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Post by ashtree93 on Jan 24, 2016 12:59:57 GMT -8
It was cleaning out day today for both pairs of gerbils. We did it the same as we always do with a bit of old bedding and some new. The female pair was fine, but our boys decided to ball fight. They have been together since the son was born over a year and a half ago. I must admit, the dad had previously declanned from his brother, and that was why we put him with our lone female. The males and females were kept apart and there was no cross contamination to cause any issues.
There was no obvious build up or posturing, just a full on ball fight with blood drawn. They are currently separated, and we did try putting them in a playpen, with a divide down the middle. However, the dad was still trying to attack.
They are currently in separate tanks and we have tried swapping them over. The son is pretty content and is sleeping in the dad's nest from earlier. The dad was scent marking everything and destroyed the nest.
We're not sure whether to attempt a split with these two again or accept that the dad prefers to be alone after a year and try some pups with the son.
The dad is 2 and 1/4 and the son is just over 1.5.
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Post by betty on Jan 25, 2016 2:02:16 GMT -8
Well it is quite unusual for the father to fight with his son in the first place, and when blood is drawn it is quite unlikely they will go back together after a few weeks in a split tank even. Just letting them meet occasionally in random places (even with a divide) would never work anyway with previous de-clanners I wouldn't imagine, so best avoid random meetings between them.
If you are going to try a split tank it would have to be a properly divided tank and you would need to follow the standard procedure for at least a week - probably more with these two to see if they would go together. I personally have never been able to get two de-clanners back together after long splits.
I would certainly try a new split tank intro with the son as he is still young, but it would be up to you with the father - whether he stays alone with you for a friend, or you try him with a new friend - either a single pup or a really old unbred female.
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