Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello everyone! New here. I've noticed this board is a bit slow but hopefully someone can help me out. I have recently purchased two female gerbils from my local petshop. Ashley is a young (I'm guessing 8-12 weeks old) pied black. Layla is an adult (unsure of age) pied black who I am sure is Ashley's mother. They were kept in the same tank at the petshop along with a male black gerbil (Ashley's father?) and other young gerbils (siblings of Ashley?). The petshop owner said he could not guarantee me that either of them might not be pregnant since they were kept with males. I've noticed the last few days that Layla does seem plumper (but not too round) and that she has been very particular about nesting. If I move some bedding out of their house to look in at them then Layla immediately starts scurrying around and gathering the bedding again and returning it to the nest. Do you think this is a good sign she could be expecting? Has anyone else noticed their gerbils doing this when they were pregnant? Does it mean the babies will be born soon? If she does end up having babies should I keep Ashley in with her? Looking forward to meeting other gerbil lovers! Thanks in advance to anyone who replies

2 yrs. ago i bred gerbils. well stupid me, i didn't know it was bad for the females to get pregnant right after they gave birth. but the females that i had built a nest and a few days before they were going to give birth they would get these lumps on the sides of their stomachs, they felt kinda like marballs. u could even feel them move sometimes! so keep an eye on her.

Thanks for replying! Yes I know it is probably not so good for them to get pregnant that quickly after giving birth. Unfortunately in my situation it couldn't be helped since she was in the petshop and not in my care. I've been keeping an eye out on Layla for these marbles on the sides of her stomach like you say but so far...nothing. I guess I will just have to wait and see. Since Gerbils have such a short gestation I will not have to wait long! She only has about 2 weeks more to give birth if she is going to. I think it will be kind of wierd if Layla or Ashley don't have babies considering they were kept in a cage with males. But I am happy either way. I didn't get them with the intention of having babies, only as pets. Anyways, thanks for your advice! I appreciated it