getting babies to drink water

Question
I am on my second round of baby gerbils.  All of the babies from the first batch died due to dehydration.  Now, one has died and I am afraid the others will too.  How do you get them to start drinking water from a rodent water bottle? I have (a) set out a dish with water, (b) sprayed water on the wall next to the bottle (so they lick it and hopefully bump into the bottle), (c) picked up the gerbils individually and stuck their faces onto the end of the bottle.  At what point should they be separated from the parents since the mother is constantly pregnant?  

Answer
Doesn't sound like dehydration to me. They would get enough liquid from their mother to survive. What type bedding do you use? I have never had a problem with water bottles with pups, just make sure its low enough and their curiousity and their parent help them to figure it out.

Ashley