u/HealthyFlamingo9393

I can’t believe how fast the babies have grown!

so the babies have started coming up out of their nest and exploring! i could honestly sit and watch them for HOURS😭

Back in March, one of my two male gerbils Cheerio sadly passed away, so I started looking for some new male companions for my remaining boy, Milk.

I was told the two gerbils I brought home were male, so I spent over a week introducing them properly, taking everything slowly. They got along brilliantly from the start, with no fighting or any signs that something wasn't right.

Yesterday, while cleaning out their tank, I got the shock of my life and discovered a litter of baby gerbils hidden in the nest.

From everything I've read and watched, the babies look to be around three weeks old. They hadn't started leaving the nest yet, so I genuinely had no idea they were there.

It turns out the two "males" are actually females! As soon as I realised what had happened, I separated Milk from the females and babies, so I'm hoping there won't be any more surprise babies.

I've already been in contact with a local animal rescue, and they're hopefully going to help me rehome the babies once they're old enough to leave mama.

As unexpected as this all was, I have to admit the babies are absolutely adorable. Watching them start to explore and seeing their tiny faces has been such a surprise, and I just want to make sure I’m doing everything I can to give them the best start.

If there's anything I've done wrong or anything I should be doing differently from this point on, I'd genuinely really appreciate any advice. This is a completely unexpected situation, and I just want to make sure I'm doing the best thing for all of them. 🩷