Hi George --
I have to disagree with Paige here. A gerbil mother can raise a litter
of her own (I've had one experience with this -- Blossom raise her first
litter of two alone), and responsible breeding is more important than
her stress level. A better alternative though (if you can place/keep
the pups for two litters) is to let the father help with the first
litter, then at just before five weeks old move the Dad and the boys
into a separate tank and let one or more of the girl pups help mom with
the new litter. If you want to be extra cautious about not getting a
third litter, move Dad out earlier and then introduce him to his pups
when they are five weeks.
Good luck to you, Donna
george champlin wrote:
> I want to know if after the female is pregnant can you
> take the male out of the cage? I want to breed but i
> do not want to get into a vicious cycle of having too
> many gerbils. I will only sell to owners not somone
> who wants my gerbils as food for their snakes
>
> =====
> GEOCHAMP
>
Paige wrote:
Definitely not! While a female can usually raise litters on her
own, it will be very stressful for her. If you want to breed, you
must be ready for the 4-7 babies they're likely to have every
month/every other month.
Paige
