I spoke with the mom again today. The bites were deep and the gerbil
bit her daughter on two fingers and a thumb. The gerbil was indeed
quite pregnant (if that matters) -- that evening she had six pups. (So
Alan & Blossom are grandparents, now). I also found out that a while
ago this same gerbil nipped (no blood) a friend of theirs on his ear;
making this a second bite for her.
What would you recommend that I advice the mom/girls to do about this
gerbil? I think they are willing to forgive this one bite, but if it
happens again...
>I have never been bitten by a pregnant female that was in any stage in
her
> pregnancy in over 20 years of breeding. My first thought would
be was this
> girls mom watching her and if not what did this girl do to get
the gerbil to
> bite her, she may have been a bit rough with her and just
didn't know it and
> it was probably a one time bite. The other option I have seen
is that I had a
> female (not breeding yet) that bit my wife when she put a chew
block in the
> cage, this same female about 2 months later killed her pups and
her mate. Is
> this female continuing with aggressive behavior if she is I
would keep a
> close eye on her.
>
> Doug
Thanks Doug! The pair had a single pup 26 days before; they both were
excellent parents, but the pup died at a few days (was perfect/no
marks). So I hope she will be a good/gentle mom here, too.
