Hi, I bought a male & female gerbil but they were meant to be girls ...

Question
QUESTION: Hi, last week I bought 2 gerbils from a breeder, I was told they were both girls but for the past about 4 days, it has been very obvious it's a boy...
I want to split them up but my parents are telling me not to, but if I have to I have a spare cage but it's small...
The gerbils are 6 weeks, 3 days old now, so do you know what the youngest age a female will get pregnant, if it's safe for her to give birth at such a young age and would it be a very bad idea to inbreed them? Thanks!

ANSWER: They can breed now and i would not be surprised if she already is pregnant.
They must be split up else they will both kill any pups that are born.
You will also be over run with gerbils before you know it as the male can breed again with her as soon as the pups are born.

You will also have the problem with sexing them as you are a novice at gerbils and you cannot put the male offspring in with the male as he will kill them as he will treat them as invaders.

When you buy gerbils it is important that the gerbils are related to prevent fighting and killings in the colony, Any stranger is going to be bullied or killed.
Sometimes even male siblings will not get along at maturity.

It is a bad idea to have brother, sister related offspring as they can be deformed, not just externally but internally. They can be born weak and die later or dead at birth or the mum may abort them. Even though the female is of breeding age this does not mean that it is good for her too. Her reproductive system has only just started to work and can reduce her lifespan

I do suggest you take them back to the breeder, or at least the male and the pups once they are weaned as it is the breeders fault that they are reproducing.
Your parents are wrong and should be doing what is best for the animals and you as a pet keeper.
As for putting the male in a separate cage,they need lots of room as they are energetic. If you want to keep the male i suggest a 2ft terrarium


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: OK, I will split them up now but the spare cage is pretty small...
The male is more energetic, but if the female has her pups who will need more room? I#ll put the female into the smaller cage for now
Thanks for your help.

Answer
They both need plenty of room as you have pointed out they are energetic creatures
The female will obviously need more room as in 4 weeks after the birth the pups will be running riot

Make sure that you house her in a vivarium as the pups will get through the bars and may also hang themselves between the wire