14 gerbils

[hellohefalump]

The third litter arrived! I've separated mum and dad, she is definately NOT getting pregnant again! They're lovely though... my gerbil tanks now outnumber my fish tanks! they so cute when they're teeny!

 

[OohFeeshy]

Schweet! I'd like to breed my hamsters if I had room and if it wasn't for the fact that Anya would bite my hand off before I could even open the cage....

 

[MissD]

We used to have mounds of gerbils when we lived in the UK...the babies are great. I couldn't resist touching them, and then cried when the parents killed the babies that smelled weird

 

[hellohefalump]

she killed them?! oh no! I handle mine from birth and she doesn't kill them... I read on a gerbil site that you CAN handle them... so far so good with mine, they're so cute and I get albino ones sometimes that are beige with cute red eyes!

 

[yungnhopless562]

aw they sound cute, we gunna get any pics?

 

[NinjaSmurf]

I loved my gerbil babies, they're like little balls of fur with springs for legs. Whenever I used to walk up to my tank it would scare them and they'd all bounce high at the same time, it was funnier than hell...

 

[fishy_blue_bubbles]

I wuv gerbil babys, I used to breed, and I want to again one day lol all of my lines have since passed but they all had really long lives, Brandy a girl from my first litter when I was 8 years old, brandy was given to a friend. she only died 2 years ago, she was 7-8 years old. Tippy that last of my lines dies at 6 years old, she also died 2 years ago but was from a later breeding. I even had twins once, bart and bitsy, both died very young though

 

[hellohefalump]

NinjaSmurf - yes... they jump! I find if you handle them right from the day they're born they don't jump as much though... but they still jump!

yungnhopless562 - if I ever get the wire that connects my phone to the computer then I'll post pics.

fishy_blue_bubbles - wow! old gerbils! wow...

 

[RandomWiktor]

Miss D - The age that you can handle the babies depends a lot on the mother. If she's a nervous mom, she will almost definately kill the babies, but if she is very well socialized and trusts the owner with the pups, they're usually ok. However, an extra precaution you can take is to thoroughly rub your hands in some soiled shavings from the cage. Then you'll smell like gerbil instead of human, and the nervous mom is less likely to harm the young. Works great with rabbits, too.'

hellohefalump - Awwwr. Can't want for piccies. My own gerbil, who was actualy from the live feed room at the zoo (took her home because she was old and having seizures so they were going to gas her), had three beautiful babies not long after I took her in. The fits stopped afterwords so I'd wager it was hormonally triggered. We couldn't keep the two boys but they went to a gerbil rescue group in Vermont and last I'd heard found good homes. The female now lives with her mum. I never really liked gerbils before, but after seeing how these two interact, I'm def. hooked ^^

 

[hellohefalump]

It's strange that Simon (mum) trusts me with her babies... she hates being handled, always has done even before she had babies. Beetroot (dad) loves coming out to play... wierd though, Simon likes my housemate and she's allowed to handle her but Beetroot won't let her take him out...

I handle the babies right from the day they're born because then they freak out less when their eyes open and they see the 'monster lady' in the flesh...