Bereaved gerbil acting odd- interpretations, suggestions??

[ljoly]

Hello, My gerbil, Quintus died of Kidney cancer on Friday. Quint and Maximus have been in a permanant split cage since they fought very badly in April, but they still got along well and I let them out for playtime together. Since Quint's death, Max is still in their tank. I have removed the divider in the topper so Max can freely go into all areas of the 'cage' but the divider is still in the tank because it is glued in. Max won't go into Quint's section of the tank. He will poke his nose down the ramp but then turn around. This is very odd because when Quint was alive Max would go down into Quint's section at every opportunity, and he even went down on Friday, but today, Saturday, it was like he wanted nothing to do with it.

I've heard that you are suposed to leave the bedding for a bit after one gerbil dies, so it isn't too much of a shock for the other gerbil, but I am worried that this is upsetting Max. Has anyone else seen this in their gerbils? I have an old tank and topper I was going to move him into- would it be better to do that quickly or slowly?

Also, Max doesn't seem to be eating much. He will eat treats, but not really his food Max will be 3 years old in August.

I know that people will suggest I get buddies for Max, but I don't know if I want more gerbils. I loved my boys dearly, but don't know if I can keep doing this. I had never had small animals before, and didn't know that they would have such personalities, and that I would love them so much. I admire people who can keep lots of gerbils, but I don't think I am one of those people. I want to do what is best for Max and help keep him happy, but I don't know if I want a never-ending series of gerbils.

[fluffy501]

It depends how old they were, if the one you have left is a lot younger then I'd consider another one but I wouldn't if they were similar ages. Also its not been long, I'd wait and see if he gets better...I'd leave things how they are for a while anyway so there's no more changes for him

[ljoly]

Thank you for the advice- Max (the one left) is 2 years, 11 months (he will be 3 in August). He seems a bit better today. Not quite his usual self, but less frantic thank goodness.

[fluffy501]

That's good, I hope he gets better xx