Help! Gerbils declanned the day before work trip

[springroll]

My partner and I in a dilemma and not sure what to do. We have a pair of two-year-old gerbils, Karl and Fred. They are our first gerbils, and their company has helped us survive the pandemic. I have had to move temporarily, so my partner has been caring for them during the week alone. Yesterday without warning, they got into a ball fight in their tank. My partner separated them (they just had some small cuts on their chins). Still, my partner got a deep bite when he was to separate them, so they were going very hard.

We bought another tank and have them each separated, but my partner will be going on a work trip tomorrow for a new job. This will be the first time they’ll be alone for any length of time (the last time we went away we had a sitter, but this trip is short notice), and we don't know any of our neighbours. It will be three days of them being alone before I can get to them. I am so worried about the effect on their health of them being completely isolated for that time. We were thinking of doing a split tank so they have some companionship, but we’ve never done anything like it before, and don’t know what we would do if something happened. Right now, we have them in two separate 20 gallon tanks. Fred is in the new one with bedding, water, a wheel and some cardboard, and Karl is in the original one, which also has a topper for their bottle, wheel, sand bath and extra toys. Honestly, we’re both lost, overwhelmed, sad for our gerbils and don't even know where to start, so I'm reaching out for help.

What should we do to support Karl and Fred while my partner is away?

[LilyandDaisy]

Hello,

Sorry to hear your gerbils have declanned, although it's good to hear they weren't badly injured.

I think they will be okay on their own for the three days. I wouldn't recommend putting them in a split while you're away. If they've just been through a declan and the build up to it (which often involves weeks of increasing tension - not necessarily easily noticeable to you), they probably prefer to be away from each other right now. Like with humans, company is only beneficial if you like your companion. You'd probably rather be on your own than with someone you hate or are scared of.

Some people will try a reintroduction after a declan. I don't know that it has a particularly high long term success rate. However, if you did want to try it, I think it's advisable to let the gerbils have a few weeks to cool off first.

Leave them with at least two water bottles each, and plenty of food and things to chew. They should be fine amusing themselves for a few days. I had to leave mine for three nights last year and they were okay - although one pair had pushed the large bowl of food I left them against the topper door so that all the food fell out onto the floor when I opened the door!

[springroll]

Thank you so much for the reply LilyandDaisy, your reply has really helped me calm down! I didn't know they should be kept apart for weeks. They've never been apart from one another since we got them even for vet visits, and haven't been without human contact for more than a day, so I was so worried that this was like putting them in solitary confinement. I've been seeing those movie montages of people going crazy in solitary cells all day. I hope they can relax a bit in their new setups.

Another couple of question I was worried about were: even though we changed their bedding, I think the topper probably smells a lot like both of them. The wheel is also wooden, so I'm sure it still has some of their smell. Should we remove the topper as well so the smell doesn't scare the gerbil still there?

The last thing is: how separate should I keep them when I get there? Even though they're in different rooms, we usually let them out to run around the (carefully gerbil-proofed) living room every day for 30 minutes to an hour. They've been acting really antsy to get out since the fight, but our apartment is small enough that even if I take them out at different times, one of them will probably see the other from their tank.

[LilyandDaisy]

The topper should be okay as metal bars/mesh don't typically retain smells very strongly. You could wipe it down but it shouldn't be necessary to remove it.

I would just wash the wheel in soapy water to reduce any smell (assuming it's not made with any water-based glues which might dissolve).

They can be in the same room and it's fine if they see each other, just as long as they're never in direct contact.

[springroll]

Thank you for the advice LilyandDaisy! We followed your advice, and they survived the trip! They were even a bit excitable, which was great.

I do have another update and a concern. This is from my partner:
"I'm a little worried about Fred. He seems like depressed or something similar. He does not chew much at all, does not come out unless I try to goad him out by making noise and then he goes back underground immediately. I open up the top and he jumps up for a second and goes back underground. He seemed like he was slow to eat treats. I'm wondering if we should make them a split cage so he can get some gerbil contact?"

He also mentions that our other gerbil, Karl, seems fine. I have noticed him acting more 'down' since the split, but it seems a lot worse now. I also notice that whenever Karl is out, he tried to get out of the cage. For more context, he is in the (20L) tank without a topper, but otherwise has everything Karl does (wheel, water, tons of bedding for digging, etc.) and comes out to play daily. I am worried about him. Any advice on what to do?

[springroll]

Some more information: Fred seems very depressed. He is not chewing at all, doesn't seem to be digging - he doesn't seem to do much else but sleep. He did come out since I sent the last message, but he seemed to have less energy than usual. I'm really starting to worry a lot. My partner is wondering whether we should try the split cage so he has some gerbil company, but maybe it hasn't been long enough? It's a very sudden change in personality, since he's always been hyper, healthy and an avid chewer, so it's hard to see him like this and not know for sure what to do.

