Lone Male

[tclarkpprr]

Hello all. I just got a bucket full of gerbils into my rescue and it turns out there are 5 girls and 1 male. They had one agouti female separated from the rest so I figured that must be the male. After I got them home I checked everyone over and she is a she and the only male was in with all the other females. I called the pound where I picked them up and they said they all came in together but the agouti one was in a corner like she was scared so they put her in a box by herself . Sooo right now I have it 2 females in one aquarium, 3 in the other, and this poor little boy all by himself. I feel sorry for him but I don't want to put a little girl in there that may not be pregnant and then be the cause of her getting that way. What are your opinions on what to do about this sweet boy? I am not adopting any of them out until I am certain no one is pregnant and I want to make sure if someone adopts little man that they have a male and are experienced in introductions and that can take a while to find someone I trust to take that on.

[whitmoregirl]

Just be sure to give him loads of attention, and lots of things to keep him entertained, eg Cardboard boxes, wood chews etc
How old are they all estimated to be?
And well done for taking them on so seriously before finding them proper homes

[thumpity]

You could hold onto him until you see if any of them are pregnant, and if they are, it is quite possible there will be a male. When they are old enough, you could introduce the lone male and the male pup yourself so you know he has a buddy and it was done correctly. Or you could get him a buddy yourself from a breeder, or a petstore if needs be, and intro them yourself, and then adopt them out.
Some local teachers (particularly science teachers), might be willing to do a pregnancy watch...meaning take in the gerbils, teach the kids about how to handle them and do a countdown to the latest due date. If a girl started to plump up, you would need to go there and get her to separate her from the other female(or visit yourself once a week, so you can see for yourself). Otherwise, the gerbils have a new home in the classroom! Of course, you would need to go in, make sure the teacher understands gerbil needs, standard and pregnant. If there are any pups, when they are old enough, I brought the pups back in for the kids to see. All pups/gerbils found homes...they either stayed in the classroom, or the kids brought their parents to me and we went through the normal adoption routine (this made sure all gerbils went to people who cared and understood gerbil needs, and that they went in same sex pairs/trios).

Anyway, just an idea, Good luck!
Kaye

[tclarkpprr]

Thank you both! I really have no idea how old they are. I think some may be much older than the others but I have not had first hand experience with them before this so I am not able to really tell. They are all extremely active and are starting to plump up and lose a lot of that greasy nasty look they had when they first came in here. I have him alone and I spend about 10 minutes three times a day with him. I fully expect at least one of these girls to be pregnant so I may take some males out of the litter/s to intro to him at that time. I had not thought of that. Thank you again and I will keep you posted.