baby gerbils??

Question
QUESTION: ok about a month or so ago i found out one of my male gerbils is actually female. Well she had a litter of 5 babies about 3 weeks ago tomorrow and i was told to leave the male in there and they mated again but of course i figured that would happen. But now I'm stressed because I've read that gerbil pups were supposed to be taken away at 5 weeks not 3.


will they be ok? they ARE eating regular food but not drinking water.(the bottle is to high and cant be lowered) will they figure out how to use it?

ANSWER:   Dear Marissa, ok so now you have two litters of pups?
Well when the first litter is 5 weeks old separate the girls from boys without the dad into two separate cages. When the second litter is 5 weeks old put the girls and boys into the same two cages, making sure the are all the same gender, and add the mom into the girl cage and the dad in the boy cage.  
As for the water bottle situation, you HAVE TO get a new water bottle. They won't be able to use it because they can't reach it. It's like if you were trying to reach the ceiling of your house to hang a banner without a ladder. Impossible.


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

QUESTION: ok well they second litter STILL hasn't been born the cage that they will be going into when the second litter is born has a lower water bottle that they can reach. There still with the mom which means they're still feeding but the thing is the mom still stimulates there genitals from time to time which has led me to believe they aren't going to the bathroom by themselves. Is it just that's her maternal instincts or is it that they aren't using the bathroom yet?

Answer
Dear Marissa, sorry about the late reply.
  To be honest, I am not entirely sure about this, but if you would like advise anyway, here you go.
Are you sure none of the pups are going to the bathroom? If some are and some aren't I would be concerned, as some may be premature. If none are then it's probably instinct.
Once again I'm not sure about this, you may be able to ask a vet about this to get an answer, but then again some vets con people out of money by lying and saying the pet needs an expensive treatment when they really don't.