Gerbil Breeding

Breeding gerbils is not a difficult job but is a very serious matter. Gerbil breeding should not be attempted by proletarian gerbil owners or others without experience. Lay hands on gerbil breeding only with help from a professional or after a great deal of research and reading. You will get good guidance about gerbil breeding in the following piece of writing.

Gerbil Breeding Procedure

The first step of breeding gerbils is to know their medical history. Do not breed a gerbil having history of heart or respiratory problem. See that the gerbil breeding pair is of good size and peaceful behavior as the pups carry the behavioral traits of parents. Introduce the mating pair in a split cage. When both of them are used to each other, the rest will be done by them. Through the birth of the first litter the father has to stay with the mother. Make sure that he is removed from the cage when the pups are born.

Provide ample paper and nesting materials in its cage so that the gerbil can build a nest. Completely avoid putting pine shavings in the cage as they can injure the gerbils as well, as their pups. Provide diet rich in protein to the mother when she is pregnant and nursing. Deliver this protein through nuts or mealworms. The mother will nurse the pups for the first one month. Within seven to ten days, you will be able to determine sex of the pups. You can do this by looking the belly of the pups. In case of females, you will be able to see developing nipples.

When the pups are away from their mother after a month; start weaning them. It is during this time when you have to take them away for a few hours or overnight for a week. Then remove them for a whole day. Until a new home is found, do not separate the male and the female. If you are not interested in keeping your pups, find them a new home. You can do this when the pups are six to eight weeks old.

Selecting the Correct Breeding Pair

If you want to go for a correct breeding pair, but do not know how to select one, keep in mind the following-

Buy a pair from a breeder and not from a pet store because pet store gerbils may have ample health problems. Gerbil pair with a breeder is mostly free from all such things.

If you want a gerbil of a particular color or gerbils that can produce offspring of certain color, you must know the genetics of the pair you have bought or going to buy. So that you know full well about the color of offspring they will produce.

Whether you are buying a gerbil pair from a breeder or from a pet store, ensure that it is healthy. A few features to find a healthy gerbil are soft, shiny and non-greasy fur, bright and alert eyes, full tail and tuft covered in hair. See that the gerbils bred do not have a bad temper. Ensure that no more than a single generation is bred and their pups should also not be bred together.

Gerbil breeding is great responsibility. About a hundred pups are easily bred by a pair in its lifetime. Gerbil pairs easily have babies about once every month. A female very commonly immediately gets pregnant after giving birth. At birth, gerbil pups are deaf, hairless and blind and completely depend on their parents. Take good care of them and you will have healthy offspring that resulted from your industrious gerbil breeding.