> I got 2 female gerbils from a local pet store 2 weeks ago. 1 week > later, > one of them had 3 babies. There were no males in the tank at the pet > store > so I assume she got pregnant before she got there. I am planning on > separating the boys out in a few weeks but can I leave any female > pups in > the tank with the mother and other adult? As of now the second adult > is > like a second mother. She sleeps with the whole group and sometimes > alone > with the pups. The two adult females get along together perfectly. > > > Sara Fisher SO FAR the two adult females get along and perhaps they will continue to do so. However, typically breeding adult females should not be kept together b/c they are likely to kill each other's pups. Now, I know only one of your gals has pups and I gather you're not planning any more litters, but it might be wiser to take out the "extra mother" and either (1) introduce a female pup to her later; or (2) re-introduce her to her original pal. Option 2 is likely the better choice. If you decide to leave the adult females together (which may be fine, since they're getting along so far and you're not planning to breed), then your next step will depend on the litter's gender composition. If they're 3 males, you could just remove them upon weaning and have a female pair and a male trio. That should work just fine. If you have have 2 males and 1 female, it would *possibly* work fine to leave daughter in with "moms." Female trios can work, but female groups larger than 3 are risky. And the male pair would be just fine. If you have 2 females and 1 male, separate the daughters from the "moms" and you'll have two female pairs. Then you'll need to get a pal for your lone boy; either get another boy, or find a friend with a lone male and get the "boys" together. If the litter is 3 daughters, then you should separate them from the moms at weaning and keep the female trio and female pair. The female trio of 3 littermates is likely to be more stable than the moms + daughter trio mentioned earlier. As I said. . . don't keep more than 3 females together. Even 3 is a bit dicey, but a female trio can work. I don't think ANYONE on this list would recommend keeping a bunch of females together!! This is all JMO, but I noticed no-one had answered you onlist, so I thought I'd help. There are lots of folks on the list w/more experience than I have, but I've been hanging out here long enough to learn quite a bit. :-) Good luck with those pups. ===== Julie & Michael (homo sapiens) Alex P. Kitten & The Little Rascal (felis catus) Zooty (RIP Reebo); Pippin; Sparky & Norman; Bossy, Baby, & Goldie (meriones unguiculatus) <Two humans with 2 cats and seven gerbils> __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/
