Oh yikes, gerbil babies on the way.

newfosterparent

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I mentioned that I have 2 gerbils that were supposed to be male, but turned out not to be.

I wanted names for them that would work if I'd found out that one was female, and I was right about this.

Gerri, our female, is pregnant. I see a noticeable bulge in her belly.

Guessing that she's only got about a week to go, maybe less.

So, I posted crazily to try to find another tank with no replies, so I went out and got another one, and some tunnels for them to get into both tanks.

Took them both a while, but Tom figured it out sooner and managed to get back to the main tank.

Gerri finally figured it out and they've both gone back and forth several times.

I've never had babies before and I have no idea what to expect, except for what I've read online.

The gerbils, we got them on April 16th and they were 5 weeks old then. They're about 3 months old now.

I hope they're not too young to be parents. We were waiting for this, but not thinking that it was going to happen so soon.

Looking forward to having babies, but it's going to be strange.
 

aprilyim

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Good luck to Gerri! I hope she has a safe delivery! Keep us posted, and take some pictures!
 

Willowy

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Hehe, hope you have 2 tanks so you can separate the males from the females! Having one litter is one thing, every female having a litter every 2 months is another thing! Have fun with the babies, and take lots of pics
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newfosterparent

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I'm looking forward to it.

I put in a nest this morning hoping that Gerri would use it.

Unfortunately, the picture shows what's left of it.
 
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newfosterparent

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No sign of babies yet. Not sure when they'll come.

It does seem like Gerri has her nest spot picked out in the big tank.

I guess this means any day now she'll have them. And I'm hoping that I'm home when it happens.
 

badkelpie

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She probably won't have them when you're around, they seem to always have them when you're out or sleeping. I raised chinchillas for a little while and NEVER saw one born. Then one morning, I woke up to one newborn baby and I KNEW there were 2 in there. So I waited, and I waited and waited, finally, I had to get in the shower to go to work. I took the fastest shower possible, came out and the second one was there
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newfosterparent

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From what I've read from other gerbil owners, they have babies in the evening, and that's when I'm home from work.

Here's hoping that they come soon.
 
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newfosterparent

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The gerbil pups have been born, the waiting is over.

It looks like she had 6 of them, but it's still a little dark to see for sure.

It's just before 6am here, and judging by color, they were born within the last hour.

I can't believe how tiny they are.


Will post some pics later, since it's still dark, photo quality is lousy right now.
 
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newfosterparent

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Here is a pic of 2 of the pups. Couldn't get anything better this morning. This was shortly after they were born.

I'm still trying to get better shots, but that will require me to take apart the tunnel so I can get the lid off and my camera into the tank for close up shots.

Will try to do that soon.
 
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newfosterparent

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Boy was I wrong!!

I just looked into the nest and there were 8 babies in there!!!

Got a better picture of them now.
 
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