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Breeding Gerbils
Breeding Gerbils
Although gerbils are small, furry creatures who seem too cute to handle, they are quite a handful when it comes to breeding them at home as pets. They are extremely timid creatures and are not used to human environment. This specially includes human touch and noise. Therefore, be sure of what you are going to do in order to breed them. If you want them as pets for your own home, you need to train them differently. However, if you are planning to sell them off to a different owner, then you need to be more specific. But selling them to a pet shop is a bad idea since you have no idea who will end up with your gerbils!
It is always helpful to know the pedigree of a gerbil. Depending on the behavioral traits and medical conditions of the parent gerbils one can deduce a lot about his own gerbil. Those that have a history of heart conditions in their family should not be mated. If your breeding pair is of a decent size then this is a good sign.
If you want your breeding gerbils to get used to each other you should keep them together with the help of a split cage. Once they hang out with each other for a considerable about of time they will get used to each others’ company. You don’t have to worry about the rest of the procedure for mating.
It is advisable to let them other enjoy the father’s company till she gives birth to the first litter of gerbils. After that the father should be kept away. Keeping the cage full of wood shavings and other nesting materials like paper helps the gerbils to make their own nest. However, avoid putting pine shavings as these can harm both the breeding pair and the babies.
The mother should be fed a high protein diet through meal worms and nuts during her pregnancy period. It is also important to make sure that the babies feed for the first four weeks after birth. However, don’t pull the babies away from the mother immediately after four weeks.
The process of prying them away from the mother’s company should be a gradual one. Start with an hour first after which you should put the babies back with the mother. Repeat this process a few times daily. After that you can increase the process by number of times and during slowly. By the end of it you can remove the babies for a day at a time. It is important to keep the male and female gerbils together until you find a home for them.
If you want to know the sex of the baby gerbils you should pay attention to the development of their nipples. The ones that will have developing nipples within the first few weeks will be female gerbils.
If you want to give away the babies you should find them a suitable home after two months of birth. It is important to make sure that the new owners know how to tame gerbils; otherwise the situation can turn chaotic. It is always a better plan to find them homes yourself instead of depending on pet shops and wait for someone to pick them up.
Gerbil pets, Gerbil information, Gerbil tips, Gerbil advice
Next Article: How to Introduce Two Gerbils
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