Gerbil pups keep dying

Question
Thank you for your reply and yes she is having them one after the other but how do i stop this? i only have the two gerbils the male and female and i wouldn't of thought i could separate them for such a long period of time? i will try the food thing and hope it works
Thanks Kate
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The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
Hi,
My gerbils have just had their fourth litter of pups the previous 3 litters have all died and i don't know why. The mum seems to go to them and tuck them under her at times and take care of them and other times she seems to ignore them and burrow round the cage but then she will go back to them. sometimes she even buries them and then unburied them. Its so confusing i don't know what to do to try and save these pups!!
thank you Kate
-----Answer-----
Hi Kate,

There is nothing that you can actually do to stop them dying. They are too young and too small for you to look after.

Make sure you don't interfere in anyway and let her do everything. Give her extra protein in her meals, such as mealworm or baby food!!

Is she having this litters one after the other? This can lead to exhaustion and she may not be capable of looking after the babies properly. She needs a few months break inbetween having litters!!

I hope this helps,
Let me know what happens,
Thanks,
Charlie.

Answer
Hi again,

I had this problem with my male and female also. Once i knew she was pregnant i took the male out and put him in a different cage, but let them be together for a bit each day, so they couldn't mate again. You can do this when the babies are born also, but wait until they are fully furred and can see! Then once the babies have left mum, don't put dad straight back in, leave it for a month or two (you can still allow him in for a bit each day) then you can put him again properly after that time. It is important you do this, otherwise she can become so exhausted, as she is continually looking after babies, or growing them inside. If you have babies now, and the dad is still in the cage, it is going to be highly likely she is pregnant again (they mate the night of the birth). I would take him out now, and feed her well (plenty of the protein i mentioned) although she maybe too exhausted to raise the next litter also!!

I hope this helps,
But if you have more questions please ask!
Thank you,
Charlie.