Will mother gerbil mate with male offspring?

Question
One of two male gerbils we purchased recently turned out to be female and she has just had her first litter of four babies. born.  I know that she may already be pregnant again.  If we take the father out now, can we leave the mother and her babies alone until her second litter is born.  Our plan is to keep one of the male babies as a companion for the father and a female baby as a companion for the mother.

Answer
Hello,

You can leave the other male babies in until they are around 6 weeks old maximum, after this time they will try and mate with their mother so you will need to separate them.You can leave the female babies in as they will help the mother to raise her new litter!
You need to make sure the father is getting daily contact with the male babies, so he is familiar with them when you put them to live with him. As long as you do this it is not a problem to remove him. I did this with my gerbils, and every day i allowed the males to play together for half an hour or so, whilst keeping an eye on them. When they are 6 weeks old, and you are sure they will get on then you can put them in together. I would advise cleaning the males cage first, so that it does not just smell like his territory!!

I hope this helps you!!

Charlie
xx