Any help would be appreciated.

[LilyandDaisy]

Depression from loneliness is possible, but I'd want to rule out illness first. Stress could hasten or worsen the onset of an illness.

If you take him out of his tank, does he run around as normal? I think even a depressed gerbil should perk up when out of their enclosure, whereas a sick gerbil may stumble around or be lethargic (although sometimes even a sick gerbil will be quite successful in trying to look normal outside their enclosure).

Is his coat shiny and smooth like normal, or dull, puffy or dishevelled? How is his weight?

[springroll]

Hi LilyandDaisy - sorry for the wait in replying!

He definitely seems to have less energy when he's out and about, but he doesn't seem *entirely* lethargic and he's not stumbling. I'm down here with them again, and one thing I am thinking is that he may be cold? It's more or less winter here in Canada, and even though we track the temperature, his tank is currently on the ground which might be colder. I just brought that up with my partner, so we've pumped the heat and we're going to move the tank to see if he's better. I'm hoping it's an easy fix and he's ok. He rarely comes up from his bedding lately, even to drink, and when he does it's very brief, so it's hard to get a good look at him at all.

Otherwise, his coat is less shiny than usual but not dull, my partner says he's a bit fluffy maybe. It's very hard to say anything concrete, because he just seems a bit 'off'. I really wish gerbils were not so good at hiding their discomfort!

Update: We took him out, aside from what I mentioned before, he was very skittish, running away at every noise and acting like he doesn't recognize us! He did eventually calm down, but it was pretty striking. More importantly, we weighed him, and he's only 80 grams! He's usually around 93 grams or so, so he's definitely dropped some weight.

[LilyandDaisy]

The weight loss is concerning. It definitely sounds like he isn't well, but whether that's an organic physical illness or depression-like symptoms caused by stress (or even a mix of the two), is impossible to say. I would lean towards an organic illness, and if this is the case, it could be what caused the declan, especially if he was the dominant gerbil before. If Fred was getting weaker due to an illness, Karl might have taken that chance to try to become dominant. It's also possible that Fred seems ill now because he's no longer having to act normal to try to maintain his position.

You could put a heating pad under one part of the tank to help him conserve energy. Also make sure he has plenty of high-calorie foods such as fatty seeds, and also some softer. easy-to-eat foods such as baby food, cheese, waxworms etc.

Try to check his teeth as well, to rule out any issue there.

[springroll]

Thank you for the advice and insight. We followed your advice and put a heating pad under one side of his tank, got him to eat some baby food and sunflower seeds. We also had some leftover painkillers from the vet for his brother, which she told us to give his brother if he seemed injured, so we gave him some of that. He couldn't finish it, since right after eating some of it mixed with baby food he started rolling around, rubbing his face on the floor and in the sand. He was really frantic. It looks like something might be wrong with his mouth.

He also wouldn't let us go anywhere near his mouth - usually he will at least tolerate getting his mouth checked, but this time whenever we tried, he started thrashing to try to get away. We gave up after a while to avoid stressing him out. We're worried that the 'small cuts' we saw on their chins after the fight weren't actually so small, and that his might be infected. That, or something is wrong with his teeth. We're trying to get him into the vet on Monday, but his old one just left and the only other exotics vet near us only books same-day appointments and isn't open on weekends.

On the upside, he weighed 83g, so at least he isn't losing weight.

[LilyandDaisy]

It sounds like the issue is in his mouth then.

Until you can get him to a vet, try giving him foods that he can lick up without having to chew at all. For example, thin apple sauce or foods with a similar consistency.

[springroll]

Thank you. I'm hoping it's some kind of tooth injury or recent cut, and not an infection. I know that gerbils can get very sick, very fast. Right now, he's at least able to run about, is eating, his fur looks fine and his eyes are still bright.

If all else fails, there is an emergency vet we can take him to, but they are over an hour away and we'll have to find a ride there (we live in the city don't have a car). Plus we're in Canada and it's very cold right now! We've gone there once for his brother, the trip stressed him out tremendously, so we want to avoid it if we can. Still, are there any signs you think we should look out for that mean he needs urgent care right away?

[LilyandDaisy]

Signs he needs urgent help would include:
- If he feels cold to the touch
- If he becomes much less active, especially he sits hunched with his eyes half closed, and his fur dishevelled. This is the classic "very sick gerbil" posture.
- If he loses his appetite or won't drink

[springroll]

Sorry for the long delay in updating (life has been crazy the past few weeks) but we did get him to the vet and it seems like his teeth was broken! Luckily they grew back fully in a few days, he's back to normal and still split with his brother. He also has a new topper which he seems to like, overall he's doing really well. Thank you for your help!

[betty]

That is all great news - and gerbils and their teeth is such a - well - gerbil problem.

If only they DID show pain a bit more - we could back them better all the more faster. Glad to hear all is well - and with a bonus new topper!!!