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Post by skylion44 on Jun 28, 2022 9:58:38 GMT -8
Hi, I had a brief health scare where I genuinely believed one of my male gerbils was dying so I had put him in his own tank so he could have a nice quiet place to be. I’m still not entirely sure what happened but after two days he’s completely back to normal and I’d like to put him back with his two sons but I’m wondering if I have to do anything more than just setting him back in the main tank even after two days. Also any ideas on what may have happened to him in the first place are very much appreciated. I think he may have gotten scared because one eye was stuck shut because as soon as it was open he was back to normal
(Previously titled ‘ Reintroduction after brief quarantine’)
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Post by skylion44 on Jun 29, 2022 12:04:57 GMT -8
I ended up putting the dad back in the tank but I think his original problem may have been caused by a fight because about an hour after putting him back one of the younger ones attacked him twice. I put him back I. The separate tank and will try to split cage him with one of his other babies on a week when I’m back from a trip.
I am very worried about the other two though as it seems there’s a bit of a power struggle going on. They are chasing each other around and and having little staring contests and marking around the tank. I assume this is normal since the one who was just kicked out was the dominant one but I’m still really nervous. My grandma will be watching them next week and I’m absolutely terrified their going to attack each other while I’m gone. Should I split cage them just in case?
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Post by skylion44 on Jun 29, 2022 12:37:44 GMT -8
here's two videos of whats going on youtube.com/shorts/KOE1s16cSVk?feature=shareyoutu.be/_SSW0xeN8Bwafter these, it kind of seemed like the fighting was over. One pinned the other down for a bit and they both were super still but still tried chasing each other again. Ive put the aggressor into a critter carrier with some bedding just for a small amount of time so I can figure out what to do |
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Jun 29, 2022 12:52:02 GMT -8
I think what has happened here is the dad was previously the boss, and then he left, and now his sons don't want him back. They also now both want to be dominant, which is why they're arguing.
If you aren't able to supervise them constantly, I would put them in a split tank. Maybe after split tanking for a couple of weeks (or more), they will be able to work out a new hierarchy. But I definitely wouldn't leave them unsupervised right now.
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Post by skylion44 on Jun 29, 2022 12:54:21 GMT -8
I definitely made the right choice separating the aggressive one as I found bite marks all over the other, who actually hadn't done anything the other day when the dad was attacked.
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Post by skylion44 on Jun 29, 2022 12:56:01 GMT -8
I was wondering if it would be a possibility to put the dad back with the injured one once he's healed since those two weren't the ones fighting?
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Jun 29, 2022 12:59:23 GMT -8
I was wondering if it would be a possibility to put the dad back with the injured one once he's healed since those two weren't the ones fighting? Yes, you can try that but I think it would be safer to split tank them first, since they've been apart for a while. |
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Post by skylion44 on Jun 29, 2022 13:33:24 GMT -8
the dad saw the injured boy getting put into a separate tank and now he's chirping quite a bit and thumping, does this mean anything? They were briefly able to sniff each other through the tank topper and seemed happy to see each other. The younger one is in a bin with a towel at the bottom as its the only place we had to put him edit: heres the chirping noise drive.google.com/file/d/1_Y7Yjm-_AXrPfifEnNcOGmce0xdiLQ7c/view?usp=sharing |
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Jun 29, 2022 14:04:20 GMT -8
He's probably just stressed due to all the change. He should calm down soon, once he realises he's safe.
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Post by wendybird on Jul 30, 2022 9:54:30 GMT -8
I have a VERY similar issue going on right now and was going to try and reintroduce the father and non aggressive son back together since it's only been one week. Wondering how yours are getting along?
Also, with the dominant aggressor now alone, would it be better to pair him with a 7 week old? I worry about him with another gerbil now but I know that future aggression may not be the case if he is in a good pairing.
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Post by Markpd on Jul 30, 2022 16:23:33 GMT -8
If they've been apart 1 week then you'll need to do a split intro. How old are the sons btw? Re the dominant son, yea he might well behave differently to another gerbil, especially a young pup who he will likely not see as a threat. But you could also try him with a rescue gerbil of a similar age. skylion44 How did it go in the end? |
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Post by wendybird on Jul 30, 2022 20:48:20 GMT -8
The aggressor is 9 months old and the other is 11 months
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), late 70s