I moved my male......

Question
Hi Shawntiah,
I moved my male gerbil into a seperate cage and I can tell the female is enjoying it already. She has been sleeping with her babies all day and is relaxed. Though the male is a different story. He is not doing well. He is in a frantic and running around the cage speratically. He seems way overstressed and I am worried. Would it be ok if I let them play together in their playspace? Can the dad still see the babies now? At what age do the babies leave their mom? They are 30 days old (4 weeks and a couple days) today and I am worried she will have a litter while the previous litter is still in the cage. Will the previous babies attack the newborns? I am thinking this would put alot of extra stress on the mom, but I don't know if I can seperate them yet. Please help!
Sarah

Answer
You can seperate the pups at the age of four weeks. :-) Also, I'm so glad that your mother gerbil is doing better. The male is probably stressed because he wants to be with the female but it's in the females best interest that gets some rest from him. I wouldn't put her around him since she is finally relaxing a bit. It must feel like a vacation to her. :-) If the cage the male gerbil is in is large enough you could actually put the male pups with the father and that would give him some company. I would certainly seperate the babies from the mom to at least give her some rest. Good luck and if you have anymore questions just ask.