Ended up with a solitary gerbil; any hints or stories?

[southeastus]

I explained how this happened in my thread in the new members section, but anyway, I now have one gerbil who's been living alone for a while and has a reputation for attacking any other gerbil he/she meets.  I just got him today.

So, unless I can find and introduce him successfully to another gerbil--which is going to be problematic since there is a shortage of gerbils here, none at the animal shelter, none at the pet stores, and no breeders for at least 100 miles and that one may be out of business, and if I do get another one he may not accept it either--it looks as though he may be alone for life.  (I don't even know if he's a male; it's just easier to say "he"; so far I've seen no signs that he is.)

Does anyone have any experience with this, and any ideas for how to keep him as contented as possible if he does have to live alone?  He has a wheel, a hut, a two-story house with the base buried in the Clean and Cozy which he has discovered he can tunnel into the bottom floor of and back out the other side, a cardboard tube I can hear him chewing on right now... I have a walk-in closet I'm going to let him run free in with my company as soon as he's calm enough that I think he can enjoy it.  I've already gone up to his tank maybe a half dozen times and offered sunflower and pumpkin seeds, and he's taken them from my hand several times.   

Do you have ideas for anything else I can do for him?  Or a story about a lone gerbil who's lived a long and happy life, to cheer me up about his chances?  He seems to be a nice, friendly, cheerful little guy--or gal. 

Edit:  I just read something that suggested, but didn't say exactly, that agouti-colored gerbils are more aggressive towards other gerbils.  True?  I think that's what this new gerbil is. 

[southeastus]

Update: He seems to really enjoy company. He comes to the front of the tank when I come into the room. When I put my hand in with a seed, he often just sniffs the seed, then explores around in my hand. Sometimes I offer some other, harmless object instead, and he sniffs at that, puts his paws on it, looks behind it. Maybe I really can keep him happy since I enjoy doing this at least as much as he does.
Maybe I can learn to act like another gerbil. I'm actually at least half serious. Play-chase him around the tank with my hand eventually, if it doesn't scare him; I can start that by play-running away from him and see how he reacts.  I could try to pull on his fur like they do when they're grooming each other. I already tried scratching on his cardboard tube so it would sound like another gerbil was in there and that went over okay.

[LilyandDaisy]

I often wonder when I stroke my gerbils whether they interpret it as grooming. Some gerbils will groom a human hand but it seems quite uncommon. I'm sure they understand that we're a different kind of animal.

One thing you can try is winking at them. Some gerbils will wink back (or if you're lucky, even wink spontaneously at you). We're not exactly sure what winking means to a gerbil but it seems to have some positive significance, such as trust or submission. My gerbil Daisy will often wink at me, especially when she first sees me in the morning, and I'm pretty sure the correct response is to wink back. Daisy winking

[barryozzy]

I would just play with him every day and make sure he doesn't get bored. I have one aggressive gerbil who couldn't get along with his dad or brother (but I have too many gerbils so I'm hoping someone with more time will want one). He seems perfectly happy by himself, unlike his dad and brother who got lonely.

[southeastus]

The first time I saw one of my previous gerbils grooming the other, I thought she was trying to pull her hair out. Thank goodness for internet searches.

Winking--great idea. Thanks.

And thanks for the positive story, barryozzy.

[teambenji543]

I thought that my gerbils were pulling each other’s hair out as well! I was ready to separate them until I saw how relaxed they both were.

[stellamaris]

Due to being an "only" boy, and the pandemic, my little guy is also on his own.
We have floor time every night, I talk to him during the day and give him things to chew on and explore. Often he enjoys being petted and having his neck scritched.
I know from this forum that some gerbils end up alone for various reasons. So far, Scooby seems to be thriving.

[southeastus]

Aug 31, 2021 21:30:34 GMT -8 stellamaris said:

Due to being an "only" boy, and the pandemic, my little guy is also on his own.
We have floor time every night, I talk to him during the day and give him things to chew on and explore. Often he enjoys being petted and having his neck scritched.
I know from this forum that some gerbils end up alone for various reasons. So far, Scooby seems to be thriving.

EVERY NIGHT???  Do you have a good stress-free way of getting him back into his enclosure?  

Harriet runs away from being touched, but it's only been about 9 days, and things may be slowly improving.  The other, Kinsey, I haven't even started to try to touch; I just hold her food in my hand and she jumps in.  I've only had her for 4 days.  

Thanks for the input. 

[stellamaris]

Sept 1, 2021 9:23:15 GMT -8 southeastus said:

Aug 31, 2021 21:30:34 GMT -8 stellamaris said:

Due to being an "only" boy, and the pandemic, my little guy is also on his own.
We have floor time every night

EVERY NIGHT???  Do you have a good stress-free way of getting him back into his enclosure?  

[stellamaris]

Sept 1, 2021 9:23:15 GMT -8 southeastus said:

Aug 31, 2021 21:30:34 GMT -8 stellamaris said:

Due to being an "only" boy, and the pandemic, my little guy is also on his own.
We have floor time every night

EVERY NIGHT???  Do you have a good stress-free way of getting him back into his enclosure?  

I started by putting his cage on the bathroom floor with a ladder so he could come and go at will. After a couple months he was calm enough with me that I put his tiny travel cage up to his big cage and he'd hop in. We still do it that way, altho I've gotten him to the point that when he climbs on my hand for a treat, he stays just long enough that I can move him back into his cage.
Takes time for trust to build, I guess.