Hello, and lost a gerbil :( (Got 2 more)

[hoffman]

Hi everyone. I had one of my daughters female gerbils pass away this morning :( Like a moron I got 2 more females and it's not going well. I have them in a split cage now and was wondering if anyone thinks I can have success with three girls together.

The previous pair (Tinker & Bell) were about a year old and Bell is pretty lonely now.

Any advice? I have them in a 15 gal. tank.

Gerbils are such great pets for my girls...

[HandcuffedAngel]

I don't see why you can't have some success.

You're not a moron, you're a loving parent. It's a chick thing. :) We have to nurture people and animals. For you it's like a double whammy. You saved gerbils and they keep your daughter happy. Good deal.

I know you should introduce them in a few days and just see how they do. Always keep them supervised.

I don't know much about gerbils and someone else will be able to give you more help. Good luck.

[hoffman]

[QUOTE=HandcuffedAngel] It's a chick thing. :) We have to nurture people and animals. QUOTE]

I'm their Dad ;)

[HandcuffedAngel]

O_o

I should have said, "It's a parent thing."

Heh ... sorry.

[Zouave]

Intros involving three gerbils, one meeting two, usually fail, and that means injury or death to the one gerbil. It is a mistake I learned the hard way, and have felt horrible about ever since.

You're better off with two ten gallon tanks and two in each.

I have eight ten gallon tanks and every one I got free having found them abandoned as they had tiny cracks - no longer good for fish.

[andreaS15]

Zouave is quite correct.
Trying to introduce one gerbil to a clanned pair is 'near' impossible. Female gerbils are even harder to intro :(
I've just had to deal with spilt-caging females this past week. Not fun.

However, if the two gerbils you just picked up are under 8 weeks old (5-6 is best) you "may" have a chance introducing them. It WILL take time though.

Watching them in the split cage, switching them side multiple times a day for a week or two should give you an idea whether it may work or not.
As with everything paitence is the key.
If the gerbils start sleeping against the divider all together, this is a good sign they are ready, and if they are trying to groom each other through the divider, then they are getting along.

[hoffman]

Thanks. The new ones came from Petsmart so I'm not sure how old they are but the single is about 1 yr old.

At first we cleaned the tank out with new bedding etc. and placed them all together and watched them carefully. They did OK for about an hour, sniffing butts and all but then they kept bothering Belle (the single) in her little corner of the tank while she was trying to rest (I guess).

That's when the trouble started.

I'm hoping that since they didn't start fighting right away that there's hope.

They're in a split cage today and we swapped them this morning. They're not acting aggressive through the wire or anything and seem to be just gerbiling along...

They did a lot of "Thumping" yesterday which I've never seen. I guess it should have been a warning to me.

[hoffman]

I just wanted to add that the "choice spot" in the tank seems to be a corner under the wheel. We may remove everything except the bedding so there will be no spot to fight over. Not sure if it makes sense or not...

[andreaS15]

Because this is a difficult introduction, it will take time... weeks. Keep up with the swapping of sides everyday.
In a week if they are not acting agressive to one another, try an intro on nutral territory, see if they will play together.
Don't put them back together in the tanks, but continue with the swapping of sides, adn try a play time on neutral territory every day, as long as there is no fighting.

Now if all is well, theya re sleeping at the divider together, trying to groom one another through it, clean a tank, and ALL it's toys/dishes/etc. and try the intro again. But don't be quick to assume, for this to work you need totally paitence. I know from experiance :(

[hoffman]

I was off work today and I swapped them a few times. I put 2 of them together for a few minutes today and got bitten myself. They mostly ignore each other through the fence.

Belle really needs a friend and I think I screwed up by getting 2 more.

[andreaS15]

I was off work today and I swapped them a few times. I put 2 of them together for a few minutes today and got bitten myself. They mostly ignore each other through the fence.

Belle really needs a friend and I think I screwed up by getting 2 more.
Don't put blame on yourself, you didn't know, that's an honest mistake!

Here is what the AGS has to say about Split Caging (http://www.agsgerbils.org/Gerbil_Care_Handbook/adopt.html#split)
Here is what the NGS says about Introducing (http://www.gerbils.co.uk/gerbils/intro.htm)

Now your situation is a bit different, being your trying something a little more difficult which is not usually succesful.


Now ignoring through the dividers not a bad sign, they are not fighting! And that is good!
But you have to let them get used to one another first, and have the gerbils scents mix together so they start to get used to the others smell in their cage (that's why your swaping them around).

Now don't introduce them again untill you see good signs, like the ones allready mentioned. When blood is shed with gerbils, there is practically no hope they will ever become (or stay) friends. So if you can keep them from hurting one another right now, the better chance you have with this split cage.

Here are some more Split Cage Tips (http://homepage.mac.com/kyleekay/tip-of-the-week/tip070403.html)
and more info (http://gerbils.silvanon.com/purchasing_a_gerbil.html)

[hoffman]

belle is the 1 yr old and is wiser than the two younger ones so she builds a nest every time we switch them but she makes it in the corner away from the divider.

the two younger ones (not named due to looking alike) at first destroyed belles nests but now have been building up the nest belle already started on.

belle has also had some changes too. when tinker(belles sister) died belle got really sad and would not chew on cardboard or scrach at the side of the cage. now she is back to her normal self.

im worried that they will never sleep at the divider together because of belle liking the corners(because it is warm).
is their sleeping in the same spots as the other gerbil and learning from the other a good sign?

[Zouave]

By the way, avoid scent masking. when the scent wears off, even a few days later, they may fight.