gerbil cannable and an orphan...

Question
One of our gerbils turned canibal.And we have a survivor from her litter. I`m really worried about the little guy.what should I do with him?

Answer
Hi Emily

Thanks for your question.

How old is the baby?  Sadly, if a mother cannibalises her young there is little that can be done if they are tiny.  They tend to do this if they are worried about space/food, if they are afraid, or if something is wrong.  It is rare that they just kill them for no reason.

For the first couple of weeks he is reliant on mum for food.  After 2 weeks, there is a chance you can save him, and if you feel he is at risk  you could separate him.  However, once separated you can't put him back in so this is a big decision to make.

Make sure mum has plenty of food - I usually give baby food in addition to the standard mix. The powdered creamy porridge oats is good to give - mix a little with water.  If you put it in a low enough dish the baby can eat this too when he starts leaving the nest (around 2 weeks of age).  Hopefully if she has plenty to eat she may not get stressed.  Also, if the cage is in a part of the house that is stressing her - i.e. other animals nearby, lots of noise etc. you might want to relocate it for a while.

Can you see her feeding the baby at all?  Have you had the mum for long - does she know you?  Are you able to handle her?  If you can, then it would be worth just having a very quick look  at her underside to check that there is no swelling around her nipples.  They can develop mastitis which makes it painful to feed their young, and this is sometimes a reason for them to kill the babies.  In cases like this they need veterinary treatment with antibiotics. If you can't handle her, then don't try.  I think you can only do so much and sadly let nature take its course.

Hopefully the final baby will survive - every day that passes is a blessing, as there is more chance of them surviving.  Once he is at least a week old he can start eating solids and you can therefore supplement his diet with small piece of bread, raw porridge oats, chopped nuts etc.

I hope this helps and you get on OK.

Regards
Sheila