|
Post by peppermintthegerbil on Apr 7, 2016 7:30:16 GMT -8
I'm starting the intro in a few days, and I was wondering how bare you have to keep each side of the tank. Should I put a wheel in for each of them? Should I put in a lot of bedding or should I just cover the bottom? Do they need cardboard to chew on or would that keep them from paying attention to each other?
|
|
|
Post by betty on Apr 7, 2016 7:40:18 GMT -8
The barer you can keep their halves, the faster they bond with each other in general.
You can throw in the odd toilet roll as they only have a short shelf life anyway, but you want to avoid permanent things in the tank like wooden tunnels and houses etc as gerbils can scent mark these and that is precisely what the split process is trying to avoid.
You can have a reasonable amount of bedding and nest material, but not enough that they can get too lost in it, otherwise they won't be getting bored and paying attention to each other - like putting me in the same room as my nephew and his ipad - I don't stand a chance!
If you do have room to put in a wheel and see them rubbing all over it after every swap you will see what we mean - they can spend up to half an hour sometimes marking it each time...
Swapping 3 times a day is the suggested swap rate as then they need to sleep in each others nests overnight - a great way to see if they are happy in each other's company.
|
|
|
Post by peppermintthegerbil on Apr 8, 2016 6:58:59 GMT -8
Do you think scatter feeding would be beneficial? So that it's harder for them to fight over food?
|
|
PurpleSheep
Member
Bossed around by rodents & a toddler
Posts: 331
|
Post by PurpleSheep on Apr 8, 2016 11:38:39 GMT -8
Scatter feeding is a good idea, that way they can't get territorial over food bowls. It's best to keep the bedding fairly low and empty, apart from the occasional piece of cardboard and kitchen towel for shredding/nesting.
It can be quite difficult to see them being this bored, so be prepared for that. Our current girls have been in a split for four weeks and I feel terrible that they have so little to do, but ultimately if/when it works out, I know it will be what is best for them.
|
|
|
Post by peppermintthegerbil on Apr 9, 2016 10:03:07 GMT -8
Okay. I started the introduction today. Peppermint spent the first 10 minutes scent marking (I think) the toilet paper roll. Both gerbils are trying to get to the other side of the tank. They are definitely chewing the mesh. There isn't really any aggression, which I am really happy about, they just seem to be sniffing each other. Peppermint seems to spend most of her time grooming herself and chewing the bars, while Mocha (the new gerbil) seems more interested in the toilet paper roll. I will post pictures soon.
|
|
|
Post by peppermintthegerbil on Apr 10, 2016 6:40:04 GMT -8
Day Two:
Peppermint is still constantly chewing the divider, I was wondering if this could harm her teeth? She also scent marks the water bottle spout as soon as she gets switched over to the other side of the tank. The holes in the divider are big enough for both gerbils to stick their nose through, but it doesn't look like there is any aggression.
However, Peppermint did sleep in Mocha's nest last night, and Peppermint didn't really make a nest, but Mocha was also sleeping in the general area that Peppermint was resting in.
|
|
|
Post by peppermintthegerbil on Apr 10, 2016 8:31:41 GMT -8
Okay, I don't know if this is normal or not, but all Peppermint really does is chew the divider. It seems like that is all she is interested in. I stuck my hand in the tank (not sure if that was a good idea) and Peppermint came over to investigate but when she left I saw little droplets of liquid on my hand. I think it is pee, and I was wondering if it is because she is super territorial and she is marking everything. Maybe I didn't scrub out the tank enough and she still smells her scent and it feels like Mocha is invading her territory? Please help, I don't know what to do and I don't want to stress either gerbil out too much or cause them harm.
|
|
|
Post by betty on Apr 10, 2016 23:40:24 GMT -8
You won't need to scrub the tank any more because you are swapping them over 3 times every day as you want them both to think that it is their cage. You want their scents on both sides.
I have had one gerbil who was at the bars for a while when I first put them in the split but it was over soon enough and the split ended successfully.
The liquid could have just been saliva from her face where she had been chewing the bars rather than pee - unless it smelled like pee?
