Males and females in the same room?

[suzy]

My daughter would like to rescue a few adult gerbils who are living alone and hopefully introduce them to a buddy who also seems to be destined to live alone. They would all have to live in her bedroom, for a number of reasons.

Will having a pair of males in the same room as a pair (or 2) of females possibly cause any unwelcome behavior in either the males or females? (It is very obvious when Snowball, our younger female, is in heat.)

I'm assuming it would be a bad idea to put the boys and girls tanks next to each other, since the plan would be for everyone to have a wire mesh tank topper, but would they be far enough away from each other if they were 10-11 feet apart?

Or would we be better just sticking with females? I would hate to do anything that might cause our girls to start fighting!

For that matter, would it be okay to put a tank with another pair of females right beside our girls' tank, especially with the tank toppers? (We would leave some space in between to be sure that they couldn't touch each other.)

I am asking because, around us, there are no gerbils in the shelters or even in the local pet stores, but in a few weeks we will be travelling to a small city with a shelter that has had 3 gerbils since last summer: a female and a male who are over 1 and their remaining baby (sex unknown) who is about 6 months. All 3 gerbils are living separately and the girl on the phone said that they can never be introduced to another gerbil and then she told me that you pick them up by their tails like rats! I feel so sorry for them! We haven't told my daughter yet because I know she will want to rescue them all and I wanted to do my homework first!

I would really appreciate any insight you can give me!

[ohmylokix]

That should be fine. At night, I put Angel next to my breeding pair. The boys may get a little hyper, but will be fine.

[AndreaS15]

I keep males and females in the same room, and though I've had a few de-clans I don't feel it had anything to do with the other gerbils.
I even have some male tanks right beside females tanks, and those all have never acted strange or been agressive.

[suzy]

Thanks guys for your reassurances!

I am excited about helping my daughter give these gerbies a good home for the rest of their days. If anyone has had negative experiences, I'd like to hear about those, too...

[pepandmax]

Suzy, I don't think you'll have any problems. While there's always a chance of declanning or a chance of an animal getting sick, I think that the overall experience will be excellent for your daughter. Lots of luck, and don't be afraid to ask questions here!

Nicole

[gaplastina]

Suzy - I keep my boys and girl cages right next to each other and don't notice any issues with it. Good luck!

[vacampbell]

Mine are also right next to each other and i've had no problems (touch wood) Sometimes i think that the gerbils in the cages next to each other are watching each other! lol this morning most of the boys were tapping and the girls immediately came out and stood up looking in their direction!! looked really cute

hope all goes really well xxx

[suzy]

Thank you so much everybody! It is great to know that they can live that close to each other without problems.

[ohmylokix]

Just make sure your tank lid has clips! You don't want them escaping and.. er.. you get the idea! =)

[suzy]

Don't worry, those tanks will be secure!

My daughter doesn't want babies anyway, just lonely adults. When we found Snowball, she was all alone in her tank at a pet store (she had been there for months). She had a wheel, some lab blocks (I guess that's what they were, anyway), and not even enough bedding to cover the bottom of her tank. She was hunched up in the corner, trying to sleep on the bare glass. She looked absolutely miserable! That is when my daughter decided she wanted to have her own gerbil rescue center. She will be paying for the gerbils, tanks, etc. (although we always help out at birthdays and Christmas with a big bag full of gerbil stuff.)

[ohmylokix]

I wish my parents were as supportive as you are! My dad's the 'gerbil parent' and will take me out shopping and gives the final ruling n all gerbil-related things, but that's abut it!

[pepandmax]

suzy said:

My daughter doesn't want babies anyway, just lonely adults. When we found Snowball, she was all alone in her tank at a pet store (she had been there for months). She had a wheel, some lab blocks (I guess that's what they were, anyway), and not even enough bedding to cover the bottom of her tank. She was hunched up in the corner, trying to sleep on the bare glass. She looked absolutely miserable! That is when my daughter decided she wanted to have her own gerbil rescue center. She will be paying for the gerbils, tanks, etc. (although we always help out at birthdays and Christmas with a big bag full of gerbil stuff.)

