New Gerbil Owner- Got 3 Female "Sisters"

[Shane]

Hi, I bought 3 female gerbils earlier today from Pet Smart. They were all getting along in the aquarium. they all look identical, i think they are golden agouti. Anyways, I felt bad leaving the one sister out so I got all 3 instead of 2.

I been doing reading and I knew this when buying the 3 gerbils that its best to have a pair of females or huge fighting will ensue.

They have been fine all day by the looks of it, although I did see one gerbil go in the igloo, then i hear some shuffling and the gerbil comes right back out with the head of another gerbil watching it leave.

As I type this, they are all sleeping and cuddling with each other.

Now my question is, while I still have my 14 day vet assured trial period that Pet Smart offers, should I return one of the gerbils so that there is only a pair of females?

[marcia]

I wouldn't bother to be honest. I have kept females in pairs, trios and in groups of 4 and i have never had any problems. Just keep an eye on them

[Powerpuffgerbils]

They sound like their getting along fine. I myself have a trio of girls who are close to two years old.

[Shane]

They get along fine but when i put my hand in the cage with a sunflower seeds on it, they take it, and 2 dropped it one nibbled my hand the other decided to do a full on bite that caused my hand to bleed. Lucky my lil bro (8 years old) wasnt there to see it. It did take a hard nibble on him earlier but that was it.

They are 6 months old according to Pet Smart and she was handling two of them fine they were crawling on her hand with out biting when she brought them out in the carrier box.

I dont know what to do really, I mean their new home is larger than their previous home. my little brother want something that can be handled. Is 32 hours too early to give up on them? I guess it might be.

[gerbie]

It sounds like they aren't used to you yet, it can take a while for them to get used to new people, and their new surroundings, they could just be scared / nervous. I have a gerbil that used to do that, she'd go for my finger instead of the treat! It takes a bit of time to get them used to you, you could start offering them the treat between your fingers rather than on your hand until they realise you're not a threat, then gradually build it up to placing treats on the centre of your hand.