# Having the older sisters help the mother gerbil



## pp50616 (May 10, 2017)

So lets say that the mother gerbil gives birth to her first litter pups and she and the dad mate again later in the day. Once the pups have grown up and it is time for the mom to give birth again, once she starts showing the signs of pregnancy that tell you that she is about three days away from birth, you move the now older male pups to a different cage with the dad, and then leave one or two girls with the mom (if there are more girls put them in a cage of their own). Once the mom gives birth and raises the new pups with the older sister's help you sell all the gerbil pups to wonderful safe homes and you end up with just the mom and the dad in a separate cages. Can you then use the split cage method to introduce the parents to each other again and have them breed again, or once you separate the parents they will never breed again?

I am asking this because I don't to have new gerbil pups every 30 days or so. Could I have two litters and then take a break taking from caring for baby gerbils while I sell the gerbils I have (not including the parents)? Will the parents except each other and breed again and I can repeat this process over and over or will that not work?

Does this make since? I know what I'm asking but it is hard to explain

If you can understand this and give an answer or a link to a website that answers this thank you very much!


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## noushka05 (Mar 28, 2008)

pp50616 said:


> So lets say that the mother gerbil gives birth to her first litter pups and she and the dad mate again later in the day. Once the pups have grown up and it is time for the mom to give birth again, once she starts showing the signs of pregnancy that tell you that she is about three days away from birth, you move the now older male pups to a different cage with the dad, and then leave one or two girls with the mom (if there are more girls put them in a cage of their own). Once the mom gives birth and raises the new pups with the older sister's help you sell all the gerbil pups to wonderful safe homes and you end up with just the mom and the dad in a separate cages. Can you then use the split cage method to introduce the parents to each other again and have them breed again, or once you separate the parents they will never breed again?
> 
> I am asking this because I don't to have new gerbil pups every 30 days or so. Could I have two litters and then take a break taking from caring for baby gerbils while I sell the gerbils I have (not including the parents)? Will the parents except each other and breed again and I can repeat this process over and over or will that not work?
> 
> ...


Can I ask why you want to breed your gerbils? Do you know anything about their backgrounds? Sorry if this sounds harsh but its really irresponsible to stick two animals together without any knowledge of what you're doing.


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## simplysardonic (Sep 1, 2009)

pp50616 said:


> *So lets say that the mother gerbil gives birth to her first litter pups and she and the dad mate again later in the day.* Once the pups have grown up and it is time for the mom to give birth again, once she starts showing the signs of pregnancy that tell you that she is about three days away from birth, you move the now older male pups to a different cage with the dad, and then leave one or two girls with the mom (if there are more girls put them in a cage of their own). Once the mom gives birth and raises the new pups with the older sister's help you sell all the gerbil pups to wonderful safe homes and you end up with just the mom and the dad in a separate cages. Can you then use the split cage method to introduce the parents to each other again and have them breed again, or once you separate the parents they will never breed again?
> 
> I am asking this because I don't to have new gerbil pups every 30 days or so. Could I have two litters and then take a break taking from caring for baby gerbils while I sell the gerbils I have (not including the parents)? Will the parents except each other and breed again and I can repeat this process over and over or will that not work?
> 
> ...


They shouldn't be allowed to do that, you need to do a lot more research on general gerbil care, find a good breeder who will mentor you, & a ton of research into responsible breeding before even thinking about breeding.

And no, you can't keep having litter after litter, these are living animals, not some sort of baby production line


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## pp50616 (May 10, 2017)

noushka05 said:


> Can I ask why you want to breed your gerbils? Do you know anything about their backgrounds? Sorry if this sounds harsh but its really irresponsible to stick two animals together without any knowledge of what you're doing.


