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Post by mygerbilprince on Jun 16, 2021 10:12:12 GMT -8
I have had my lonesome gerbil Prince since 2018 and I want to pair him with my other gerbil who are adults. Neither of the bonded gerbils are especially aggressive though one is more submissive than the other. I hear my gerbils communicating from their separate cages (not very aggressively) and they like to do things at the same time such as chewing, drinking, eating, and exercising. This is why I think they should be together. Prince does have a scent gland tumor so I'm not going attempt to introduce him until around the 15th of July because he should be back to full health by then. I think having some friends could help Prince feel better at the end of his life and help him be less stressed if he gets sick again. I have done a lot of research I just decided to post to get any other advice.  |
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Post by catnut on Jun 16, 2021 14:19:59 GMT -8
some say it's not good with a 2:1 bonding of gerbils.
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Post by betty on Jun 16, 2021 15:42:47 GMT -8
Hey - glad to hear he is on the mend - and surgery must have gone well for him - especially at that age. Is he on meds still then, is that what the month dealine is for?
Removing a scent gland though can lower the status of a male, so potentially it could affect his character going into a normal split (we had another post somewhere about whether scent gland removal before or after a split made any difference on the results?).
This wouldn't be a normal split though - as it isn't two singles. Anything other than the normal split can potentially go very wrong either immediately or a few months down the line. A few have worked, but we haven't gathered enough data to know what links those successful ones together.
As for the other two 'not being aggressive' but one submissive: this is how a clan should look. It should always have one who is the boss and the other one who accepts that they other one is the boss - this is how they stay calm and it prevents the need to show 'aggression'. It only stays stable because there are only two of them - and they both agree.
Gerbils aren't agressive in the same sense as humans can be. Gerbils (like many animals - think meerkats) have to have one leader and the others have to obey - it is just how they survive and get breeding rights. For example you wouldn't say deer are aggressive when for a just a few weeks a year they fight other males to win the ladies? It is the same with gerbils. They are just showing their actions physically rather than in calm poetic sentences!
Adding a third gerbil can change all that.
Trios are never an easy option - and especially as he could be scentless and the others have been a bonded pair for so long - it would certainly be a challenge and have several possible outcomes.
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Post by mygerbilprince on Jun 16, 2021 17:41:28 GMT -8
Thank you, he hasn't gotten surgery yet because he is having surgery after I come home from vacation, the deadline is for him to recover. This will be his second surgery.
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Post by betty on Jun 19, 2021 15:03:55 GMT -8
Second surgery for a SGT - or was the first surgery something else?
Poor guy.
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Post by mygerbilprince on Jul 1, 2021 21:31:15 GMT -8
No, the first surgery was for a SGT, the vet thinks it's cancerous, so he said he would remove more of Prince's scent glands.
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Post by betty on Jul 2, 2021 15:22:50 GMT -8
Yes, normally vets remove the whole scent gland as the tumours can often come back. They are all cancerous technically, but SGTs are initially benign (like a skin cancer) and often stay on the scent gland only and don't usually spread if removed completely.
Hopefully if you are going ahead with an elective surgery it will all go ahead ok for little Prince. But make sure your vet takes it ALL off this time- not just more bits. It really is all or nothing with a SG op. No point leaving any of it behind - they do just fine without it normally.
We aren't sure 100% though whether it can affect a new clan or not as we haven't had enough feedback.
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