Aggression between long term cagemates

[gerbilmel]

Hi, I have 2 males, Finn and Ralph. This morning Finn wasn’t letting Ralph into the run and later they went briefly into a ball fighting and Finn had Ralph pinned down on his back before I could separate them. Is this a declanning problem? These 2 have been together for almost 2 years and I’ve noticed a lot of chasing and mounting between them before but not this kind of thing. Finn also has a red mark below his eye but I’m not sure if it’s blood or just porphyria (sp?). Is there anything I can do to resolve this? I’ve taken Ralph out for now into a spare cage as I don’t trust them together.

[londongerbils]

There will be others on here who can give you a much more experienced perspective, but in my view you are right to separate them for now. A ball fight is a clear sign of Declan. Did you ever notice if one of them was more dominant over the other in their relationship? Because if this dynamic is shifting it may be causing a problem.

It may be possible to reintroduce them again using a split tank, but I’m sure someone more experienced will advise you better on here.

[gerbilmel]

Thanks Londongerbils. It’s never been very clear who is dominant in their relationship and I’m wondering if this might be part of the problem

[yeti218]

Yeah sounds like a declan. If you hadn't been there to separate them it may have been pretty bad.

Sometimes these can be triggered by cage set ups, environmental changes (like if you've brought a new pet into the home and they can smell it), or a medical issue.

But since you mentioned they chase and mount a lot in the last 2 years, I would be inclined to think that their relationship has been turbulent at times, and that they've finally decided to break up for good.

You can always try a split tank to reintroduce, but at some point we need to accept if an animal doesnt want to be roommates with another, and I'm thinking this situation sounds like that to me.

[gerbilmel]

Thanks yeti218, I guess they just aren’t that compatible