Post by bdiddie on Apr 8, 2013 22:13:49 GMT -8
Hello All,
I'm new here. My husband and I had gerbils about 9 yrs ago. We bought what were supposed to be 2 males and one turned out to be a girl so we had a fun time enjoying 3 litters until we eventually found homes for all of them. We didn't have any declanning issues with them. Anyway, we now have a daughter who had been asking for a pet so we decided gerbils would be a good choice. We bought 2 males for her in February. They have been happy together in a 20 gal aquarium until yesterday. They started fighting with blood drawn so I put a wire divider in the tank and ran out and bought an additional water bottle and food dish. I have switched their sides 5 times today and they didn't seem bothered and they were grooming between the wires and sleeping in each others beds so I thought maybe they were over it and tried putting them back together this evening. They smelled each other and licked mouths or whatever you call it and seemed okay for the first few minutes but as soon as the gentle one turned its back the aggressive one started chasing it and they started fighting again so I separated them again. Originally it looked like they were fighting over their den so I removed it yesterday. Interestingly, the smaller more aggressive one is the one with the wounds. I didn't see the very first fight that resulted in the wound so I don't know if the gentle one started it and now the wounded one wants revenge or what. The only reason I can come up with for the original fight is because I changed their bedding the day before and didn't know I was supposed to save some of their nest. I had changed it 2 times prior to this without saving some of the nest and they were fine though. I did use half carefresh ultra and half of their original carefresh natural bedding to see if I liked it better so I don't know if that caused the problem or if it is just because they are probably around 6 months old now and are having dominance issues.
Anyway, the gentle one seems lonely already so I don't know what to do. Obviously, my preference would be to get them to bond again, especially since the aggressive one is my daughters favorite so I can't exactly rehome it and get another one to introduce to the gentle one and i really don't want to deal with 2 gerbil cages with 2 in one (assuming I get the gentle one to bond to a new friend) and grouchypants in the other but i guess if thats what it comes down to that is what I will have to do. Any suggestions?
I'm new here. My husband and I had gerbils about 9 yrs ago. We bought what were supposed to be 2 males and one turned out to be a girl so we had a fun time enjoying 3 litters until we eventually found homes for all of them. We didn't have any declanning issues with them. Anyway, we now have a daughter who had been asking for a pet so we decided gerbils would be a good choice. We bought 2 males for her in February. They have been happy together in a 20 gal aquarium until yesterday. They started fighting with blood drawn so I put a wire divider in the tank and ran out and bought an additional water bottle and food dish. I have switched their sides 5 times today and they didn't seem bothered and they were grooming between the wires and sleeping in each others beds so I thought maybe they were over it and tried putting them back together this evening. They smelled each other and licked mouths or whatever you call it and seemed okay for the first few minutes but as soon as the gentle one turned its back the aggressive one started chasing it and they started fighting again so I separated them again. Originally it looked like they were fighting over their den so I removed it yesterday. Interestingly, the smaller more aggressive one is the one with the wounds. I didn't see the very first fight that resulted in the wound so I don't know if the gentle one started it and now the wounded one wants revenge or what. The only reason I can come up with for the original fight is because I changed their bedding the day before and didn't know I was supposed to save some of their nest. I had changed it 2 times prior to this without saving some of the nest and they were fine though. I did use half carefresh ultra and half of their original carefresh natural bedding to see if I liked it better so I don't know if that caused the problem or if it is just because they are probably around 6 months old now and are having dominance issues.
Anyway, the gentle one seems lonely already so I don't know what to do. Obviously, my preference would be to get them to bond again, especially since the aggressive one is my daughters favorite so I can't exactly rehome it and get another one to introduce to the gentle one and i really don't want to deal with 2 gerbil cages with 2 in one (assuming I get the gentle one to bond to a new friend) and grouchypants in the other but i guess if thats what it comes down to that is what I will have to do. Any suggestions?
well done for not giving up. 