should I introduce new gerbil?

[hannah4049]

Recently, one of my two male gerbils, Mike, died suddenly. He leaves behind his brother, Ike, and I'm wondering whether or not I should try using a split cage to introduce him to a new gerbil.

Firstly I should mention that I've never done something like this before, and I'm kind of nervous about trying it. But I think maybe I should give Ike a new friend, because he is only about 8 months old. He still has most of his life ahead of him, and I know that he might be lonely without another gerbil.

One of the things holding me back, is what I would do if the introduction didn't work out. I don't think I have room for another gerbil tank, and so I would probably just have to leave the tank divided permanently. They would probably still each have enough room, as my tank has 589 square inches of floor space, but wouldn't they be irritated by the gerbil living beside them? And my gerbil Ike is used to having that space, would he feel cramped in a divided tank? Anyway, please tell me if you think introducing a new gerbil would be a good idea, and how I should go about it.

I have a terrarium that is about 50 gallons, if my calculations are correct, it is 19 inches deep by 31 inches wide by 19 inches tall.

[bettina]

I would definately go ahead and introduce a new gerbil :-)

[rhianna]

It is a great idea to introduce a new friend to Ike so that he is not lonely. It will not be as difficult as you think, especially with males. And if it doesn't work out, half of a 55 gallon is more than enough space for each gerbil to live in. They will not be bothered by the gerbil over the divider - in fact, that'd be better than keeping them separate.

To assemble a split cage, you can use one of these methods:
For a temporary setup: www.moonstonegerbils.com/index_files/cage/temp.html
For permanent: www.moonstonegerbils.com/index_files/cage/perm.html

You will want to set up the tank with only 2-3 inches of bedding on each side, along with a food bowl, water bottle, and nesting material. You can give them each 1 toilet paper roll per day to keep them from getting bored, but really you need to keep it simple and plain so that they are paying attention to each other. They should stay in the split for about 1-2 weeks minimum, and you should switch them to each others' side of the tank one, three, or five times per day. This will get them used to each others' scents.

You can introduce them face-to-face once they have bonded in the split, usually after a couple of weeks. Signs of bonding include sleeping together against the split, grooiming through the split, and absolutely no signs of aggression toward each other. You'll want to introduce them on neutral territory (somewhere that neither of them have ever been before) for about an hour and supervise them the entire time. Watch for signs of aggression.

Things that you want to see/are ok to see:
-Grooming
-Sleeping together
-Carrying on as normal in the presence of each other
-Ignoring each other
-Mounting (this is normal for the first 15-20 minutes or so of them being fully introduced. They are just establishing dominance. If the mounting is consistent for the entire hour and/or harrassive, then it is a bad sign.)

Things you don't want to see:
-Biting
-Attacking
-Drawing blood
-Harrassing (including continuous/obsessive mounting over a long period of time)

You should break up any fights immediately and return them to the split. Carry on the split as normal and try the introduction again in about another week, or whenever you feel is right. If they continue to fight, then you can either keep trying or just give up and permenantly keep them in the split. There have been rare cases of gerbils who just can't get along with other gerbils, and that's okay.

I hope this helps. There are also lots of topics about this on the forum as well as online that you can find. Let me know if you have any other questions.

[hannah4049]

Thanks so much Rhianna for your very thorough reply. I think I might go ahead and try it. Does it matter how old the gerbil that I'm introducing to Ike is, for example is it O.K. if it is very young? Because the only place I can get gerbils near here is petsmart (actually even there they are rarely available), and they usually only have very young ones.

Also, the one link says that the split cage should be a ten gallon tank. Does it matter if it's bigger than that? For example, does it give them too much room to get away from each other?

[rhianna]

The younger the better, actually. Most people opt for 7-8 week old pups, but older is fine. Just make sure he's at least 7 weeks old.

It would be better if you could get a 10 gallon to use for the split, but if you're unable to provide the temporary space for it, then the 55 gallon would probably be okay to use. The intro just might take a bit longer or you might have to make some adjustments to keep them close to each other. You can place everything next to the split, such as the food, water, and nesting material, so that they will tend to stay in that area and not spend much time on the opposite side of the tank.