New Tank Behaviour

[badgerbravo]

Hey All,

Need some advice, reassurance here please.

I've had two female gerbils for around 3 months now, which makes them around 4-5 months old.
I originally had them both in a 20 gallon tank (Bad advice from PetSmart). It was filled with bedding and they happily popped up when I removed the lid to accept treats while sitting in my hand.

I finally found a 40 gallon tank and was so excited to get it ready for them. I divided it so they had a huge area for bedding and an area that was clear for their wheel, water and had lots of thing to explore, climb and play with.
I did the transfer and moved all of their bedding from the old tank to the new one and at first they seemed to love it.

But the next day, suddenly they became terrified of me. Whenever I entered the room they would hide in their burrow. (It's right up against the window, where they can see me and I can see them).
It's been a few days now and one has ventured out and explores a little. Still runs back when seeing me, but it's the other one I'm worried about.
She's spending the whole time sleeping in the burrow and has popped out once or twice.

I'm more disappointed than anything, as I was so excited about them having more space to play and explore and now I'm worried I've done something wrong.

I've added their favorite things, Cardboard, tubes and straw, that normally would be destroyed by now but they've hardly touched it.

I posted up on Reddit and was told this behavior is quite common, I just wanted a bit more info, reassurance as these are my first gerbils.

Thanks!

[Markpd]

Interesting, I think my boys did this at a similar age (and grew out of it shortly afterwards).
Hopefully more experienced owners will come forwards with something more useful!

Oh btw, is the new tank in a different place?

[badgerbravo]

Jan 3, 2023 12:19:55 GMT -8 Markpd said:

Oh btw, is the new tank in a different place?

Exactly the same place! I even made sure to use the same bedding from their old tank.

I'm getting a few replies that it's common but i'm just a bit freaked out by the sudden change in behavior.

[Markpd]

Yea it's weird, but like I mentioned, my boys did the same!

[Markpd]

What do other folks reckon?

[LilyandDaisy]

I have found this can happen after moving them to a larger tank. It should settle down with time.

I think they just get comfortable with their familiar little world and then when their world suddenly becomes much larger it can be scary to begin with, until they get used to it.

[badgerbravo]

Thanks everyone. They seem to be slooooooowwwwly coming back to normal.
Starting to explore their new environment and realizing they're missing out on the fun.

Still very nervous of me though.

[atiriya17]

Yes, I agree! When I moved my gerbils to a larger tank, they definitely did do some of the same things and slowly started to explore and be back to their normal selves! I think it's just that the new environment can be overwhelming at first, but once they settle down, they'll be living a fabulous life!