runt gerbil

Question
I am sorry, i do not have a hamster, i have gerbils.   My mother gerbil had eight babies and has been a horrible mother.  She has killed three of them by running over them and digging at them while digging in her cage.  My concern is for the runt. The litter is now 2 weeks old.  His siblings are enormous the are the size of 3 almost 4 weeks old, but he is the size of a one week old.  He can get absolutely no feeding time with mother and she avoids him at all costs. He can not keep up with her long enough to eat. And the siblings just lay on top of him while they are feeding.  I have tried putting just mom and the runt alone for awhile but she refuses to sit with him and runs away from him.   I have been supplementing him with KMR and an eye dropper but i think he got some up his nose or in his lungs the other day because he has now been unable to eat for two days without gasping, and he is making clicking noises.  I have grown very attached to this poor baby His name is Willie short for Will to Live, and i really want to make him better.  I have started giving him ornacycline in case it is a respiatory infection.  My question is, if he lives, how can i feed him without this happening again? His mouth is so tiny i can not find anything small enough... Thanks so much for your time.

Answer
Hello, it seems you are doing everything you can to save the little guy. The dropper is really a good thing to do especially since he is soo small. The mother gerbil seems to not care too much for the litter. The KMR you are giving is great and good for him. The thing is Willie may just be so weak. I have a few suggestions though. I would buy a small cage and put him in that. Seperate him from his family and become his mommy. Have you tried to find a small syringe and use that?? The dropper still seems to be the best option. You know in the wild he would have never survived so you have given him a much better chance at survival than anyone else. You should be proud. There is no guarantee that it won't happen again. Since he is so small the dropper is my best bet personally. Sorry I couldn't give you a better answer, I do know KMR does has tiny nipples to use but I don't think anything is small enough. Please keep me posted as I am praying that Willie becomes a big boy :-)