Great news! Found another lone gerbil

[southeastus]

I'm the person who just adopted the gerbil who had been living alone at the pet store for at least a month.

Yesterday I had the mildly bright idea of checking other locations of the same pet store chain, and found another gerbil that has been living alone at that store, this one they said for about a year.

I drove there this morning and the gerbil was bright and healthy looking and didn't try to bite me when I tried to touch it. So I brought her home-- they were pretty sure it was a female. I think my other gerbil is too. It's going to be a long time before they meet in person, if they ever do, and by then I should know. I'm going to take it very very slowly since they both seem to be doing all right alone.

Such as, in a few weeks, letting them play in the bathtub at different times, and then at the same time with a barricade between them, and seeing how they react to each other. At the least, seeing another gerbil who is somewhat familiar through a barricade will be enriching their lives.

And I have a new cheerful little pal! She's already a delight.

[catnut]

a new gerbil needs to be quarantined for 2 weeks away from the other gerbil, preferably in another room, wash hands between touching them, to make sure she is healthy. i wouldn't let them play in the bathtub even with a barricade between them, as this can cause stress and a split cage needs to be done, there are websites to explain it. Glad you have another gerbil but do make sure they are both female, females can be hard to bond but it depends on their personalities. Good luck but do it carefully.

[Markpd]

Great to hear you've got another gerbil , but yea, what catnut said.
And you want to be totally sure they're the same sex!

[southeastus]

catnut, Markpd, Thank you for the replies and tips.

I have only had two gerbils in the past, and now these two, and I realize that you know more about gerbils than I do. I'm not arguing with you or rejecting your advice. I'm just asking.

Isn't there some other way to test the possibilities of their getting along without the whole drama of a split cage, which I'd think would be upsetting and doesn't have the greatest chance of success?

It's going to be hard to decide to do the split cage because
1. They are older, female, and used to being on their own.
2. Right now, they're as lively and curious and trusting as my other gerbils who had been together from a very young age and never had a falling-out, groomed each other, slept cuddled up, and so on. The best I can tell is that the new ones are just as happy and healthy as the paired ones were. I'm tempted to not change anything as long as they continue to do so well.

Also, I was thinking that some low-stress contact, such as behind a barrier in a very neutral place, the bathtub, which I don't intend to use as a regular play area, would at least give their lives some more variety.

However, as I said, you folks know gerbils better than I do. Do you have any further thoughts? Anybody else?

(By the way, no worries about the quarantining. I've had lots of other kinds of pets and always did that, and believe in cleanliness too. And I've done my research and learned about what a population explosion you can get if you're careless about the sex of gerbils. )

[Markpd]

From what I've read, although gerbils can be introduced using the neutral territory method, it is apparently not as successful as the split cage method.
Even if they are fine on their own, they could possibly get on fine with another gerbil too , you don't know until you try.