Worried about Comet's relationship with his Dad & Brother

[t1gg3er]

Comet & Beano are 8.5 weeks old & in a large tank with their dad, Sparky.  Comet is quite timid & about a week ago I noticed he was sometimes popping up from different parts of the tank to where I knew the nest was.  I removed some bedding to make him more visible so I could watch what was going on.

Sparky & Beano are really, really close.  But Comet is often on his own.  He frequently sleeps away from the other 2.  Today I've seen him asleep on his own inside the jam jar & he's also built a nest at the opposite end of the tank from the others.  He's also smaller/slimmer than his brother although as small pups they were roughly the same size.

There's no chasing or aggression & the other 2 seem oblivious to any problem - Sparky went to play in the jam jar with him tonight but as soon as Sparky went in Comet came straight out & went into his nest.  

Should I be worried?  Should I just watch & see what happens as the boys grow up or is it likely there'll be a problem?  I hate to think of Comet feeling stressed.  Would he be happier & more confident in a pair rather than a trio (less intimidating)?  If so, the options I have are:

1.  Try to split him back with Chewy who is the calmer of his other 2 brothers & leave the final brother (Yoda) with what I think are the 2 boy pups from the 2nd litter.

2.  Split him with a boy from the 2nd litter.  But these pups are really feisty (hooligans!) & I'd worry about how Comet would cope when the pup grows & possibly tries to be dominant.

3.  Try to split him with an older male so he doesn't have to even try to be the dominant one - there's an argente boy in the rescue centre who my other half keeps talking about.  I know he'd jump at the chance to bring him home if I agreed but so far I've said 'no'.

[betty]

Difficult as potentially all 4 options could go wrong, you just need to decide what you would prefer to live with.

You could leave him in the 3 and assume he will always be an outsider but at least they aren't fighting (yet). If they do fight then cross that bridge later. It is also possible that he is just a shy pup now but will gain confidence as he ages. If he is worried about his dad and brother perhaps he will be weird selling with any other gerbils?

You could try him with his brother which should split together easily, but if they don't you could have 2 single little boys that you have to re split to other gerbils at a later date

You could certainly split him to a younger brother, but like you said, if they age and want to be the boss he could be overthrown. Or, he might let them be boss with little fuss?

Finally, you could put him with single older male and hope that he himself doesn't suddenly want to be the boss as the older one ages...

I myself would perhaps put them in the following order if it was my choice: Leave where he is until it goes wrong, then split to an older male if one is around, but if you are unhappy with the current set up, go straight to splitting to his brother seeing as you have one spare, or to an older male.

I think a young pup would be my very last choice if I did it at all.

[t1gg3er]

Thanks for that.

I think I'll keep a close eye on them for a while & see how it goes as they grow up. If I see anything I'm not happy about I'll take Comet out straight away & have a re-think. I'll give the spare tank a good clean so it's ready as a back-up just in case I need it in a hurry.

I'll weigh the 2 boys too to see if there really is a big difference between them. They're going through their molt at the moment & I'm wondering whether Beano just looks bigger due to looking quite fluffy (he's agouti) whereas Comet's coat is smooth & sleek (LCP agouti).

[johanne]

It's quite common for there to be quite a bit of variation in weight among tank mates. They can have different personality types and some are more prone to being loners, though they still appreciate company. It doesn't sound like you have anything to worry about. Just keep doing what you're doing.

[t1gg3er]

When we got up this morning we found Sparky & Beano had built a new nest in the topper part of the tank. No sign of Comet. I was in tears when I started taking the topper off & putting the 2 boys in a carrier - I was convinced I was going to find Comet dead. Thankfully he's ok (more tears of relief this time!). No wounds at all but one very scared little boy.

I've now taken him out & put him into a smaller tank for him to recover. My plan is to leave him quiet to settle today & then start spending time talking to him & trying to coax him out of his shell a little before moving on to putting my hands in etc... Is this the best way to handle him - softly, slowly, gently?

If/when he regains some confidence & when I think he's ready I'll maybe try to split him with Ernie who's turned out to be an absolute sweetheart. But only if Comet can handle it.

I don't know what's happened between Sparky, Beano & Comet but I'm so glad I got him out - I have a gut feeling we were heading for an awful disaster.

[Pollyblue]

I don't have any experience in this regard, but I hope everything works out with Comet and Ernie so they don't have to be solo Did you try to introduce them?

[t1gg3er]

Not yet - Comet is still quite scared although he's making little improvements each day. At first he just cowered in a box & only came out to eat/drink at night. Now he comes out a little in the day & doesn't shoot back into his box every time I talk to him.

I won't attempt a split until he's confident enough to be handled & switched over 3 times a day. Ernie's a happy, sociable little guy so I'm hoping he'll be good for Comet when the time is right.

Meanwhile, Sparky & Beano continue to sleep in the topper (20 gallon tank plus 20 gallon topper with platforms/levels etc...) & seem oblivious to the fact that Comet's moved out!

[Pollyblue]

It sounds like you are doing the right thing, keep us updated!