As for the chewing, what you could do is deflect her from the bars for a while and just extend the split time. Basically you could put flat sheets of cardboard over most of the bars for a day of two and some toilet rolls in her side every now and then to give her something else to do. This way you will be distracting her from the divide but you will still be swapping the scents.
I know the point of the split is boredom, but if you are worried about her teeth and her stress, then perhaps distracting her for a few days will be enough to make her think there is more to life than chewing the bars for now and focus on other things.
If she is still frantic after a few more days and you are worried that she is super stressed, then perhaps split cageing isn't for her. But give it a go first and see what happens.
|
|
|
Post by peppermintthegerbil on Apr 13, 2016 15:25:43 GMT -8
Day 5:
Peppermint is still chewing on the bars, but not as much anymore. I switch them 3 times a day, and they don't freak out after switches as much anymore. They both sleep in the other's nest at night. I think the reason Peppermint is a bit more territorial is that she has not been with other gerbils for months now, while Mocha has never been apart from other gerbils, so maybe it takes Peppermint some time to get used to the presence of another gerbil?
|
|
|
Post by peppermintthegerbil on Apr 16, 2016 12:31:19 GMT -8
It had been 1 week since I started the intro. I have a question about switching the bedding. Should I even clean the cage out or should I partially switch the bedding? There isn't much bedding in there and it's getting a bit dirty.
|
|
PurpleSheep
Member
Bossed around by rodents & a toddler
Posts: 331
|
Post by PurpleSheep on Apr 16, 2016 14:47:47 GMT -8
You should clean the cage as little as possible, ideally not at all. A big part of bonding is for the gerbils' smells to mix so they recognise each other as one 'clan', so putting in fresh bedding that doesn't smell of them will delay the process. You can spot-clean their toilet areas if the cage is really dirty, but leave as much as possible of it undisturbed.
|
|
|
Post by peppermintthegerbil on Apr 23, 2016 11:51:03 GMT -8
Right now, I just feel like giving up. I don't want to do this anymore. Today, I removed the divider and for the first 10 minutes, everything seemed fine. Then there was a scuffle and I removed Peppermint. I put her back in after about a minute, and there was a point where they just stood side by side, noses in the other ones fur...then they broke out into a ball fight. I kept removing one, waiting, putting it back in, but the same thing happens every time. I just wish I hadn't done this in the first place. Is this situation hopeless? Peppermint was fine on her own, maybe she's just not a gerbil that gets along with other gerbils.
|
|
|
Post by catnut on Apr 23, 2016 14:23:20 GMT -8
I don't have experience with split cages, but if it stressing Peppermint out and they fight, it would be best to keep them on their own. I have two rescues who live on their own, male and female, and they are fine this way as long as I spend time with them both and they have enough to keep them busy, they seem happy.
|
|
|
Post by peppermintthegerbil on Apr 24, 2016 7:14:39 GMT -8
Thank you catnut, I do think I will do that. This split cage just hasn't had any positive effects on either gerbil, they both just seem more aggressive, territorial, and stressed. I will be purchasing another 20 gallon tank soon, for Mocha, since giving her away isn't a good option.
|
|
|
Post by peppermintthegerbil on Apr 30, 2016 8:12:45 GMT -8
I just wanted to let everyone know that I didn't give up. I know it may have seemed like it, and I am extremely sorry.
I kept doing the split cage for a few days, I was waiting for a day where I had enough time to buy a 20 gallon or a bin for Mocha's new cage. However, my sister wanted to keep doing the split cage, so we worked out a compromise. I would give Peppermint and Mocha one more chance to become friends, but if I saw a fight, I would separate them permanently. My sister agreed so that is what we did.
There were no fights when we removed the divider, but I was too scared to leave them unsupervised, so I put the divider back overnight and during the next day. I removed it again in the afternoon, and I left it like that overnight because I could keep an eye on them and I wanted to give them a chance to sleep together. They did, for a few hours. I added more bedding today so they would have a chance to dig, and Mocha made a little nest where they are both sleeping there right now. I will continue adding toys and items for them to play with until they have a full set up. I am now very happy that I continued the split cage and did not give up. Both Peppermint and Mocha seem extremely happy.
|
|