we sent this directly to shell & don but figured you all would benefit from knowing others have gone through this
our experience may save a gerbie mom's life, so forgive us for cross-posting we just realized that it could mean the difference between life and death for an otherwise wonderful creature! re: mom attacking pups We've had that happen before, too. Sometimes moms are just over-ridden with hormonal changes that they flip out and send little ones packing. 4wks is old enough to be on their own if watched carefully. Don't worry about mom. She's being normal. Our "attacker" mom only attacked 2 litters in her lifetime of breeding and was completely fine with her other litters even up to 7wks on one or two occasions. If you have any slightly older male pups around that could keep the "evicted" litter warm and keep them company it would help a lot. Older gerbies to look up to and learn more about how to be a gerbie from, and to just be there, seems to really increase the chances of survival for little ones in that situation. What you've done so far is good. The more comfort you can provide the "evicted" litter, the better. Good luck! -- ron & traci things-that-squeak [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.neo.rr.com/thingsthatsqueak/
