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Post by karli on Jul 3, 2023 12:51:36 GMT -8
My daughter got gerbils of their own and we bought 2 that babies. They were living in the same cage but my girls want them to have in their own rooms. Is it possible to keep them separate but have them play during the day time? Or are we better off not putting them together at times and just leaving them separate? They do have their own separate cages and have been playing during the day but it has only been a couple days.
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Jul 3, 2023 13:24:09 GMT -8
Hello, Congratulations on the new gerbils. I hope they bring you years of happiness! Gerbils are social animals so they really do need to be living full time with another gerbil. Unfortunately they won't be happy at all living separately and meeting for playtime. If yours have been separated only very recently, I would suggest putting them back together in a clean cage and watching them really closely for an hour. If they don't argue or fight in that time and they settle down to sleep together, they should be ok. However if you keep them separate much longer, it's going to be much harder to put them back together again and they may fight when you do. Perhaps you can come to some kind of compromise that allows both girls to own the gerbils equally. Is there a communal area where the cage can be other than a bedroom? Or maybe the cage could go in one bedroom and the playpen in another? Hopefully there's a solution that can keep both children and gerbils happy  |
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Post by TJ's Rodent Ranch on Jul 3, 2023 16:40:43 GMT -8
Hello there, I hope you're having lots of fun with your new gerbils! Unfortunately, since gerbils are very social creatures (as LilyandDaisy said above) they really can't be separated without another partner as they can't live happily like that. Sadly, this can't be compensated with human affection. If they haven't been apart for long and have been playing in the daytime together, it's likely that they can be put back together and they'll get along, though you'll need to watch them for a while before you can leave them unsupervised. I recommend putting them in a freshly changed tank, so neither of their scents are on the bedding, and only have a small amount of bedding inside, with no houses, wheels, tunnels, etc. If gerbils are kept apart long enough, they can forget each other and will fight since they are no longer bonded. This can lead to more serious problems, and if they have already fought before it can be much harder to re-introduce them. If they've been apart for a longer amount of time, (varies from gerbil to gerbil, and situation to situation) you may want to do a split cage just to make sure they're okay. How long has it been since they've lived in the same tank? As LilyandDaisy said, perhaps your girls can come to a compromise? You could possibly even get another set of gerbils for one of your girls if you think that's something you would be willing/able to do. I hope you guys can figure something out and keep everyone happy and satisfied |
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