# The baby gerbils have arrived!!!!



## Baby British (Jan 24, 2010)

In the early hours of this morning Venus my REW gerbie girl gave birth to EIGHT pups 

So far My girl has been an excellent mum nusing all eight babies and only leaving them in short bursts to get food. In typical male fashion the dad Apollo an Argente cream has made himself a nest at the opposite end of the cage and is leaving all the hard work to mum  I will post pics in the coming days.

Obviously I don't know the colours or sexes of the babies yet but six of them will be available to loving pet homes 6 weeks from now. I will only let them go in same sex pairs or more unless one is required to keep an existing gerbie company.

If you are interested in giving a home to some of these babies then please PM me for further details. I am in the south west wales area.

Kimberley x


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## momentofmadness (Jul 19, 2008)

How lovely..

do Gerbils breed again straight away like Hamsters?


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## Baby British (Jan 24, 2010)

Yes they do. I hope for poor Venus that the second litter is a bit smaller - it can't be easy caring for so many babes! I'll be taking dad and the boys out though before litter number two arrive and both mum and dad will be paired up with a same sex off spring. After the second bout I'm entirely sure mum will have had enough!


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## Baby British (Jan 24, 2010)

Here's some pictures of the new arrivals and the proud mummy


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## katiestyles_ (Jun 14, 2010)

OMG they are so cute! I've been offered a couple of gerbils but have no idea how to look after them - any advice? x


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## Baby British (Jan 24, 2010)

katiestyles_ said:


> OMG they are so cute! I've been offered a couple of gerbils but have no idea how to look after them - any advice? x


Gerbils make great little pets and are quite easy to care for.

My gerbils all live in 2ft glass tanks with home made mesh lids. You can often pick up old fish tanks like mine for nothing (I just got another off free cycle!) and they make great homes for gerbies - loads better than the naff gerbil tanks/ gerbilariums sold in pets shops that are overpriced and often far too small.

Gerbils love to dig so fill their tank with loads of sawdust/sand etc They also love to gnaw up toilet rolls and kitchen paper to make bedding. This gnawing also helps to wear down their continuously growing teeth-wooden chews are another good idea for this.

Gerbils are very clean rodents that produce hardly any waste so give off virtually no odour. I clean mine out weekly and disinfect the tank which is possibly a tad excessive but I'm a clean freak!

You can buy gerbil food from most pet shops. Most foods contain sun flower seeds which are very fatty and so should be fed sparingly. It is best to remove these from your pets food bowl and offer them as treats only.

Gerbils are very sociable and need to live in groups of two or more. Sometimes they can de -clan so if serious fighting does occur ( when two gerbils curl into a ball as opposed to standing on their back legs and 'boxing' which is perfectly normal) then it may be neccessary to separate one or more gerbils. Unless you particularly want to breed then it's best to get all the same sex otherwise you will end up with babies!

To tame gerbils the best way is just to place your hand in the tank with a sunflower seed on it. They are naturally inquisiive rodents and so will most likely come up to your hand for a good sniff! It won't take them long to associate your hand and smell with a nice food treat and they'll readily jump on to your waiting palm.

Gerbils aren't like hammies in that hamsters will just remain stationary in your hand. Gerbils like to run around and explore so you'll need to be prepared for this and have quick reactions. They can also jump so it's best to handle them over their tank until you are confident.

Similar to rats if a gerbil catches its tail then it will de-glove ( the end part of the tail comes away to expose the bone) Despite causing pain to the gerbil when this occurs the tail will heal and have no long term detriment to its health. It's still better to try and avoid this happening though and so never attemt to pick a gerbil up by it's tail.

In short gerbils are fantastically entertaining critters who's antics and interactions with each other often make for better viewing than the telly! If you have the opportunity to own some of these fascinating rodents then my advice is go for it! :thumbup:


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## Emma32 (Jun 21, 2009)

Those babies are adorable! I have gerbies myself, they've both just passed the 3yr mark :O 
and that is some excellent advice there ^.^


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