you see that it's ok to leave them both with mom to take care of the new pups.

It's a little odd that she's showing already and her pups aren't even 4 weeks old yet- usually doesn't show until a couple days before birth during 5th week, mine have usually been during the 6th week after first litter was born. Maybe she just has a really large litter coming up...

[Doom Gerbil]

Call is exactly right
Some mums are happy to share the load, others will object. They will try to drive off the older pups and of course in a tank situation this results in injury or even death.
Examples
Tequila, hot summer day, male partner removed, very large and 3 days before birth..beat up her 4 week old pus, killing 2 and scarring the others.
Dissy, has raised 7 litters, now on her 8th. Lives with her partner and 3 month old runty daughter, Ragamuffin who cares for mums pups and has even produced milk for her mums new litter.
Tuft, now on her 3rd litter, dad removed, ALL females from the previous 2 litters still living with Mum as they are due to be rehomed next week. Last night all pups including 4 newborns and mum all snuggled up in one very big gerbil pile!!!
Brandy, thought she'd not fallen, placed in an all female colony consisting of her own and other gerbils older pups. Gave birth and shared the pup-raising with the other females, including unrelated ones.

In your situation I'd leave both females UNLESS the gerbil mum indicates otherwise.
Good luck
Gill

[Doom Gerbil]

BTW some females will not delay the second litter. I have had a few born just 4 weeks after the previous.

[MarcsCritters]

Thank you for the replies. I have my question answered about being so fat..........

Well I woke up to a new litter. The 2 girls will be 4 weeks tomorrow. So, I guess it happened on the day the others were born.

I can't see how many babies are in the nest yet but I think I counted 8! Zelda seems exhausted so, I don't want to disturb her or them. I think it is best to try not to bother her since she has the other 2. It may make her agitated.

Is there anything I need to know about a larger litter?

[Doom Gerbil]

Are the other two still nursing?
I suggest soak some dry bread in milk and put it in the tank to supplement. Hopefully the older pups and mum will eat it and get soem supplememnt that way. Extra protein such as mealworms, mixed nuts and/or mealworms is good and make sure their water supply is kept fresh and topped up.

[MarcsCritters]

They were still nursing yesterday. But they also are using the water bottle and eating food. Regarding the bread with milk- do I use KMR?
Thanks

[Doom Gerbil]

ideal
I've never used KMR as the pups I've supplemented have been, like yours, a little older and near or past weaning age, so I buy cartons of cat/kitten milk. I believe condensed milk can be used and when it's all thats available I've used ordinary cows milk. Some gerbils love milk soaked bread, some take a while to get used to it and some won't touch it. Of corse you can get a dropper and supplement the pups with KMR if you feel they need it. Again I've never done that.
Hopefully mum will refuse to feed the older pups now, feeding them as well the new pups will be a strain on her.
good luck

[MarcsCritters]

The older pups seem to be cuddling up with the new ones keeping them warm when mom leaves the nest. I don't think I would try a dropper with them(the older ones). They are so quick and wiggly.

Zelda had the new pups at the end of a cardboard tube. So, I am still not sure how many are there. It was right up against the glass so, I put a piece of black paper there- to give them privacy.

Should I not handle the older 2 babies for a little while? Zelda seemed to get a little more nervous when I handled them. Running around the cage, checking them out when I put them back. Digging in corner more. I don't want her to get nervous with so many to take care of.

Thanks

[callimico]

lol wow! She's really busy, a lot more pups and so soon after her other litter :D

About the older two, you could try washing your hands really well, and some people rub their hands in the litter, so that both hands smell like the tank and when the pups are handled mom's not disturbed by a different scent. She should be ok with you handling the older 2, (specially if she's distracted with sunflower seeds or some other treat) but your right, if you do see her continue to go off and start burrowing instead of caring for the newborns its better safe then sorry and just give her a couple days to relax before trying again. All moms are different some don't mind people picking up pups the day their born, and others are more protective, so I guess you'll have to judge.

By the way, where in NY are you? I'm in Rochester and am looking for a friendly polar/red/yellow fox, lt. Ivory cream, or schimmel to pair w/ one of my pups.

[MarcsCritters]

The closest "small" city to me is Utica. Roy and Zelda have had spotted lilacs, lilacs, spotted slates and spotted blacks. Roy is spotted slate and Zelda is lilac so, I am expecting more of the same from this litter.

The older 2 are very tame- they will climb right up our arm. very cute- one is black with a white chest, the other is spotted slate. But.... I am not sure if they have inbreeding. We got Roy and Zelda from the pet store. Roy was young and Zelda was already pregnant much to our surprise(from a lilac male in the same cage). Her first litter was all lilac- 5 pups.

The last litter had 4 pups - 2 runts and we lost them both. They (the runts only) got an resp. infection after only a week. That is why we have removed Roy from her cage- we really don't want to encourage anymore breeding since we don't know if they could be related. This litter of 8 was a bit of a shock. I guess it happened the same day as the last litter. Zelda is also getting older and I can see it is tiring her.