Gerbil Clan Size- (all answers welcome)

[TJ's Rodent Ranch]

Hi there,



So I've been digging around the Forum, mainly to satisfy my own curiosity about what it was like here back then, and I've seen some interesting posts, particularly regarding gerbil clans. I saw a post that mentioned a clan of six, and another that mentioned a clan of four, as well as others. Since these posts were so long ago, and all of them are made by members that aren't active anymore, I decided to create a thread that would shed some light on such large clans. 

So, what are your experiences with large clans, what do you consider to be large, and at what point do you think the size is unsafe?

Some things to mention are:
> How many gerbils were in the clan (of course)
> How old the gerbils were
> If any of the gerbils were related
> How long until it declanned/if it declanned
> Was there an event that directly caused the declan? (example, an injury, a different tank or severe alterations to their current tank, a new gerbil or a gerbil leaving, etc.)
> Were any of the gerbils previously part of a declan, or had tendencies to be aggressive?
> What size tank they were in, and how it was set up (for example, a small tank or a tank with pinch points might have effected it)
And of course anything else that you think is worth mentioning.

I'm basically trying to gather all information I can about large clans, and what people's experiences are with them. Even if you've never had one yourself, or only have guesses, feel free to add your opinion regarding large clans.

[angelbearpuppy]

I'll admit I do not have gerbils yet. Sometime this summer I have been leaning towards getting my first pair as a personal pet first but also a class pet for my small room.

However, from what I have gathered in my research into gerbils in general in preparation is that it would come down to having both enough space for them to be actively engaged but also not large enough someone can stake out an area as their own personal territory and cause issues this forcing a declan.

I would think you would have better chances with a group of related pups or a father and sons or mother and daughters as the slightly older gerbil would be the undisputed dominate of the clan. Which would help during that teenage period of their lives. However it would bare some watching as the mother or father got older and started to lose that natural dominance.

The idea behind this, based of of their wild relatives since pups stay with their parents as sub members to the clan similar to wolves. Either eventually taking thr clan over when the current leader becomes infertile or old or being chased off or defecting on their own. But that can take years. Or months. Less likely a chance of an immediate Declan than prehapse if they were all siblings going through teenage hormones and feeling their feed.

That is my thought. By the time the older gerbil started to be picked on there would probably be a natural dominate in the group to fill the spot.

[Markpd]

Afraid I can't help ya TJ as I haven't had a large clan, but this thread I created asking about clan experiences will probably help you.

Mar 12, 2024 4:48:48 GMT -8 angelbearpuppy said:

I'll admit I do not have gerbils yet. Sometime this summer I have been leaning towards getting my first pair as a personal pet first but also a class pet for my small room.

However, from what I have gathered in my research into gerbils in general in preparation is that it would come down to having both enough space for them to be actively engaged but also not large enough someone can stake out an area as their own personal territory and cause issues this forcing a declan.

I would think you would have better chances with a group of related pups or a father and sons or mother and daughters as the slightly older gerbil would be the undisputed dominate of the clan. Which would help during that teenage period of their lives. However it would bare some watching as the mother or father got older and started to lose that natural dominance.

The idea behind this, based of of their wild relatives since pups stay with their parents as sub members to the clan similar to wolves. Either eventually taking thr clan over when the current leader becomes infertile or old or being chased off or defecting on their own. But that can take years. Or months. Less likely a chance of an immediate Declan than prehaps if they were all siblings going through teenage hormones and feeling their feed.

That is my thought. By the time the older gerbil started to be picked on there would probably be a natural dominate in the group to fill the spot.

My understanding for wild clans is that once the pups grow up they either leave the clan or are chased out (a little while after the following litter is born anyway). The exception being the last litter of the year which (at least sometimes) over winters with the parents. I think I touched on it in this thread I created (which also has links to studies of wild gerbils).

[TJ's Rodent Ranch]

Interesting. The largest clan size I've had was four, which was a mother and her three daughters, and the second largest was three, which was a father, his son, and his nephew.
Thankfully, neither of them had any issues. I would usually never pair more than three, and rarely even pair three (especially in females).
I wondered if it was possible, or if anyone on here thought it was possible, to keep a healthy clan of six or more. In the perfect environment, and with friendly gerbils, would it be possible even then to keep a healthy and happy clan?

[angelbearpuppy]

Good question. I suppose in theory it might be possible in the perfect environment. Declanning is probably a greater risk.

[Markpd]

Mar 13, 2024 19:08:51 GMT -8 TJ's Rodent Ranch said:

Interesting. The largest clan size I've had was four, which was a mother and her three daughters, and the second largest was three, which was a father, his son, and his nephew.
Thankfully, neither of them had any issues. I would usually never pair more than three, and rarely even pair three (especially in females).
I wondered if it was possible, or if anyone on here thought it was possible, to keep a healthy clan of six or more. In the perfect environment, and with friendly gerbils, would it be possible even then to keep a healthy and happy clan?

Would you be able to give me some details of the quad and trio?

For these tables :-

Clan size -4
Relationship - mother and 3 daughters
Age at beginning of clan - mother
Age at end of clan -
And/or, time together -
Cage size -
Declanned? - no

Clan size - 3
Relationship - father, son, nephew
Age at beginning of clan - father
Age at end of clan -
And/or, time together -
Cage size -
Declanned? - no

[TJ's Rodent Ranch]

Sure! Sorry I wasn't even thinking about that.


Clan size - 4
Relationship - mother and daughters
Time together - 3 months
Cage size - 40 gal
Declanned? - no

Clan size - 3
Relationship - father, son, nephew
Time together - 5 months
Cage size - 20 gal (they had trouble in a larger one, so I moved them over)
Declanned - no (although in the larger tank it was getting risky at times)


I hope that works well. I couldn't say exact ages of a few of them, so I chose to put time together instead.

[betty]

I don't know if I have covered all examples but just off the top of my head in answer to your question:

Largest related male group with no declan until death (WNDUD) was 5 (father:sons) - I have not tried more
Largest related female group with no declan until death was 2 (mother:daughter) - I have tried up to 4

Largest mixed male group from pups WNDUD was 2 - I have tried up to 8
Largest mixed female group from pups WNDUD was 2 - I have tried up to 5

Largest mixed male group of mixed ages WNDUD was 2 - I have tried up to 3
Largest mixed female group of mixed ages WNDUD was 2 - I have tried up to 3



*All my males and females in the examples above were intact - I have had no experience with neutered gerbils.

[mygerbilprince]

I had a clan of four females.

3 were sisters and 10 weeks old
1 was unrelated and around 1-2 years

They declanned after 3 months and lived in a 40gal tank. There might have been some issues with the amount of entrances into various hideouts, but I'm not positive on that one. They had a very unique introduction where one of the younger girls escaped and made her way into the other side of the spilt cage after a few days. They got along well, so I introduced them. All went well after that... until the declan months later.

[TJ's Rodent Ranch]

Oh gosh, I'm sorry to hear that, I hope no one was injured.

I've heard many times that females are very particular when it comes to the clan they're in. Has anyone here had a large clan of females that didn't Declan? I personally don't try more than two now, and when there are more it's always for a very short period of time. It makes me wonder how well large tanks of females fair in pet stores...

[mygerbilprince]

There was only minor injuries in my girl's declan, which is good. Still a bit sad for the one who had to spend the rest of her life alone. I don't know what it is with females but they seem to have a lot more drama than males. I'm not trying to be gerbil sexist or anything but they seem to be more stubborn and strong willed than the boys, who I find to be very chill.