Split cage aggression

[xflower16x]

Hi all.
I am currently introducing two young males to my adult male, Elmo who just in case relevant, doesnt have a scent gland from surgery earlier this year. We recently tragically lost his brother.

Elmo seems to be accepting them just fine but the young ones seem to be very aggressive trying to bite him through the mesh and did manage to loosen two of his toe nails so I'm thinking I'll reduce the size of the mesh so they cant cause him harm.

How long is normal until I should expect this to calm down? Or is this not normal? I'm worried it hasnt calmed down yet and is a sign this is not going to work but then this is also only day 2 in this split set up.They were 8 weeks which I appreciate is on the older side but still has feasibility to work from my research.

I'm ridiculously anxious about this as I just want my lonely boy to be okay. Thank you for your help.

Flower x

[LilyandDaisy]

Hello,

With a normal introduction (two adults), aggression usually diminishes after a few days.

Unfortunately I think the fact that these young males are showing aggression may indicate that they are too old or too mature for a two-to-one introduction.

Elmo's lack of a scent gland may complicate things further but I remember this issue was discussed in this thread.

Edit: I just realised you are aware of that thread since you posted in it! It's a tricky issue as there is so little anecdotal information, even though scent gland surgery is not that uncommon nowadays.

[xflower16x]

Hi. Thank you so much for this.

How many days do you think I should give it before I 'give up' with this split and accept it is not going to work out?

I have also gone back to the breeder to see what my options are regarding possibly swapping these boys to younger gerbs which is of course hard to consider as they are wonderful.

Thank you so much again x

[LilyandDaisy]

Personally I wouldn't wait to see any aggression diminish, because the issue here is not the aggression per se but what it indicates. It indicates that these gerbils have matured to the point that they see themselves as a clan that needs to be defended, and they're only going to get older. Aggression early in a split with two adults isn't a big issue as two single adults can accept each other with time, but a bonded pair is unlikely to accept another gerbil.