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Post by betty on Apr 25, 2023 11:25:13 GMT -8
How are things now icecontroller2529? Are there any updates either way on these two just to see how it is going so far.
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Post by icecontroller2529 on May 5, 2023 10:19:39 GMT -8
I'm sorry to hear the gerbils seem to be unwell. Do you think that might be affecting their behaviour at all? It's hard to say whether they benefit from being side-by-side or not. If only we could get inside their heads and find out for sure. It may be worth having them separate for a while as a trial, to see if they seem more relaxed. I don't think their health is affecting their behaviour since they seem to be doing fine at the moment. There are signs that indicate there might be trouble at some point, but as for now, they seem to be doing well health-wise. Right, if only we could get inside their heads ...
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Post by icecontroller2529 on May 5, 2023 10:33:56 GMT -8
How are things now icecontroller2529 ? Are there any updates either way on these two just to see how it is going so far. Sorry for not answering sooner, Betty, I haven't been here for a while. Also, not much happened with these guys ... yet. At the moment, they are still in the unfortunate situation in the split tank, and it's not good for them. They are stressed, especially the one who is lower in hierarchy and has been bullied. The aggressor seems to be more at ease, he is just such a cool and confident little guy. But the other one is not doing well, and at some point I tried to make things a little better by using cardboard on the split, so at least there is a little more of a divider now. The good news is that I have been able to persuade my husband to get another enclosure. It will be delivered at some point within the next three weeks, if all goes well. Then we are going to separate those two boys, and they will each have a nice large tank for themselves, and hopefully they will be able to relax and recover from all the stress.
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Post by TJ's Rodent Ranch on May 5, 2023 22:31:56 GMT -8
I'm sorry things are going so badly between Adam and Rob. I hope it gets better soon. In the meantime, I think the new enclosure is a good idea. If you leave them in too long, the split cage could be making matters worse, and you can't put them back in an open unsupervised area together, so for this reason, the new enclosure is a good idea. However, one isolated enclosure for each of them, is not ideal for the long term, because all gerbils need one of their own kind with them, and unfortunately, we can't replace that. From this point, I might separate them for a little while and then put them back into the split cage when they've had a chance to calm down. You could also talk about separating them and getting another gerbil for each of them, and seeing if they fair better with them, but you may run into the same problem again, and four gerbils could be much more complicated than two. However, I suggest you wait for a more experienced breeder to respond before taking action.
If you try the split cage method again after some time, this may clear up, and I sincerely hope so. I've also heard of toppers causing problems between gerbils, specifically dominance issues, but I'm not sure if you have a tank topper.
I hope this gets better, or we can make a way for both gerbils to be happy, whether it's with each other or not.
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Post by tanzanyte on May 6, 2023 15:55:02 GMT -8
If you are able, please don't rule out reintroducing them just yet. It took months of trying with my girls before I got a successful bond. I had nightmare intro after nightmare intro with sometimes mere seconds before ball fights. I was disillusioned and ready to give up, especially after reading others who managed bonds in a couple of weeks. Lily and Daisy suggested I paired it right back with the normal advice and introduced more enrichment to keep them happier and stop the aggressive/stressed behaviour. I gave the girls a lot more to do and a much bigger space and swapped them once a day only. It was like that for over a month. I didn't even try to reintroduce at this point. I always continued the single swap in the morning and made sure to give them something so that they were happy enough, but they always had the other gerbils scent. They continued to scent mark and I was worried by certain signs, they would sleep in their nests but never moved them to the divider, in fact they were always as far away as possible. However, in the end they started climbing to try to get to one another so I eventually plucked up the courage to reintroduce and it went well. I gave them some time and although it went well I kept it short and split them again and tried the next day and they were fine again. The whole process took over 3 months with a lot of negative signs. I don't think my anxiety helped either. My girls have been together since the very end of November and have a permanent outside enclosure they use and they still seem to be happy with one another so it can be possible.
Also with regard to the wheels moving, is there any way you can use sticky velcro to attach them to the base of the tank and the stand of the wheel? I'm not sure what wheel you have as to whether this would work but just trying to think of ideas that would help you get sleep and keep the gerbils happy and minimise agitation.
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