Advice for a Lone Gerbil

[paprikaworm]

Hi Gerbil Forum!

this weekend one of my gerbs, Woodchuck, passed away after countless vet visits the last month and a half. She actually seemed to improve little by little so I didn't expect her to go downhill so quickly.

Unfortunately she left behind her sister, Banana. As the passing of Woodchuck came somewhat unexpected, I didn't get a chance to dive into the process of re-bonding or other methods to keep my Banana happy.
She's a 3 year old gerb, and she's been doing surprisingly well the last few days, regardless of the circumstances she seems to be a happy gerb.

I've been kind of in a pickle about what my options are for Banana.

I have the address of a good breeder nearby that could possibly match her to another gerb, but I heard these kind of introductions at old age could be quite stressful as much as unsuccesful. On top of that, I also heard girls are harder to pair than boys.

If she keeps thriving like she does now, I could also decide to keep her as single as a pringle. The problem I have with that is that my girl is only temporarily allowed in my student housing at the moment, and soon she has to go back to my moms house. My mom is not able to provide the multiple hours a day of 'single-gerb-entertainment' as she works 40 hours a week, which sucks because I do have that kind of time.
I've been fighting my (swear word) landlord over the gerb situation for god knows how long and he wont budge which makes me just so upset.

First and foremost I could use some advice on Banana's case regardless of my housing situation at the moment. I'm wondering if more people have been in the situation I'm in right now. I would love to hear you guys' thoughts!!

Attached is a photo of Woodchuck and Banana, Banana is the spotted argente golden one

[mygerbilprince]

I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of Woodchuck!

Jumping straight into it, the gender of your gerbil shouldn't prevent you from pairing her Though gender can play a role, it eventually comes down to her personality. Older gerbils can be bonded if done properly.

The housing situation you are in seems pretty tricky with having gerbils, I can imagine how frustrating that is! So the thing with pairing a 3 year old gerbil is that she is a bit older, so it is up to you whether or not it's "worth it". Since she is older, you do have to think about her partner's situation when she passes. As I said though, it is up to you. Many gerbils do fine alone and some owners choose to keep them alone if they are older.

I am concerned about the situation with your gerbil living with your mother. As you said, if you keep her alone, your mom can't provide the same attention you could. On the other hand, if you choose to bond her, some other issues present themselves. I'm not sure how long your gerbil will be living with you before she moves in with your mom, but you will have to either bond the gerbils in a hurry or guide your mother in bonding them herself. Neither are preferable. If your mom is experienced with gerbils it may go well but the situation is still complicated.

I do hesitate to give you my opinion on Banana's situation because it is ultimately your choice. However, I personally would keep Banana alone because of your housing situation. You said she was doing well alone and I think bonding her would be complicated. Disregarding the housing issue, it is still up to you on bonding her. If you think she will benefit and she has a while left to live then go for it. But if you are afraid of taking the risk or can't commit to another gerbil and the bonding process it might not be the best idea. The decision is up to you, but I hope this is helpful.

Your gerbils are both gorgeous by the way!

[LilyandDaisy]

I don't think a lone gerbil necessarily always needs hours of human attention. It depends on their personality. Some gerbils really crave human attention and others can take it or leave it, or even actively dislike it. An elderly gerbil in particular might not appreciate too much fuss. There are other ways to keep a lone gerbil occupied and distracted, such as environmental enrichment, things to chew and shred etc.

Perhaps the most ideal option for a lone elderly gerbil is to find another lone elderly gerbil of the same sex to settle down with, but they aren't easy to come by. Therefore, if you did definitely want to introduce a new gerbil, the next best option would probably be a single young pup. Such an introduction isn't necessarily going to be highly stressful (unless it turns out badly, which is always a risk), and with a young pup of around 6 weeks it has a high chance of success, but living with a young pup is going to be quite a change to living with a sister of the same age, so you would want to be sure she has the energy and vitality to benefit from it. And of course there's the issue of what to do when Banana passes away and you have a young gerbil on her own. You would also need to be sure you can find another lone gerbil to introduce to her, because a lone young gerbil is quite a different situation to a lone elderly gerbil.

For now, you could just see how she does. She might adjust to being alone very well and perhaps she will even enjoy a quiet life at your mom's!

[Markpd]

Firstly, welcome to the forum Paprikaworm!

Can't say I can think of anything useful to add, the other guys have covered it well .

I'm curious though, what is your landlord's objections to you keeping a pet?