Gerbils Will the males eat or kill baby gerbils if kept in the same tank?

Question

Just found out we have babies and it is 2 males 1 female, should i remove the males from the tank till the babies are bigger?

Answer 1

sometimes the mother eats the babies too

Answer 2

While it is true that gerbils are social animals and enjoy living in a group, it is not advisable to have 2 males in the group or there will be feuding. Especially if a new male was very recently introduced. The original male in the cage generally will kill the new guy. Gerbils are generally very good parents. Hopefully you have them in a 10 gallon glass aquarium or bigger because they chew out of anything plastic.

Answer 3

There are loads of reasons she may have done it. Since you didn't touch them it won't be because of your smell. If there are loud noises she may become stressed and eat them, also if the male is still in there, she may become stressed and eat them as males generally try to take over. It can be due to underfeeding or not getting the right nutrients so check her diet. Final reason is she simply couldn't handle that amount of pups then. She got the nutrients from the other pups so she could feed her remaining one so he/she would grow up healthy. It's probably nothing you did :)

Answer 4

Yes, in fact, sometimes the females will eat their young babies for a variety of reasons, such as if they think the baby is unhealthy or if the tank is too crowded/dirty...its strange. You may just need to set up more then one tank.

Answer 5

No
Gerbils live in colonies of many animals so they work out a "pecking order" and live together in harmony.
Occasionally males will fight, but if yours live together, leave them be.
The female may eat the babies herself if her roommates suddenly disappear.