gerbil babies

Question
My gerbil had babies about 6 days ago and i want to keep one I was wondering if i could keep a girl with the mom in the same cage? I was also wondering if i could get another feamale to put with them??????

Answer
Hi Meghan

Congratulations on your babies!!  You need to sex and separate out the boys when they are 4 weeks old.  At this time, any girls can stay with mum.  I would strongly advise against introducing another female to mum and daughter(s).  It would be much safer just to keep the mum and any daughters together otherwise they may well fight.  Introducing 'outsiders' is always risky and often doesn't work so if you want more than one together in a cage the best option is to keep mum and a daughter or daughters (if the cage is large enough) together. Even if they are related there is no guarantee that they will get along, but hopefully they will.

I hope this helps you.

Regards
Sheila