Non-Traditional Split Stories Please

[betty]

Just chatting recently about a lot of people trying to do gerbil intros without using the traditional split intro - so just really wanted a few summaries of the why, whats and final results type thing?

Non-traditional would mean either in space or numbers. So if it was in two separate cages, runs only, in the tub, vanilla on the back in box - anything that didn't involve a mesh divide; side-swapping; and intro in the split tank itself.

Also, if you had any gerbils other than a 1:1, or 1:2 young pups. Say you were trying 1:2 with adults, 1:3, 2:2, etc. what if you had 2 - then added another 1 then added another 1. All stories would be most welcome.

If you would rather private message me the details - that is fine too. Not everyone likes to share stories openly and that is fine.


So, if you yourself have tried a non-traditional split intro - whether it worked or not - please let us know on here. try putting on details like sex, age, character - and then technique, difficulties, time scale, etc, and then the current end result (ie: is it still in progress, did it last until one died naturally, or was there a declan.


Would be great to learn more about the ins and outs of gerbil friendship from things we have already tried.

[sandybadlands]

I had two successful split-tank intros between one and two adult males, years ago. With the first intro, I was reintroducing a gerb to his brother and his brother's new friend (a sweet blind gerbil named Peppy), and they were all about 1.5 years old. It went absolutely fine and they all accepted each other right away after one week and lived happily ever after. It was adorable and emboldened me to try 1:2 intros again in later years, with mixed results.

When Peppy was 3 years old, I introduced him and his new 1-year-old friend to another 3-year-old. Peppy was totally fine with it, but I gave the intro an extra week or so just to make sure the other two accepted each other, and eventually they did. They all lived together happily until Peppy died a few months later. Good old Peppy not only got along with everyone, but brought others together. <3

As for unsuccessful attempts, I tried introducting a single gerb to three ~8-week-old pups once, and the leader of the pups bit my older guy, so I gave up on that. And more recently I tried introducing a 6-month-old to his 1-year-old dad and uncle, and the uncle and nephew did not get along after weeks of trying. I tried again after the dad died, and they still wanted nothing to do with each other. I think my current generation is a family of fighters. :/

[ps25]

Years ago, before there was much information available, I did a split cage for 1 night only. Next morning I removed the divider and allowed the two gerbils to meet. It went well and they lived together to old age. I dread to think about doing this after just one night now. It does make me wonder if the standard 1 week is completely necessary but I'd rather be patient and have a good outcome than try it again and be sorry.

[betty]

Thanks for that sandybadlands - very interesting trio updates there.

Just to be more helpful: what were the enclosures and timings like with both Peppy intros? Did you still use a traditional small split tank - or was it something else - and did you do the intro in the same split or in a neutral location?

And was the failed one the same set up and enclosures etc, or was it different?

[betty]

ps25 - absolutely. But many ideal pairings will pair up in one night very easily so you must have just had that scenario there with yours. Myself and a colleague would regularly get pairings together in a day or two, but you had to have the right gerbils and the right timings.

If you don't have that to start with then a week is the minimum I would do a split for even today.

[sandybadlands]

Jun 21, 2021 16:41:28 GMT -8 betty said:

Thanks for that sandybadlands - very interesting trio updates there.

Just to be more helpful: what were the enclosures and timings like with both Peppy intros? Did you still use a traditional small split tank - or was it something else - and did you do the intro in the same split or in a neutral location?

And was the failed one the same set up and enclosures etc, or was it different?

Very late to reply here, sorry!—but I used a 20-gallon long tank for every one of them, and the intro was in the same tank with the divider removed.

[Markpd]

I think this thread deserves to be stickied for more input (I'll leave it to you betty if you ever want to unpin it).

[betty]

That's fine - but it really didn't get as much attention as I had hoped - considering how many people must have tried it a different way and could probably share something.

I am sure that we could certainly learn something new from all the different approaches - so yes - hopefully sticky-ing it will raise its prominance slightly so we can get more feedback.

[Markpd]

Yea more people will see it, even if their aren't any replies for a while.
And yea hopefully you'll get some replies over time

[sparkbubble]

This was pretty weird. I started with a spit cage (1 year old male, 1 6-m old), as normal, switching them back and forth for about three days. Then, the 2rd night, the gerbil chewed through the wire (molding/crafting mesh), and next thing I know, they're both running around on the same side of the tank. They seemed ok, so I took them out and put them in the tub together for an hour or two to watch for any initial signs of violence. They were both pretty jumpy, but the most territorial behavior I observed was marking corners of the bathtub. I let them run around in their tank after replacing the cardboard they'd marked up and adding extra bedding, but I had them sleeping in separate places that night. I really wanted the bigger gerbil to be the dominant one, so I left him in the tank and had my little guy rio sleep in the bin. the fourth day, I let them be together for the whole day. That was 'hump day',where Samson established his dominance. Samson was humping rio for half the afternoon before I finally took a hamster cage, pute rio in it, and put the hamster cage in the tank. I did that sort of 'split cage' for the rest of the night, switching them out twice. I let them be together the next day to see if Samson would hump rio again. To my suprise, there was only a little bit of casual sniffing going on before parting their separate ways. It's been two days now since samson has humped rio, and the only dominant signs are made by Samson (marking). This was a very unusual method of introduction, so I'm keeping my eye on them. They both run around at the top of their tank, but they hide from each-other when they eat (which my last two pairs of gerbils did, so I am not concerned). They both take food out of my hand and groom in each-others presence(s).
-Heads up: these two were opposite sex, so apparently this significantly affects the outcome. The bond was a gift that kept on giving, as I ended up with ten more gerbils than I anticipated. 

[Markpd]

Hey betty, this thread will be of interest to you, definitely non-traditional .

[Markpd]

Wanted to quote a relevant thread here so it doesn't get lost.

Nov 26, 2022 6:28:36 GMT -8 ps25 said:

Hi

I just went through what should be an easy intro that ended up being very touch and go, and then had an instant game-changing moment.... 

I have a 2 year male/female pair that had been in the split tank for about a week and were giving off all the right signals.  So I did my usual introduction, with nothing in the tank other than bedding.  I have used this approach for years - the idea being that without any toys to distract or get territorial over, the gerbils should be forced to interact and bond.  It started out well, they were comfortable in the same tank together, no signs of aggression.  But the male, who is now going to be renamed "Doofus", just didnt get any of Angels signals.  When she wanted to eat, he wanted to try mating.  When she wanted to groom, he wanted to dig etc.  After about an hour, she started to get stressed out by the situation and I was considering calling a time out on the intro.  Then I remembered a recent post about providing a small enclosed space (I think it was described as a bubble).  So I cut a cardboard box in half to make an open cave like nest box.  The effect was instant.  They both headed straight into the box and she immediately looked much more at ease.  They started grooming and settled down together. 

That would've probably been the end of the intro but Doofus decided to chew the nest box ha ha ha.  So they got a second "cave" and spent the night together in there.

I cant believe I haven't tried this before.  It really brought them together in an enclosed but easily accessible space.  I will definitely try added a nest box a few hours into my next intro.

Thanks again for sharing this ps25