 I am reading a ton about gerbils and breeding them. I want to breed gerbils because I really love taking care of them. And that is why I am asking questions to get knowledge


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## pp50616 (May 10, 2017)

simplysardonic said:


> They shouldn't be allowed to do that, you need to do a lot more research on general gerbil care, find a good breeder who will mentor you, & a ton of research into responsible breeding before even thinking about breeding.
> 
> And no, you can't keep having litter after litter, these are living animals, not some sort of baby production line


I have been reading a ton about gerbil breeding. I have had gerbils for a long time and have spent lots of my free time researching on their general care. If I kept the parents in the same cage for their entire lives, they would keep having babies by their own free will until the mom is to old to. On their own they would have litter after litter, so why can't I let them in their cage? (I am not trying to argue I am genuinely asking a question) The reason I am asking about being able to put them back together after I separate them is that I don't have room for two or three 40 gallon aquariums or maybe even larger to keep all the babies in, so I would need to sell them before I let the parents live together and breed again.


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## noushka05 (Mar 28, 2008)

pp50616 said:


> I am reading a ton about gerbils and breeding them. I want to breed gerbils because I really love taking care of them. And that is why I am asking questions to get knowledge


Breeding because you love taking care of them, isn't a good reason to breed, things can go wrong, you need to be prepared for emergencies. Its a massive responsibility breeding animals & should never be gone into lightly. To breed ethically you need to find an ethical gerbil breeder who will mentor you. Where did you get your gerbils from?

If you love taking care of them, have you thought about rescuing? Back yard breeders & commercial are churning out rodents. So many are desperately in need of a loving home.


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## pp50616 (May 10, 2017)

noushka05 said:


> Breeding because you love taking care of them, isn't a good reason to be breed, things can go wrong, you need to be prepared for emergencies. Its massive responsibility breeding animals & should never be gone into lightly. To breed ethically you need to find an ethical gerbil breeder who will mentor you. Where did you get your gerbils from?


I am going to buy my gerbils from a breeder near me. I don't have them yet because I am trying to learn all I need to know before I even begin to start preparing to breed. I understand that vet bills are expensive and that I might need to pay them. I am not taking it lightly, I have read about all the things that can go wrong and I am ready to deal with them. I know that the babies can get sick with respiratory infections, and I know the medicine to buy. I know that they can get sick from lots of other things as well and I am currently learning about what those things are and how to fix them. I know that you may have pups that are still born and only end up with one, and that you might need to hand feed it or have a breeder foster it so it can get enough milk. I know a lot of things that can go wrong and am still learning about how to fix them and how to try and prevent them. The reason I asked this question is so I don't do the wrong thing. So if you know the answer to my original question could you please tell me so I know what to do? Thanks!


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## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

in short the answer to your question is no

it is very bad for a gerbil to have a a back to back pregnancy, she needs a good long break in between litters and should not have more than 3 litters max in her life, so no your above scenario is not ideal at all

i think you need to do a lot more research before hand, also ask yourself what if mum died in labor? could you forgive yourself for doing that to her?


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## pp50616 (May 10, 2017)

I am in the process of doing research, that is why I asked this question I haven't even gotten the breeding pair yet because I am still in the research process. I have another question though if you don't mind answering it

Since gerbil pairs usually will breed again the day of the birth I should remove the dad. But since you can't take the dad out because the mom will get stressed out and neglect the pups trying to put everything back in order, what do I do?


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## Ceiling Kitty (Mar 7, 2010)

pp50616 said:


> On their own they would have litter after litter, so why can't I let them in their cage? (I am not trying to argue I am genuinely asking a question)


That's not how wild gerbils reproduce.

Their breeding season is around four months, not all year round as you are proposing. 80% of females breed only once in the season.

The population dynamics of wild gerbils are completely different to the artificial set up of keeping one pair together all the time, so unfortunately you cannot extrapolate fairly to justify repeatedly breeding them back-to-back.

Believe it or not, the lifespan of wild gerbils is only 3-5 months. They just would not be breeding repeatedly in a wild situation.

I've attached a PDF with an observational study of wild gerbil reproduction for your perusal.


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## ForestWomble (May 2, 2013)

Why don't you just get two girls or two boys?
Enjoy them for who they are and don't turn them into a breeding machine.


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