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Post by gerbilsbath on Sept 20, 2020 10:22:38 GMT -8
Thanks very much for taking the time to share your advice - really helpful. Yes - I am worried about a full declan if I pair up the lone victim with another - the obvious choice would be the most submissive of the trio but he's very jumpy and anxious and rarely leaves his tunnel. I'm also worried about the dominant male turning on his no.2 in that scenario.
The victim is very quiet and subdued and rarely leaving his new bedding area, a week after the declan. I am concerned about his wellbeing - the advice then is to try to try to pair him with an older male at some point? Just a bit worried about that not working and then having to create another gerbilarium for the newbie!
So grateful for everyone's input and kind advice - really appreciated.
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Pim
Member
Posts: 346
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Post by Pim on Sept 20, 2020 15:13:13 GMT -8
If you'd be able to get him a pup the chances of it working out will go up. How old is he now?
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Post by Markpd on Sept 22, 2020 13:39:17 GMT -8
They said 8mths in the op.
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Pim
Member
Posts: 346
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Post by Pim on Sept 23, 2020 11:31:34 GMT -8
Ok well a old male might be able to pair with him but the worry would be eventually when the older gerbil dies that he would then be left alone and then your stuck in a cycle.
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Post by ps25 on Oct 11, 2020 18:48:47 GMT -8
I'm a little late to the discussion but thought I'd share my experience of this same situation a few years ago. I had a group of 4 males who declanned (about 6 months old I think). I saw the build up so it was clear who the aggressor was and the other two seemed to be following his lead. I immediately removed the victim then had a dilemma about which of his brothers to pair with him. I chose one and it was immediately obvious that they were not going to get along. So I swapped for the second bystander and although there was no aggression, they still seemed tense around each other. In the end, I put the second bystander back in the big tank to form a trio that immediately settled down and was very stable until the end. I eventually got another male as a companion for the victim.
Long story short - with a group of 4 that declan I would always advise to separate them into two pairs. But sometimes the gerbils just have other ideas and you have to go with the 3 + 1 separation....
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Post by Markpd on Oct 15, 2020 12:18:20 GMT -8
Always good to these sort of accounts. gerbilsbath - any update?
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