Scent marking in split tank

[londongerbils]

Hello there,

I have had my two adult females in their split tank for 3 weeks now and I want to introduce them soon because I get the feeling they are trying to groom each other’s faces through the mesh. My only reservation is that one of them, who is clearly more dominant, keeps scent marking the same area of the tank every time I swap them over (it’s a ridge in the glass where the doors meet another pane of glass), and I wonder if it’s a sign she’s still not ready, or whether she will always scent mark because she is the dominant gerbil of the two. The other gerbil, who I’ve had much longer, isn’t scent marking at all, and never really did from the beginning.

Any thoughts would be really helpful.

[betty]

Well, I can't tell without seeing them - but if one wants to be dominant and the other doesn't - that might be a good sign. All you ned for a split to work is one to be 'not bothered' by anything the other one does.

So perhaps set yourself a date when you have all day (and ideally the following morning at least) and go for it. If you prepare well and have your catch-pot to hand - they can't hurt each other and you get to see if they are ready. If they aren't and you catch them quickly enough, you can carry on with the split anyway.

[londongerbils]

Great advice, thank you so much! It will be a nerve-wracking day!