Second Split in a fortnight...

[betty]

I recently had a pair go together after a week-long split and on introducing them, Mein (the older male) took a turn for the worse and I was worried I would lose him - but he pulled through by the evening and all was well.

However, he died just under a week later, leaving his new friend alone.

I now have a new split for that remaining gerbil (who seems totally not bothered by the recent turn of events) with a younger male this time - and there was immediate grooming through the divide. So hopefully a great start.

Has anyone else ever managed to split the same gerbil to 2 different friends in the same month - or do you think I am rushing things?

[PurpleSheep]

Not sure if this will help, as it's not quite the situation, but we managed a successful split straight after a failed split.

At the time, we had a pair (Becki and Emmy) and a single gerbil (Rose). We got Cherry as a friend for Rose and they were fine in the split, however 4 weeks and two intro attempts later they still ended up in a ballfight within seconds. During this time, Becki had started bullying Emmy.

So we abandoned the original split attempt and put Emmy and Cherry in a split instead. They were fine after two weeks and lived very happily together until Cherry passed away last week. Rose and Becki remained neighbours in a permanent split.

We have had a quite a few very bossy gerbils, so if you've already managed to split the younger male, hopefully that will be an advantage since he is willing to accept a new friend. I hope it all works out for you!

[betty]

Thanks. I do hear a lot of people actually with examples like yours, where they had a choice of gerbils to put in the split and ended up changing their mind after it failed.

really goes to show how different they must all be if some pairs are a definite no but show them another gerbil and they love each other!

Will you try Emmy and Rose now?

[t1gg3er]

Again, not the same situation... We had Comet & Ernie in a split for a month. Lots of grooming, sleeping in each others' nests etc... but both times we tried to put them together they suddenly hated each other. So we got 2 6 week old pups & started new splits within a week & both pairs went together after a few days.

Also, when we recently lost Boo we put Yogi into a split with a pair of 8 week old girls a few days later. I wouldn't normally have rushed into it like that but as the girls were already coming up to 8 weeks I was worried it wouldn't work if I waited any longer. We took it slowly (1 swap per day) & put them together after 2 weeks. It took a long time (over 9 hours) for them to settle but they're fine together now.

[betty]

Well, day two in the split seems to be going well, lots of love going on between the bars. Fingers crossed for them being together by the weekend...

Going to be starting another split today with an older couple. This is all I seem to do these days is split together older gerbils after a declan or death of a current partner.

Poor things - I'm glad it is so easy to make them happy again.

[PurpleSheep]

Jan 25, 2016 10:12:34 GMT -8 betty said:

Will you try Emmy and Rose now?

Rose unfortunately passed away a few months ago, so Emmy and Becki are the only two gerbils we have left. We actually got Emmy originally as a companion for Rose (while Becki lived with our first gerbil, Sukie), but they also fought - Rose was extremely bossy and the only of our girls who never managed to successfully live with another gerbil.

Emmy and Becki are now in a permanent split setup in a 55 gallon. We may try attempt to introduce them again in a few weeks' time, but we know it's unlikely to work out, so the permanent split seems the most likely outcome in the long run, since we would prefer not to get any more pups.

Hope your splits continue to go well and that you will have some happy pairs by the end of it.

[betty]

It is quite unlikely to work out - but not impossible. If you were keen to try again - I would imagine the best thing would be to choose a week where you can really pay them attention: freshen the bedding a bit, remove anything like houses and tunnels etc leaving it quite bare and then start to swap three times a day every day for at least a week.

If they have tolerated each other all this time and are both quite old this intense split (+boredom) might be just the thing they need to bond them again.

As long as you know you have done the intense week effort properly - if they don't go together then at least you knew you did everything you could to pair them up again. If you just do it half-heartedly or try an introduction in a neutral space at a random time, you won't even know if that was that.

Unless of course they ball fight in an ad hoc meeting - then you have blown it for sure.

The rule of thumb from comments on this forum is that you can't re-split gerbils that have declanned - but depending on your circumstances you might think it worth a try with all the proper procedures and precautions in place. Nobody wants anyone to get hurt of course.

I tried it on two separate occasions myself - both were older mother and daughter splits with over a year since the declan - neither worked.

