My 1 year old male left alone

[intas]

Hi everyone I'm new to the gerbil forum so thank you for reading this, I hope I get some response.

On Friday at 5:30 unfortunately when catching Elanga (my gerbil) his back leg made a popping noise. I rang around the vets and I managed to make him an emergency appointment. Unfortunately it was decided to put him to sleep. £150 later I came home and started to look up how to care for a gerbil who's left on his own...

I need help please.
He seems happy enough but when out of the cage he isn't his usual confident self.
Should I give him more time or look at getting him a friend?
I have cleaned the cage and ensured to my best potential that the smell of elanga has gone. I have a omlet cage so how would I go about the split cage method if needed?
He's only 1 😔.
Please help if you can.

[LilyandDaisy]

Hello,

Welcome to the forum but I'm sorry it had to be under such sad circumstances.

It would be best to try to find a new friend for your gerbil as 1 year old is quite young to be alone. A good option would be either a single adult male or single male pup. You can also introduce two very young male pups but trios are less stable in the long term. If you can find a breeder with pups available they may even be able to take care of the introduction process for you. Introducing a pup to a male gerbil is usually a fairly quick and easy process. An adult will take longer but still has a high success rate.

Many people find the Omlet cages aren't ideal for gerbils as they're quite small and the split up/down setup can promote declanning for some pairs (it's too easy for each gerbil to claim one part as their own territory). This is especially the case when gerbils are unrelated. It would be quite risky to keep an unrelated pair in an Omlet cage. The best option is a glass tank at least about 80cm long. Gerbilarium-type cages with a tank on the bottom and a wire cage on the top are also good options. The problem with the Omlet specifically is that the top and bottom are connected only by one narrow tube which is a "pinch point" which can cause tension between gerbils.

When it comes to the split cage method itself, you wouldn't be able to do that in the Omlet cage. Split cages are generally done in small glass tanks, about 60-70cm long but if you have a bigger tank you can partition it down to a smaller size as shown below.



I hope you are able to find a solution for your gerbil and feel free to ask all the questions you need

[betty]

Sorry to hear about little Elanga - and hopefully by using the advice above - you can find your other little one (you didn't say his name) a new friend.

Also, finding a longer enclosure will improve your chances of a successful split - because they are easier to access for sure - but also because gerbils are better moving side to side than up and down. An Omlet would be very difficult to bond a new pair in - even though an established pair may well have appeared happy in there.

Do keep us updated with your plans either way...