Thanks to everyone for their input on mating concerns!
And yet another question....since this bro and sis
were pet store gerbs, I have no idea whether or not
their parents were related. Are there any outward
signs that would indicate that they're defective, or
carry some bad genes? I'm guessing the only way to
really know is to wait and see how the pups turn out,
and if abnormalities occur, separate the pair.
Any other thoughts?
As for the Sam tubes, we used to use some of those as
kids for our hamsters, and they were also reluctant to
go up the tubes. They didn't like the whole set-up in
general....it seemed like they didn't like being so
visible all the time, that part of the appeal of
crawling through a tube is a few seconds of
invisibility.
Attn: Off topic! :)
I've been watching this gerb family that was donated
to one of our local pet stores, and I'm wondering if I
should intervene. First, it was the mom and the dad
and 8 healthy 5 week old pups. And mom was very
pregnant again. When she had the pups, they put all
the older pups in a tank by themselves, and left dad
with mom and the newborns. I stopped in last week,
and they had sold the dad but not the mom! So now
she's all by herself with a 2 week old litter.
Does anyone think I should talk to the pet store
people about putting one of her daughters from the
previous littler back in with her, so she has some
help? Or will she have forgotten about them after
being separate from them for 2 weeks?
Thanks for listening! Happy Monday all,
Sondra
--- ABCgerbils <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> It is fine to breed brother and sister if the
> parents
> are unrelated.
>
> The earliest I've found they'd breed is about three
> months with pups arriving at about 16 weeks. So at
> 18-19 weeks I wouldn't worry. I'd expect you'll see
> some pups within a month.
>
> Good luck to you,
>
> Donna
> ABC Gerbils
> www.abcgerbils.com
>
>
> --- Sondra Dorsey <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> wrote:
> > Should I be worried if my gerbils don't seem to
> > attempt to mate? They are both about 18-19 weeks
> > old,
> > and brother and sister. I had read somewhere that
> > mating usually takes place in the evenings, while
> > birth takes place at night. I have seen them sort
> > of
> > attempt to mate, but never actually go through
> with
> > the act. The female is incredibly active, always
> > jumping and rolling her tin can around, and is
> small
> > and thin. Her mate is more content to just take
> > leisurely strolls around the tank and gnaw on
> > things,
> > and is getting a bit chubby.
> >
> > So I guess my question is, should this be a
> > concern...as much as I love my gerbs, I would
> really
> > like to start breeding, so if they're not a good
> > match, I'd like to pair them up with some of my
> > "eligible single gerbs". If it is a matter of
> just
> > giving them time, that's not a problem, but if
> there
> > is some kind of physical or genetic problem
> > preventing
> > them from mating, I'd like to pair them up with
> > different mates.
> >
> > And if I end up doing the latter, will they be sad
> > not
> > being with their original mate, or will they adapt
> > to
> > a new mate normally?
> >
> > Thanks so much for listening to me babble!
> >
> > Sondra
> >
> > __________________________________________________
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