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Post by summer1010 on Mar 19, 2006 11:48:23 GMT -8
hi my name is summer and i am really dissapointed that i picked two gerbils of different age with opposite personalities i have been watching them and i have noticed that the younger gerbil is trying to kill the other and the larger gerbil is very afraid and i dont want to put them back together because i love them both oh so very much but i also know that the might die of lonleyness one of my friends said that if my arraingmet isnt working i should put them down and get new ones what do i do
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Post by mice on Mar 19, 2006 12:17:15 GMT -8
Put them down?! That's crazy. Whatever you do, don't do that.
Gerbils are very territorial and it's always best to do introductions via the split cage method as if you just put them together straight away, they're likely to fight, as you've discovered. I'd suggest putting them in a split cage for a couple of weeks to see if you can re-introduce them. If not you might be able to try introducing them to new (younger) friends in the future.
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Post by pooky on Mar 19, 2006 14:43:14 GMT -8
how big is your cage? i had one of the bright shiny plastic ones with tubes etc which was only equivilent to about 7 gallons and mine started fighting. if your cage is less than 10 gallons there will most likley be space issues (im pretty sure the rule is something like 10 gallons minimum for two gerbils, and an extra five for every other gerbil).
like mice said, the split cage idea is always a good one, but there are some rules on what kind of mesh you use, which i cant quite recall (i think the holes in the mesh can only be a maximum of one and a half centimeters by one and a half centimeters, otherwise they can stick their noses through the holes to far, and their teeth can get stuck. though you might want to conferm those mesurments before using them).
definatly stay away from putting them down. theres always the option of keeping them sepperate, or (like mice said) geting them new younger friends when youve got the money.
pooky
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Post by summer1010 on Mar 19, 2006 17:37:02 GMT -8
i have two cages the first one was smaller than th other and the second one is much larger and i attached them by a tube so i think one gerbil wanted to have the bigger one all to herself. the first cage is a critter trail x the ones with the green and purple and the second one is the critter trail 2 so meybe but it is oviouse that one gerbil is more agressive than the other
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Post by summer1010 on Mar 19, 2006 17:38:50 GMT -8
at the moment i dont have an aquarium so is there anything else i can do?
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Post by summer1010 on Mar 19, 2006 17:39:48 GMT -8
do you think i can take one gerbil back to the store and see who the other one is more compatable with
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Post by maxthegerbil on Mar 20, 2006 4:08:11 GMT -8
Hi. First of all, you should not have been sold two female gerbils of differing ages and who are not related. Females are far more territorial and likely to fight one another because of this. Your only hope now, is to either house them seperately, or split a glass tank properly, to allow both gerbils to see and smell one another without inflicting injuries on one another.
Critter-Trail cages and all the plastic modular cages are a no,no and should`nt be used for keeping gerbils. They will chew anything made of plastic and could either escape, or choke on it. These cages are far too small for gerbils and they also allow for the setting up of individual territories and de-clanning can result.
My advice would be to get yourself a glass aquarium (second hand fish tanks can be picked up cheaply) and use small squared wire mesh for the lid. Use wooden items only for gerbils and cardboard food packing boxes and toilet roll/ kitchen roll tubes to chew up! NEVER put a healthy animal down. You have to understand that gerbils are territorial rodents and if they are not related gerbils (brought up together), introductions can be very difficult for a novice. I would do a lot of work researching gerbils before I took someone elses wrong advice.
I hope your two females are okay now and living seperately?
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Post by jessi99 on Mar 20, 2006 4:23:17 GMT -8
The first time I bought a gerbil, I got one from a pet store. The pet store sold me a critter cage and just 1 gerbil and a bag of ceader bedding. They simply didn't know what they were doing. Gerbils shouldn't be in plastic cages since they'll chew right through them eventually. Gerbils should always be in pairs, never alone. And, gerbils are allergic to ceader and pine bedding. And, to make this story worse. My first gerbil was from a tank where they had two males, one female, and some 2 week old pups. And, the store owner sold me the mother gerbil!!! The pups died of hunger and the owner couldn't figure out what was wrong. He'd sexed the gerbils wrong and thought he was selling me a male. Well, basically, don't feel bad and think you're doing things wrong. You were just miss-informed like me. After just a little bit of reading gerbils sites online I learned a whole lot more than the store owner ever knew about gerbils. Always research and read about your pets before deciding to do anything. Asking questions here has been a good move.
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Post by summer1010 on Mar 22, 2006 7:41:10 GMT -8
thank u 4 telling me andi always thought that the critter trails were the best but i guess they r gust pretty so thank you and i also hope your animals are safe to bye
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