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Post by Megan98 on Jul 26, 2015 14:27:29 GMT -8
I woke up this morning to find that my gerbils had blood all over them but yet they were still next to each other and sniffing one another. However, later on in the day one gerbil was continually chasing the other round and round the cage VERY fast and now the one being chased will not come out from sitting in his wheel. The gerbil who is doing the chasing has a cut on his cheek which is quite big and the other one is trying to help him but he just lashes out at him at every chance. The thing is, they have done this before but not to this extent and were fine with each other straight after but this time is different. I want to be able to do something without permanently separating them and forcing them to become lonely. Can someone help me please?
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Post by crittercrazy on Jul 26, 2015 14:37:36 GMT -8
At that point, I'm afraid you have to separate them or they might kill/seriously injure each other. You could make a permanent split cage, so that they won't be lonely without you needing to get new gerbils.
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Post by Megan98 on Jul 26, 2015 14:42:30 GMT -8
At that point, I'm afraid you have to separate them or they might kill/seriously injure each other. You could make a permanent split cage, so that they won't be lonely without you needing to get new gerbils. Do you have any idea on how to make a split cage or how much it would cost to make/buy? |
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Post by Megan98 on Jul 26, 2015 14:53:33 GMT -8
At the moment one is asleep on the top shelf as I have put bedding there for him to sleep on and another one is asleep in the house on the bottom floor. It is late so I can't do anything at the moment until the morning, is it safe to leave them like this during the night?
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Post by catnut on Jul 26, 2015 15:07:20 GMT -8
I would separate them, once they have a fight, it could happen at anytime. Gerbils are very unpredictable esp. when not getting along. I hope they will be okay, gerbils can do well on their own, it may even lessen their stress.
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Post by Megan98 on Jul 26, 2015 15:10:10 GMT -8
I would separate them, once they have a fight, it could happen at anytime. Gerbils are very unpredictable esp. when not getting along. I hope they will be okay, gerbils can do well on their own, it may even lessen their stress. I have another cage, do you think it would be possible to do the split cage method with that (e.g. Switching them in and out of the cages every few hours) or would this cause too much stress for both of them. They were fine last time this happened over 6 months ago so I want to try all things possible to make them get along again. |
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Post by crittercrazy on Jul 26, 2015 17:49:20 GMT -8
As far as I know, it's very unlikely that they'll get along again. I don't know for sure- someone else might know more. As far as the permanent split goes- It's pretty simple. If you have a 20 gallon or larger tank, all you need to do is build a secure divider and have enough toys, water bottles, wheels, etc. that they can each live comfortably on separate sides. Here's info on making a divider: twinsqueaks.com/split-tank.htmlI don't build my dividers quite like that, I use wood instead of aluminum channel and a few other things, but its a good general guideline. |
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Post by betty on Jul 26, 2015 23:28:34 GMT -8
Are they both still fine this morning, or did you separate them? How old are they both now?
I personally don't leave gerbils together after a declan, so I have never found out if any of mine would have got on again afterwards. I have however, seen them acting differently and possibly even chasing each other or having a face to face stand off and then watched them closely. If nothing else happens for the next few days I ignore it and they stay together. But any sleeping apart and persistent chasing is when I step in as I can't bear to see them injured.
You might be able to keep their scents alive in the 2 cage swap you are suggesting for a few days, but if you are going to keep them together after this fight, then I can't really suggest how you would do that and what else to look out for as it isn't something I would ever try or recommend.
However if you DO want to take that risk and do that then please let us know every step as it happens as it could mean a change in how we all do things with our own declans if it is successful...
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Post by Megan98 on Jul 27, 2015 0:10:20 GMT -8
Are they both still fine this morning, or did you separate them? How old are they both now? I personally don't leave gerbils together after a declan, so I have never found out if any of mine would have got on again afterwards. I have however, seen them acting differently and possibly even chasing each other or having a face to face stand off and then watched them closely. If nothing else happens for the next few days I ignore it and they stay together. But any sleeping apart and persistent chasing is when I step in as I can't bear to see them injured. You might be able to keep their scents alive in the 2 cage swap you are suggesting for a few days, but if you are going to keep them together after this fight, then I can't really suggest how you would do that and what else to look out for as it isn't something I would ever try or recommend. However if you DO want to take that risk and do that then please let us know every step as it happens as it could mean a change in how we all do things with our own declans if it is successful... I have separated them into 2 different cages at the moment, the one who was being chased has barely moved so I'm keeping a close eye on him. I have had them for nearly 2 years, and the last time they had a fight that drew blood they were fine straight away so I don't know what is different this time. |
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