Peenie Wallie

My gerbil just had babies a nd they are so cute I want to hold them so baldly but I'm afraid the mom will hurt me!

Well, thanks for leaving a fake email address and web site. Makes it hard for me to contact you. Here's the email I composed that was returned as undeliverable:

If you wash your hands first, to get the scent off, you should be able to handle them briefly without any concern.
I'm assuming here that the mother is tame. Also, I always left the father in with the mom. Never had any problems.
Only time the mom will ever kill the babies is if she's stressed. (i.e., when the babies are old enough to wean,
and she's pregnant with another litter, she will try to run off/wean the babies before she gives birth. Because they
have no where to go, she will kill them. But, this doesn't happen for several weeks. And, if she's not pregnant
again, she'll let them live with her indefinitely, assuming there's enough room for them all. Also, it's easiest
to identify sex before they get fur. Look for nipples.

hello i just came across your site and my gerbil just had 5 babies. she was pregnant when i got her (i guess) because she had babies about a week after i got her. i also had a male that wasn't the dad and he the babies. i removed him but she still killed the babies. she's doing quit well this time (she has the father with you) but she has became very aggresive towards me and my boyfriend. do you have any clue why.
thank you
steph-

Probably the male gerbil killed the babies because they weren't his. This is a problem, I guess, genetically speaking. I personally have never had a problem with the father killing his babies. I find that he helps care for them. Possibly, though, if their space is too small, the father might hurt them. I've seen the mom kill her babies buy only right before she gives birth, trying to kick them out of the nest.

My gerbil has just given birth to 6 beautiful pups. I am worried that when they are ready to go to homes in 6 weeks time I wont be able to find suitable homes for them. Also when will I be able to have my first touch of the pups.

In theory, you can touch the pups at any time but, wash your hands with soap really well first. The gerbils go crazy over scents. That's how they recognize each other. I've had two gerbils attack each other, even though they were best friends and had lived together for some time, due to confusing scents. If they smell the scent of a foreign gerbil, or even something foreign, dog, cat, etc., they can freak out.

If you want to find homes for the gerbils, try posting a free ad on craigslist.org.

Thank you so much for your quick response. Your information is greatly appreciated. Earlier this evening, I noticed that one of the pups had been put outside of the nest and was all alone. I wasn't sure quite what to do, so I washed my hands and gently placed it back inside the nest with the other pups and all seems well at the present time. Have you any idea why this would have happened and tell me if I did the right thing. Many thanks.

I think what you did was fine. In my experience, if they're not going to nurse the litter, for whatever reason, it really doesn't matter what you do. I've had a few litters that didn't make it. The mom just quit nursing them. Maybe it was stress. I'm not sure. But, sometimes, for whatever reason, she'll just stop nursing them, and run all over them like they're not even there. I like to leave them alone as much as possible, keep them away from pestering children, bright lights, etc. They should be fine.

We've just returned from a trip to Paris and having left Grandad in charge of the gerbils, we were so excited to see how they have developed during the last 7 days. All the pups are beautiful and we have just spent the last few hours sexing them and making the necessary records. Our concern now is making sure that each one goes to a good home. We are producing an information sheet to go with each pup and my son is adamant that each prospective owner is given a thorough interview to determine their suitability as a gerbil owner. I was wondering, now that the weather is becoming warmer is it possible to buy an outdoor run for gerbils. They have a wonderful cage and are allowed to run around in a play area each day which we have set up for them, but I love the idea of them having fresh air and to be outside in a safe and protective enviroment. Many thanks. PS I was so glad that I took your advice and didn't remove Loui (daddy) from the cage when the pups were born. He has made a wonderful dad and taken on his fair share of parenting duties!

I have taken the babies out in the yard at let them play, but only for as long as they can't get away. Once they are mature, they can outrun you.

I'm not aware of any outdoor enclosures you can buy. It's kind of tricky because, you have to worry about them getting out, and also other animals getting in (birds, dogs, foxes, cats, etc.) So, if you built anything, it would have to have walls, and a top, and then, ideally, it would need to go down into the ground about a foot to keep them from digging under.

