Breed Gerbils
Gerbil pups depend on you for completely good care. It can take a lot of time, patience, and money to care for and feed them. If you want to breed them, then you will have to make sure that you have the space needed for breeding and have done your research on genetics, ethics and general gerbil care. You must have homes lined up for your litters and be prepared to keep any that do not find homes.
One litter can bring from 1 to 14 or more babies. Once they are weaned, they will have to be separated and put into separate tanks; one for the males, and the other for females. Make sure that you have time to spend taking care of them, and the money to support them until/if they are sold. If you feel you cannot, then you should not breed them, and just enjoy 1 or a pair of same sex gerbils you have.
Never breed on a whim. There are plenty of animals in rescues all over the world that would love a decent home.
Steps
- Consider why you want to breed gerbils. There are so many animals in rescue that need loving homes that you must have a good reason for making more.
- Research split caging. Gerbils are difficult to introduce to each other, but should not be kept alone. If the gerbils have known each other since they were pups, this isn't necessary.
- Make sure you have good homes lined up for all babies before you have a single litter. Never advertise for free and be wary, some people see gerbils as a cheap meal for a snake.
- Save up money. Rodent breeders rarely make any money from breeding and you'll need to cover vet costs.
- Buy your gerbils from a breeder rather than from a pet store. Buying two gerbils from the same pet store might give you two from the same parent and could be supporting rodent farms. Breeding from the same parent (called interbreeding) is harmful. The pups would have cotton both genes for any defects the parents might have had. They would also have less immunity against any diseases they were prone to get. It is best to locate a good gerbil breeder who knows the history of their pups, as well as genetic background. Some breeders will cull so make sure their ethics match your own. You will need a network of ethical breeders to rely on so you can swap gerbils to keep your lines clean.
- Know the gerbils' health history. Gerbils with a history of having fits or respiratory illness should never be bred from. Gerbils born with obviously severely crooked tails may have a congenital condition and should also not be bred from. Your breeding pair should be of good size. They should also have friendly personalities. Gerbils seem to inherit behaviors like pup neglect, it is worth knowing how your gerbils' mother coped with her pups. It is useful to know their genetics, enabling you to predict what color pups you will get.
- Introduce the gerbils using a split cage, which should be located in a quiet and calm area of the house where there is not a lot of traffic nor sudden loud noises. You do want the pups to get used to people and sounds, though. Place the tank so that your gerbils have some privacy from other tanks and animals.
- Monitor and record the matings so you know when to expect the litter. Remember that gerbils can mate within minutes of giving birth so you must be prepared for two litters. Its very stressful for a gerbil to raise a litter on her own so you should leave Dad in.
- Keep the breeding tank very simple without the presence of wheels, or toys and should be one level only. The tank should contain only a water bottle and bedding (about 3 inches of Care fresh and unscented toilet paper - no material or fibers or "fluff" that is usually sold in pet stores). You might want to toss in a half toilet paper roll for the parents to gnaw up every day.
- Mom's diet should be supplemented with extra protein while pregnant and nursing. This can be in the form of egg biscuit, cat biscuits, scrambled egg, dried or fresh meal-worms, whole nuts (crack the shells but leave the gerbils to remove them) or various other sources.
- When the litter is born do not disturb the nest for the first week. This can stress Mom out and potentially cause her to eat her young. Leave Dad in to help raise the litter. If you must separate Mom from Dad, consider leaving an older daughter from a previous litter to help out.
- Handle your pups regularly and sex them. You can use the nipple method from 8 days but this is not 100% reliable.
- Pups are weaned at 4 weeks but should stay with the mother until at least 6 weeks has passed. All pups your gerbils produce are your responsibility. If you can't care for them don't produce them. Three plus litters in a row puts stress on your mother gerbil, so remove the father before the birth of litter 3 (or even litter 2) so you do not exhaust your gerbil, but make sure an older daughter helps with the litter.
- Never sell pups to someone who doesn't have a suitable cage or tank for them, and don't sell a pup singly because it'll be lonely, or any of different sexes. Don't sell more than two, as this could be risky.
Tips
- Only breed in pairs.
- Feed mum extra protein whilst she is pregnant and nursing. Scrambled egg is a good source of this.
- Make sure the pups can reach the water bottle.
- Dad will help raise the first litter. Remove him before the second litter is born and leave a female from the first litter in to help mum raise the second.
- Be ready to keep all pups if you cannot home them.
- Check on the babies from the day of birth, but since male and female gerbils are great parents, you should attempt to leave the raising of the litter to them.
- Do your research.
- Clean the tank with a pet-safe spray weekly.
- Make sure you know and can afford a good vet in an emergency.
- Do not separate pups too early.
- Choose healthy, friendly parents with as complete a history as possible.
- Be prepared for two litters. Gerbils can mate within minutes of giving birth and its very stressful for mum to raise a litter on her own.
- Male groups are stable at up to four, girls are better in pairs or trios.
- Keep a breeding kit handy. It should consist of powered kitten replacement milk and infant medicine dispenser or eyedropper. A clamp lamp with 40 watt grow bulb and in case of respiratory infection, Ornyacycline (brand name for tetracycline) and is sold in the bird area in the pet store.
Warnings
- Unhealthy parents = unhealthy pups.
- You must be prepared to handle sick, dying or dead pups. Breeding can be very hard.
- You must have homes lined up for the whole litter or be ready to take them as your own.
- Don't scare the mother as this could make her eat the babies.
- Don't over breed.
- Never take the mother out the tank.
- Aggressive parents = possibly aggressive pups.
- Vet costs for gerbils can be very costly. Never breed more than you can afford to look after if you cannot home them.
- Letting an animal have too many litters is know as back-to-back breeding and is very cruel.
- Never breed too young or too old, you don't want teenage or OAP mums and dads!
- A single adult gerbil can ONLY be introduced to a single adult gerbil safely via a split cage. Do not put them together. They may fight and injure each other.
- Gerbils mate postpartum (straight after birth), so keep your male gerbil in with your female or she may become stressed and attack/kill her pups.
- Do not breed a pet shop animal or any animal unless you know the genetic history. You could breed forward undesirable traits.
- You will not make money breeding gerbils.
Things You'll Need
- 2 gerbils, a male and a female
- A split cage
- Money
- A water bottle
- Bedding (Carefresh and unscented toilet paper)
- Half of a toilet paper roll (optional)
- Extra protein (egg biscuits, cat biscuits, dried or fresh mealworms, whole nuts with shells cracked but still on)
- A good vet in case of emergencies
- Breeding kit (powered kitten replacement milk and infant medicine dispenser or eyedropper, clamp lamp with 40-watt bulb, and Ornyacycline in case of respiratory infection)
- A few toys
- Another cage
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