New born Gerbils

Question
My daughter's gerbil just had babies and it seems that the mom is distracted running around the cage and not nursing the babies (just born  today) She's thinking we need to get some emergency supplies for the babies.(She is at grandpas 1300 miles away from me and he thinks it's stupid and doesn't care but my daughter is upset and worried about the babies Can you help??

Thankyou so much
Barb

Answer
well the mother generally knows what's best for her pups and some new mothers may look like they are aboandoning their pups but they are not. Personally taking care of the pups for several weeks is a big responsibility since people generally don't seperate them for about six weeks. you will have to feed the babies every few hours and also rub their bottoms so they are able to go to the bathroom. Pups do not know when to go to the bathroom and generally the mother licks their bottom to stimilate them to go to the bathroom. This you will need to do frequently.
If you want to take care of them you will need KMR formula milk. KMR is kitten milk replacement and you can find it at a kitten pet store aisle. You will need a light bulb over them to keep them warm. It doesn't need to be a strong light, just something to keep them warm. To stimulate them to use the bathroom rub their bottom with a paper towel or tissue paper. It can be a little wet as well. Feeding and getting them to use the bathroom is at least every hour to 3 hours I believe.
I would try not to worry about the pups, because she can always have more if you want her to mate with a male. They can get pregnant within a day of giving birth and I always let nature take its course because I believe nature knows best.
If you have anymore questions I will be more than happy to answer.