My gerbils that the owner of the pet shop said were 2 boys but it turned out not have just given birth to 5 babies. That was two days ago what sort of changes will they go through and when?

Well, if you leave the parents alone and give them food, water, space, and peace and quiet, they'll grow up to be healthy baby gerbils. Look for nipples to sex the babies before they grow hair. That's the easiest way to differentiate the sexes. Once they grow hair and open their eyes, only God can tell the males from females until they give birth. Once they reach sexual maturity, it's easy to differentiate the sexes. The females give birth. The males don't.

my gerbils just had babies last night when i was at a slumber party so he brought them in the cage to the slumber party and every body thought they were soooo cute.

Possibly not the best idea to bring the gerbils to a slumber party. You don't want to stress out the parents any more than absolutely necessary.

Hello -
Our gerbil had a litter of babies about 2weeks ago, and just recently while handling one of them, he hopped our of our hand from a distance of about 3 feet. He is having what seems to be severe convulsions and trouble keeping on his feet now. Every time he tries to walk he ends up on his back. He also does not appear to be able to nurse, because he mouth is frozen open. I don't know if the mother is abandoning him or what, because he seems to traverse out of the nest but is left out, because she won't retreive him like she does the others. Do you have any advice for what we can do? Like nursing him ourselves - or what could possibly be wrong with him? We appreciate it, thank you.

I'd suggest taking him to the vet. This is the biggest danger of handling the little pups. They don't have a fear of heights, and aren't used to being held. So, they tend to just bonzai out of your hand. As they get older, they develop a fear of heights and aren't nearly as prone to jumping. Be careful to hold the babies very low (close to the ground) if you handle them. That way, when they jump, they don't have as far to fall. It's sad when a baby gerbil dies, but it does happen, unfortunately, and for various reasons. If the gerbil doesn't make it, then tell the children that death is a part of life and that everything that lives in this world must surely one day die. Bury him outside and put a large stone over him so the dogs don't get him.

one of my two week old baby gerbils has been head butting the cage. I got it out and saw that its mouth was bleeding. so i got some toilet roll out of thebathroom and creared all of the blood away and i realised that one of its bottom tooth is missing .and it has seemed to be making a weird sound. i was wandering what i should do to make sure my gerbil stay healthy.

I got 2 female gerbils from a pet store 13 days ago. One of them gave birth today...I think...hard to tell. I didn't even know one was pregnant. I hear alot about how it's good to leave the dad with the litter and how he'll help care for the babies. But, what about another female. Will she help or hurt the babies?

It seems to me that two mature femles should be ok with the babies. As long as they aren't stressed out, I think that both females will help to raise the pups.

MY GERBIL JUST GAVE BIRTH JUNE 7 TO 5 PUPS...WHEN WILL THEY BE ABLE TO BE HANDLED AND WEANED? DADDY HAS BEEN A GREAT HELP TO MOMMY...

The pups wean in 3 to 4 weeks. Pay close attention to them before they grow fur, and you will see the females have nipples and the males don't. This is the best way to sex them. Once they grow fur, I can't tell the males from the females until they give birth. Then I can tell. Females have babies. Males don't. :)

I accidentally dropped one of my pups he is walking but he ends on his back, and his leg is bright red and looks puffy. What do you think? Have you every dropped one and did it die or can they survive?

This is the biggest danger of handling the little pups. They don't have a fear of heights, and aren't used to being held. So, they tend to just bonzai out of your hand. As they get older, they develop a fear of heights and aren't nearly as prone to jumping. Be careful to hold the babies very low (close to the ground) if you handle them. That way, when they jump, they don't have as far to fall. It's sad when a baby gerbil dies, but it does happen, unfortunately, and for various reasons. If the gerbil doesn't make it, then tell the children that death is a part of life and that everything that lives in this world must surely one day die. Bury him outside and put a large stone over him so the dogs don't get him.