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Post by rachie1117 on Sept 28, 2015 5:34:23 GMT -8
My husband and I got 2 sister Gerbils last week. Couldn't come up with names for almost a week! We finally decided on Bellatrix (black gerbil) and Nymphadora (white gerbil) from Harry Potter.
Might not be good names, because Bellatrix attacked Nymphadora yesterday (B. kills N. in Harry Potter). They've been sleeping together and grooming nicely since we've gotten them, and they've been together all their lives. Then out of nowhere, they were in a furry fighting ball rolling around the cage. My husband had to break them up, and got bit in the process (not a big bite). We split the 20 gal aquarium that we have right down the middle with a wire mesh separator. My question is, how long do they need to be split until i should try to introduce them again?
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Post by t1gg3er on Sept 28, 2015 6:46:58 GMT -8
What a shame. How old are your girls? Did anything within their environment change that may have triggered the fight like a new toy or high value treats or anything with a new smell? Were there any signs beforehand like chasing or one avoiding the other & was any blood drawn in the fight? And do both girls seem comfortable with each other in the split - are they interacting at all?
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Post by rachie1117 on Sept 28, 2015 7:47:51 GMT -8
I'm not sure how old they are. I got them from a Petsmart store.
We had changed the water bottle recently (because the one we originally had wasnt working at all! no water for 3 days!! i felt so bad.) They did fine with the new bottle for the first 24 hours. they were quite cute actually. they would hug each other while drinking. lol.
We dont know if there was chasing or anything before the fight. my back was turned and my husband had headphones on, so we didnt notice anything until they were in a furry ball of squeaking. The black one was the instigator, no doubt. after we stopped the fight, the white one ran behind the wheel. the black one slowly walked up, and they sniffed noses (thought they were making up) then the black one attacked again. No blood was drawn, or fur missing. not even a scratch.
They seem not to care about each other through the mesh. at first the white one tried to dig under it and failed. Now (24 hours after the fight) they are just doing their own things.
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Post by t1gg3er on Sept 28, 2015 13:34:20 GMT -8
It sounds as though they're quite young so I wonder if they're trying to sort out who'll be the dominant one? Or whether after being without water they now think they have to compete for it? I'm not by any means an expert on gerbil behaviour but if they're young & there were no injuries then you may be able to reintroduce them. Advice I was given when trying to do a split tank intro was to take everything out except the water bottles so there's nothing they can scent mark or get territorial over. I just left them with about 3 inches of substrate & plenty of toilet tissue to nest with. You also need to be switching them from side to side 3 times a day so their scents mix. Grooming through the mesh & sleeping in each others nests are both good signs to look out for.
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Post by rachie1117 on Sept 28, 2015 15:07:16 GMT -8
Okay. I read about switching the gerbils sides, but I totally forgot about that! Thanks!
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