Senior girls fighting - split them up?

[rjsusko]

Hi all, question about female fighting behavior...I've got a pair of girls, about 2 years old now. Within the last month they've chased each other pretty severely 4-5 times, lots of squeaking, hiding of the smaller one, which has required us standing over them for an hour or two trying to separate or distract them enough until they leave it. Tonight they started again and quickly seemed to ball up, so I took one out for a bit, then held both of them together, seemed fine, so I put them back in and they balled up again immediately. What's really stumping me is there's no drawing of blood, which suggests they can get along again, but currently they can't seem to be around each other without one jumping on the other.

I've got two adult males in my only permanent split (long story - strange situation - one very docile gerbil that we unluckily brought two individual aggressive gerbils home to - so now he's permanently in a split with one so as not to be lonely) and I don't have the materials, or really the room, to convert my non-split pair-sized tank. I'd also hate to permanently separate them because they're getting on in age and seem to have adored each other til now. But in all my years of gerbil keeping, I've just never seen scuffling like this. I'm used to boxing and wrestling, but not this Is it right to just keep them split up since it seems like an injury is only a matter of time? I will be sleeping shortly so if I don't introduce them now I imagine I will have to go through a full split with them, which seems unlikely for now...but am worried about their health split up suddenly...

[MoonstoneGerbils]

Not drawing blood doesn't mean that they get a long.

Put this is gerbil terms.

One gerbil wants the other to leave. She chases, harrasses and threatens the other gerbil. The other gerbil doesn't listen and doesn't leave, so she most keep chasing harrassing and threatening the other gerbil.

Gerbils do not understand that they can't chase the other gerbil out of their territory and that the other gerbil can't go anywhere because you have trapped them in a tank together. They don't understand that. They will keep trying to evict the offending gerbil who can't go anywhere. Things escalate, and eventually it gets to drawing blood. You are at the point right now where your gerbils are intolerant of each other you should separate them now.

So yes, split them. Don't let your feelings of "they love each other" get in the way. They don't feel the same way.

[rjsusko]

Thanks for the reassurance - I did split them up that night. The aggressor, Nora, seems to be continuing on merrily with life, but the "victim" Lucy seems depressed. She's not coming out much. I can see she is eating some (she's quite small so she doesn't eat a lot anyway) and will chew cardboard I put in overnight, but overall, very inactive. She was typically less active than Nora, but I'm worried. Anything I can do in the meantime other than lots of cuddles? We're considering trying your temporary split cage method in a couple days, unless you think that's a bad idea.

[betty]

I have only just read this - did you try to re-introduce the females in the split tank?