Post by t1gg3er on Jun 27, 2015 14:33:52 GMT -8
Comet & Beano are 8.5 weeks old & in a large tank with their dad, Sparky. Comet is quite timid & about a week ago I noticed he was sometimes popping up from different parts of the tank to where I knew the nest was. I removed some bedding to make him more visible so I could watch what was going on.
Sparky & Beano are really, really close. But Comet is often on his own. He frequently sleeps away from the other 2. Today I've seen him asleep on his own inside the jam jar & he's also built a nest at the opposite end of the tank from the others. He's also smaller/slimmer than his brother although as small pups they were roughly the same size.
There's no chasing or aggression & the other 2 seem oblivious to any problem - Sparky went to play in the jam jar with him tonight but as soon as Sparky went in Comet came straight out & went into his nest.
Should I be worried? Should I just watch & see what happens as the boys grow up or is it likely there'll be a problem? I hate to think of Comet feeling stressed. Would he be happier & more confident in a pair rather than a trio (less intimidating)? If so, the options I have are:
1. Try to split him back with Chewy who is the calmer of his other 2 brothers & leave the final brother (Yoda) with what I think are the 2 boy pups from the 2nd litter.
2. Split him with a boy from the 2nd litter. But these pups are really feisty (hooligans!) & I'd worry about how Comet would cope when the pup grows & possibly tries to be dominant.
3. Try to split him with an older male so he doesn't have to even try to be the dominant one - there's an argente boy in the rescue centre who my other half keeps talking about. I know he'd jump at the chance to bring him home if I agreed but so far I've said 'no'.
Sparky & Beano are really, really close. But Comet is often on his own. He frequently sleeps away from the other 2. Today I've seen him asleep on his own inside the jam jar & he's also built a nest at the opposite end of the tank from the others. He's also smaller/slimmer than his brother although as small pups they were roughly the same size.
There's no chasing or aggression & the other 2 seem oblivious to any problem - Sparky went to play in the jam jar with him tonight but as soon as Sparky went in Comet came straight out & went into his nest.
Should I be worried? Should I just watch & see what happens as the boys grow up or is it likely there'll be a problem? I hate to think of Comet feeling stressed. Would he be happier & more confident in a pair rather than a trio (less intimidating)? If so, the options I have are:
1. Try to split him back with Chewy who is the calmer of his other 2 brothers & leave the final brother (Yoda) with what I think are the 2 boy pups from the 2nd litter.
2. Split him with a boy from the 2nd litter. But these pups are really feisty (hooligans!) & I'd worry about how Comet would cope when the pup grows & possibly tries to be dominant.
3. Try to split him with an older male so he doesn't have to even try to be the dominant one - there's an argente boy in the rescue centre who my other half keeps talking about. I know he'd jump at the chance to bring him home if I agreed but so far I've said 'no'.