Possible Declanning

[bardicsteef]

Hey!

I haven't been here for a while, but my boys have been doing great! Settled into their 55 gallon fine, lots of bedding, chews, wooden wheel and etc.

Unfortunately, I noticed that Chestnut had what looked like blood on his nose and arm yesterday. I took him out, checked him out and left him in the bin cage where I could see him better. Douglas also had a spot on his cheek, but I didn't notice until later. They sleep together, Etcetc.

However, today, I suddenly noticed them fighting. It almost turned into a ball, but it devolved into a chase. I split them up and noticed that they now both had bald patches on their faces and what I think are wounds.

There was no like... blood from what I saw so they must have cleaned themselves by the time I saw.

As a result, I put Douglas (as I suspect he started it) in the bin cage and Chestnut in the tank. They're completely separated right now and I'm not sure what to do.

They're brothers, a year and a half old, never separated before, and have always been bonded. I wasn't going to adopt more gerbils after them, so now I'm unsure what to do. I know they shouldn't be alone, but I'm afraid they'll kill eachother even after a split cage since they've already bit.

[tanzanyte]

Hi bardicsteef

I'm pleased it's been going ok up until now, and I'm glad you've picked this up with only minor wounds to contend with.
I wound't say it's impossible to split cage it and get them back together, others have achieved it I believe. It's just sometimes lengthier. I'd be tempted to try to see if it is possible without ruling it out straight away. Maybe give it some time before doing an actual introduction to give them chance to calm down.

Alternatively could you set up a permanent split? That way they still have interaction with one another. I know Mark found his gerbils, Avon and Blake managed like that quite happily without the need to look for cage mates.

I'm afraid I don't have experience in this area so hopefully someone will be along shortly to offer more advise.

[bardicsteef]

Hello, thanks for responding!

So I left them apart for the night/day, switching tanks this morning.

When I got back from work I let them hang out on my bed to see how they interacted, and after Doug chased Chestnut around, he started climbing on him and shoving his head under him.

Eventually Chestnut groomed his head for a minute before running off. They laid in their hide and napped together, and then I caught Chestnut grooming Douglas for a while, a minute or two. There was a lot of chirping during so maybe it was submissive stuff, but there was no more fighting so far!

I got stuff to split cage their tank before I got home, and they are now nestled in there with a wire mesh barrier between them. They seem confused obviously about the shifting, but they're digging and acting normally so far. Already dug a tunnel to meet eachother in the middle, it's rather sweet. I'm gonna keep them separate for a bit just to be sure, but I'm suspecting that it may have been a disagreement of who's in charge since Chestnut seems to be the one grooming now where before it was Douglas.

[TJ's Rodent Ranch]

Hey there!
So glad to hear things are going better, it sounds a lot like a dominance thing to me.
Declanning in twos is much more uncommon, so I would be a little surprised, not to suggest at all that it's not possible, but I do think something concerning dominance is much more likely, especially after seeing the "groomer and the groomed" switch places. I think keeping them separated for a bit longer is a good idea just to be sure.
Keep a close eye on them, and let's hope we've seen the end of it!

[Markpd]

How are they getting on now? And what are their living arrangements?