Post by pepandmax on Jul 23, 2007 17:30:10 GMT -8
Here's the situation. You've got two females (or two males). Or so you thought, until you walked in the room to catch Gerbil 1 humping Gerbil 2! Have you a male and a female? Or perhaps are your gerbils gay?
Probably not! Gerbils of the same gender sometimes mount each other. Usually one gerbil will mount and the other will be mounted. Most often, the gerbil that mounts is establishing or reinforcing dominance over the mounted gerbil. However, the mounting gerbil is not always the dominant gerbil, and some gerbil pairs (especially pairs of males) are co-dominant. This is all part of normal gerbil social relationships.
In this picture, Tes (dominant) is mounting her sister Bel (submissive).
Here is a link to a video that shows Lil, the elder gerbil in the Tes/Bel/Lil trio of females, repeatedly mounting Tes. (Sorry my voice sounds so weird—I think I was really tired. Usually I don't sound so smug!
).
www.youtube.com/watch?v=asF005rhqiQ
There are only two situations in which you should worry about mounting. First, if your gerbils are sexed incorrectly, you may actually have a male mounting (and mating with) a female. In this case, correctly sex your animals and split them if you do not have a breeding plan.
Second, the gerbil that is being mounted may not want to be submissive. In this case, you may see the gerbil stand up on his hind legs, face sideways, and put his face against his tankmate. This is his way of communicating, “Back off!” If the confrontation ends there, keep an eye on your gerbils, but you probably don't need to do anything special. If the gerbils start violently and frantically chasing each other around the tank, however, a fight is about to break out and it's time to separate them in a temporary split tank until they cool off.
In this picture, Bel (submissive) is attempting to mount Lil, the elder gerbil in a trio of females. Lil is not willing to submit to Bel. While they did not chase or fight, Lil is telling Bel to get away by turning around and getting in her face (literally). After this picture was taken, Bel backed off and left Lil alone.
If you suspect that trouble is brewing in your gerbils' tank, do not hesitate to split your gerbils. Get to know your gerbils' behavior, so if gerbil relationships become unstable, you can take action before a fight happens. Remember that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! You don't want to have to deal with a full-out declan and an injured or dead gerbil if you don't have to.
Probably not! Gerbils of the same gender sometimes mount each other. Usually one gerbil will mount and the other will be mounted. Most often, the gerbil that mounts is establishing or reinforcing dominance over the mounted gerbil. However, the mounting gerbil is not always the dominant gerbil, and some gerbil pairs (especially pairs of males) are co-dominant. This is all part of normal gerbil social relationships.
In this picture, Tes (dominant) is mounting her sister Bel (submissive).
Here is a link to a video that shows Lil, the elder gerbil in the Tes/Bel/Lil trio of females, repeatedly mounting Tes. (Sorry my voice sounds so weird—I think I was really tired. Usually I don't sound so smug!
).www.youtube.com/watch?v=asF005rhqiQ
There are only two situations in which you should worry about mounting. First, if your gerbils are sexed incorrectly, you may actually have a male mounting (and mating with) a female. In this case, correctly sex your animals and split them if you do not have a breeding plan.
Second, the gerbil that is being mounted may not want to be submissive. In this case, you may see the gerbil stand up on his hind legs, face sideways, and put his face against his tankmate. This is his way of communicating, “Back off!” If the confrontation ends there, keep an eye on your gerbils, but you probably don't need to do anything special. If the gerbils start violently and frantically chasing each other around the tank, however, a fight is about to break out and it's time to separate them in a temporary split tank until they cool off.
In this picture, Bel (submissive) is attempting to mount Lil, the elder gerbil in a trio of females. Lil is not willing to submit to Bel. While they did not chase or fight, Lil is telling Bel to get away by turning around and getting in her face (literally). After this picture was taken, Bel backed off and left Lil alone.
If you suspect that trouble is brewing in your gerbils' tank, do not hesitate to split your gerbils. Get to know your gerbils' behavior, so if gerbil relationships become unstable, you can take action before a fight happens. Remember that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! You don't want to have to deal with a full-out declan and an injured or dead gerbil if you don't have to.