Hi Katie, I've had just a few litters and have never had such an
experience...here are a few good web sites on breeding though that might have
some answers:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/9792/how2breed.html
http://www.netherworld.com/~mhaines/gerbil.html
http://home.clara.net/royhinsley/breeding/breeding_introduction.html
And David Hinsley has an SOS for emergency questions:
http://www.gerbils.org/privacy/gerbil-sos.html
email is [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Are you sure she was not just eating the babies that has already died? -- cleanup
is much, much more common that cannibalism, I hear.
If you are sure the mother did kill those pups, I think foster care is what is
usually recommended. I'd think you have supplemental feed the pups with kitten
replacement milk (I use an infant medicine dropper). This could be a lot of
work with the 1 week old pups as far as the frequency and the difficulty getting
the milk into their tiny mouths. The 3 week old pups should lap at it.
Good luck, and let me know what happens with your little pups -- Donna A.
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> Today one of my gerbils who has a litter of 7 (well now five) started to eat
> her 1 week old babies. She ate two of them, and was going to conintue with
> more, but I stopped her and removed the babies. This is her first litter, so
> I'm sure she is just stressed and confused with this new litter.
>
> Now my question is, should I place the babies in another tank with a foster
> mother? The only other mother has a litter of 3 week old babies who are now
> starting to eat on their own. Is this not a good idea to place these 1 week
> old babies in with the mother and her 3 week old babies? Or should I try
> bottle feeding? Any adivce would be great, thanks!
>
> Katie