[PurpleSheep]

Thanks, we have done quite a few splits before and know how to do them properly. We are going on holiday in a couple of weeks so will be starting the introduction split when we come back, since it's not fair to keep them in the split when we're not really around to swap them regularly.

We know it's unlikely to work out, but it will be worth a try. They are both over 2 years old, although Becki at 2 1/2 still hasn't calmed down and has more energy than a 6-week old pup on a sugar high! If it doesn't work, they will have plenty of space in a permanent split in our big cage. That's where they are at the moment and so far the signs have been better than expected - no trouble and occasional nosekissing through the bars.

[betty]

Yes, timing is everything. I am currently on a time limit for my 2 splits as I am away in February and so am really hoping that they go together before then so I can leave them as friends rather than a singles.

All the signs on both are quite positive so far, so fingers crossed for another pair of weekend introductions!

[betty]

Well today is the day - and one pair seem to be absolutely fine - but my older pair were not quite ready. Seems to be the older female being a bit headstrong and a bit too bossy.

So divide back up for them and we shall see if she still feels the same in a few more days.

Younger couple (with the first introduction survivor) is looking good so far - half and hour. But then there weren't any problems with the last introduction really, so I was hoping for much of the same. But then the new addition is much younger - so it is his behaviour that I am keeping an eye on.

Fingers crossed - again.

[betty]

Jan 27, 2016 13:16:31 GMT -8 PurpleSheep said:

We know it's unlikely to work out, but it will be worth a try.

Did it work out OK for this pair after your doubts?

Mine worked out fine thank goodness and everyone was all in love before I left. No trouble while I was away with anyone either, so they are all about to get a thorough cleaning out and everyone's tanks crammed full of all the cardboard people have been collecting for me while I was away...

It is gonna get noisy in here!

[PurpleSheep]

Glad to hear your pair worked out so well!

We had a change of plan and never actually started the introduction. When we came back from holiday, Becki was sick, first with diarrhoea and then a bad eye infection. She is still on meds and hasn't recovered yet, but doing well considering how sick she is - she is our indestructible gerbil and I reckon she will probably outlive me!

Emmy now has a new friend called Raven - she had been on her own for a while at the store where we buy our food, as she 'didn't get on with other gerbils', sorry we decided to get her. Raven and Emmy were in the split for a week and unfortunately Emmy got very stressed during the split, but they have been together since yesterday without any issues. Emmy is still very inactive but slowly getting better, so we are hoping she'll recover over the next few days once she gets used to the new situation. Raven is the opposite and bouncing all over the place, but she is also really sweet with Emmy and builds amazing nests for her to sleep in.

[betty]

Poor Becki, hope she perks up soon.

As for the coupling of Emma and Raven (great name) that all worked out ok then so far.


It is always nice to see gerbils getting together with a new friend, it is great to see them snuggled together the first few times...

[PurpleSheep]

Sadly, we lost both Becki and Emmy last week. This means we have lost all for of our adult gerbils in the last four months, which is pretty hard.

Poor Raven is now on her own again less than a week after the successful introduction, making this thread very relevant for us! She seems happy on her own at the moment, but given that she is still young and the intro to Emmy was so easy, we decided to get her another friend.

We managed to find a lone female gerbil in the adoption area of our local pet store, where she had been for at least 6 months. We have named her Fox. She is in quarantine at the moment and we will start a split next weekend. Hopefully it will work out and they'll both be happy together for a long time!

[betty]

Oh you poor thing. It really isn't nice when these things happen. I hope both Becki and Emmy went peacefully in the end.

However, great news on finding a suitable single female right now, and hopefully everything will work out OK for you and for them. My second split pair have been absolutely fine since their split well over a month ago.

I had to take one of my older males to the vets after getting home from holiday, and he went to meet his father poor mite. Now I have an older single female on her own myself at the moment but no other singles to hand. Will start asking around for oldies looking for homes with friends, and luckily she has been split successfully several times, so once I find someone for her it should be quite straight forward.

Don't want to leave her on her own too long in her old age - she just turned 40 months - so we have a time limit for her here.

Good luck again with your split!