Another fight worry

[roo]

I have three gerbils. They are from a pet shop, which after reading a lot of posts on here I'm starting to regret, I'm sort of wishing I'd found a breeder. As far as I know they're all from the same litter, and I got them about six weeks ago but don't know how old they really are. They're all female, and there does seem to be a definite dominant one, although she's more 'taking the initiative dominant' than 'bullying dominant'.

They live in perfect harmony at the moment but I'm a bit worried that they may start fighting in the future, or that they already are. Two of them (the two less dominant ones) have exactly the same little patch of fur missing from the base of their tail. I've heard this can be a sign of fighting, but I can't see any wounds on them, like bite marks, scratches etc. Does this sound like fight injuries or just shedding? I'm a bit worried because I'd hate to split them up unnecessarily but don't want to end up with declanning. Also if there seems to be a dominant gerbil could this be a sign that, even if they get on fine now, there will probably be trouble in the future? They seems very close at the moment.

I know this is very similar to other questions on here, but I'm quite worried about the missing tail fur, and I'm not sure whether I've got cause to worry about the dominance factor or not.

[AndreaS15]

Keep a close eye on them.
I keep 2 tanks of 3 females and they live in perfect harmoney. (They are 1 & 2 years old)
the missing hair could be a couple things, shedding, fighting or over excessive grooming. You may want to check them for mite too, if they are itchy alot.
Keep things in their tank the same, and when you clean it place some old bedding back in (I usually use the nest as it's less smelly) this keeps things familour.

[roo]

Great advice. Thank you! I'll have to work out how to check them for mites, is it serious if they get them?

[lizzy]

It depends on your definition of "serious". You may have to go to the vet to get them cleared up if it is mites but it could easily be overgrooming.

Your gerbils could live happily together for all their lives so I don't think there's a need to split them up yet. They are more likely to declan around the 4-8 month mark. I agree with Andrea about keeping a close eye on them and watch out for chasing and excessive squeaking. They are less likely to declan if they are in a tank of 15 gallons or more, because they won't need to fight for the space.