Good for you and your daughter! Taking care of animals is a great way for young people to learn real-world responsibilities. It's impressive that your daughter is taking the initiative on an issue that matters to her--how old is she (approximately)? Finally, it's good to know that you're there to support her efforts in case things get too complicated, too stressful, or too expensive.

One thing I would caution you against, however, is rushing into every pet store in your county and buying up all the lone gerbils. They will just be replaced by more lone gerbils! I don't think that is your or your daughter's intention, but it's something to keep in mind. It's more important to educate pet store owners and prospective gerbil guardians about the best practices for gerbil care, which can create longer lasting change than temporarily saving all the gerbils in a shop. Of course, I know it can be awfully tempting when you see a lone gerbil!!!

Anyway, I'm rambling. Lots of luck to you and your daughter. Feel free to ask more questions--we're here to help!
Regards,
Nicole

[suzy]

Don't worry Nicole, I'm well aware that supporting those pet stores is not a solution! Our local pet stores don't even have gerbils. We had to go an hour away to buy gerbils both times.

When we bought Snowball, it was because Princess had passed away and my daughter (she's 8, by the way) was desperate for Tiptop to have a new companion. Snowball was the only female gerbil who was already alone that we could find anywhere within an hour of us - shelters, classifieds, asking around school, or pet stores. There are no breeders near us. (She didn't want to risk taking a gerbil away from littermates in case Tiptop would not accept her.) We did not buy any supplies at that pet store because I didn't want them to actually make money by selling her. (Snowball only cost $6.)

Since our local shelters don't seem to get gerbils, I am excited about these 3 because she can rescue them without supporting the pet stores.

I would like to educate the pet stores around us; if I had been thinking faster the night we got Snowball I would have definitely said something, but I usually think of what I want to say way too late. Maybe an educational flier would be the way to go; I could keep them in my car.

Ohmylokix - your parents sound pretty supportive to me if they are letting you breed your gerbils! I can guarantee you that I would not be letting my daughter do that!

I have to admit that its easy to be supportive when these little guys are so cute, quiet, not smelly, and easy to take care of. I was into horses as a kid, and I personally would much rather be a gerbil parent than a horse show parent! ;D

[pepandmax]

Dear Suzy,

It's always refreshing to meet responsible pet owners/ parents I don't have children, myself (unless you count my gerbils or my boyfriend--*eye roll*), but when I do, I will allow/ encourage them to have pets. Like you've noticed, though, I will probably encourage them to choose something "so cute, quiet, not smelly, and easy to take care of."

If you're looking for a brochure to give to pet stores, check out the American Gerbil Society home page at www.agsgerbils.org/. There is a link to a free brochure that you can print up.

And to be fair, there are many pet stores out there that do an excellent job providing healthy, quality companion animals that have received good care. Unfortunately, the bad (or ignorant) pet stores give a bad name to the others.

I totally know what you mean about thinking of the thing to say after you're already in the car. Happens to me all the time :/

Ok, enough. Don't I ramble too much!?! Good luck!
Nicole

[suzy]

You are right about there being plenty of good pet stores. Our closest pet store takes excellent care of their small animals, they just don't happen to have gerbils. (I buy lots of my pet supplies there.) Another one not too far away tries to sell their gerbils in pairs, they just didn't have a female who was by herself at the time we were looking. The PETCO about an hour from us, if I remember correctly, has a sign on the gerbil tanks encouraging people to buy same sex pairs. (They didn't have any either at the time we were looking.) They seem to take great care of their small animals.

I had not expected Snowball to look so miserable when we went to get her; I was accustomed to the nicer set-ups and happy looking critters!

I'll check out the AGS brochure. Thanks again for all your help!