2 New Friends For Giggle x

[NedIsNotOnFire]

Hello! x I would love to announce that me and mum persuaded dad, and we are going to (really hopefully) get 2 little girls for Giggle this Friday!!!!! x I am nervous, as I have not done any split cage or introducing at all! I do have 2 spare cages but only one has bars in…
My question is if its best to do a split cage in a smaller tank to start off with, and then put them in a larger tank? Or is it better to use a large tank? Also, what do i use to put between the grebies? Thank you for reading! x If you have any other advice you want to share i would be gratefully grateful!! x 

The smaller cage: www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/small-pet/gerbil/gerbil-homes/gerbilarium (its got a crack in, and the corner chipped off (i dropped it down the stairs as i was cleaning it XD It just makes it hard to put the top on)

The new larger cage i am getting: www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/small-pet/gerbil/gerbil-homes/extra-large-gerbilarium
(larger for all 3 of them :3)

The one with no bars: i1312.photobucket.com/albums/t521/NedIsNotOnFire/IMG_3423_zpsf627ead3.jpg (this was supposed to be temporary, but Giggle loves the tubes :3)

[NedIsNotOnFire]

Another question, should i leave the new girls in the spare cage to let them settle in, before using the split cage method? Thanks

[NedIsNotOnFire]

Update: Just went to the pet store, they have a few 5-6 week old gerbils that are ready to go! I can't go until Friday, but its good to know there are some girls! So i am definitely getting some friends for Giggle! x Question though, isn't 5 weeks quite young to sell them? Thanks x  

[rhianna]

Good to hear that Giggle isn't going to be alone anymore.

Using the smaller tank for the split will be fine, because they shouldn't have a lot of space to get away from each other. Moving them to the bigger habitat after they're bonded will also be a great idea because it'll be neutral territory to them.

You should do a lot of research on Google about split cages and introducing. You'll need to make a split from steel mesh for the tank, and you'll need to have a flat, secure lid that isn't a topper. The gerbils should not be able to climb over or squeeze under/beside the divider. There are a lot of guides on Google as well as topics on this forum about split caging.

5-6 weeks is too young. Gerbil pups need to be 7-8 weeks before being taken away from their mother. I suggest telling the pet shop this, and not adopting the pups until they are of age. You'll also need to quarantine them for at least two weeks before beginning the split cage process - this means keeping them in a separate tank, preferably in a separate room, to make sure that they are not sick. If they do start acting sick, you'll need to either bring them to the vet or return them to the pet shop. If you decide to treat their illness, then you must start the quarantine completely over again before putting them near Giggle.

[crittercrazy]

That's great!!!!!
I would use the smaller cage without the bars, depending on how small it is. A ten gallon is generally pretty good, so something like that would be fine.
To make the divider, you're going to need heavy duty wire screen. If it's not heavy duty enough for them to not be able to bite through, then you'll have to do two or three layers of it. Here are some ways to make them and some info on doing the split.

www.twinsqueaks.com/split-tank.html
www.egerbil.com/splittank.html
hhgerbilry.com/splitcage.html

Mine wasn't quite like any of those, though. Here's a picture. (Sorry its not very good!)

s947.photobucket.com/user/crittercrazy5/media/newcamerapics102_zps9382fc23.jpg.html?sort=3&o=27

Some instructions will tell you just to get the wire and put it in diagonal, like this:

gerbiljournal.blogspot.com/p/how-to-build-easy-split-cage.html

However I would suggest building a wooden frame (like on mine) so that it's more stable.
For your second question, I don't really think its necessary to leave the new girls in a different tank to let them settle in, since once they settle in you're just going to uproot them to the split again. You can if you want though. I had to put Pixel and Paisley in a separate cage for a day before putting them in the split because I wasn't ready to start it yet.
Last, I'm pretty sure five weeks is the minimum. Like any younger then that and they're for sale too early. So it would be a little better if they were 6-8 weeks, but I think five is okay too.
Here's just some general information about doing a split:

agsgerbils.org/Learn/Gerbil_Care_Handbook/adopt.php

If it makes you feel better, I was pretty nervous about my first split too, but in the end it worked out great! No fighting, no biting through the bars, and if I remember right they were only in the split for a week. One more thing; you might feel kind of mean leaving them in such a tiny space for 1-3 weeks with no wheel or toys, but in the end you're doing them a favor cause otherwise they would probably fight each other. You can give them cardboard and such though to keep them busy.
That's great you're getting some friends for Giggle though!!!!!! Good luck!!!!! (And sorry if I'm overloading you with links and also that this is really long.)

[NedIsNotOnFire]

Wow, sounds like a lot of work Thank you! I will search up all my questions and lurk about the forum! x

[crittercrazy]

Okay I take that back- Rhianna would probably know more about the proper age for gerbils then me so I would go by her advice for that.
And if you want to do the quarantine, that's a great idea. I've never done it, but I should. . . sorry I guess I'm a bit of a bad example as far as that goes.

[NedIsNotOnFire]

Well i bet you did a much better job than i'm going to XD x

[crittercrazy]

No actually I bet I didn't. . . and I'm sure you'll do great!!! Keep us posted!

[NedIsNotOnFire]

I will!

[NedIsNotOnFire]

Oh, before i forget! I phoned the store, they are 6 and a half weeks old and were bred in store, with no signs of illness, the whole litter of 7 made it! x

[rhianna]

Confidence is key when you're doing something like this - if you assume that you'll do bad, then you probably will. Keep your thoughts positive and try your best, it won't be as hard as you think

[NedIsNotOnFire]

Okay, my dad is being ridiculously stubborn and insists on using the top half of the gerbilariam (the metal bars) for the mesh. I can see that the bars are far too big, but he is completely ignoring me. Will it be ok to use the bars? I hope so, otherwise we're going to be in trouble. I have tried everything and explained that it will not work, but he's just sawing away. Sorry about this, thanks :/ x 

The top half of the cage: www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/small-pet/gerbil/gerbil-homes/gerbilarium
Hopefully if it's not okay, I'll get him to read your responses Thanks again x 

(The gap is 8-9 mm nearly a centimetre)

[rhianna]

Using bars from the top half would mean disassembling it... and you wouldn't want to do that since you plan on using it later, right?

If you do somehow use it to make a split, then it would be fine. Many people actually do use cage bars to make a split.

[NedIsNotOnFire]

Okay thank you! I already have another spare cage since the bars on the other one were already broken, i am buying ANOTHER bigger cage for all 3 when they (hopefully) are buddies :3 x I'll see if i can get a picture of the cage now, since its finished x Thanks again!