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Post by rowan on Sept 18, 2023 5:19:34 GMT -8
Recently one of my gerbils, Daphne's mate, died, and ever since, Daphne has been extremely depressed. I decided to go ahead and get a gerbil from a nearby breeder and brought her home yesterday. I put both of them in a split cage around 1pm and decided not to switch their sides until the next morning as the trip home with Darcy, the new gerbil, had been very traumatic. I have a camera over their cage, so I could monitor them, and they mostly just ignored each other which I took as a good sign, so I left them be until this morning. I woke up and went over to the cage, and lo and behold Daphne had chewed through the split cage barrier (I now realize that I had used aluminum instead of a proper metal wire which was a big mistake on my part, so no need to bring that up). They were both curled up together as happy as could be on Darcy's side. I've looked through the videos on my camera and can't seem to find any fights or even arguments. They both passively explored their newfound cage.  (Note: Darcy's nose was like that before they were introduced) I would appreciate any input on this situation as this is my first attempt at split-tanking, and now I'm really nervous to disturb them and break any sort of fragile bond they have. |
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Post by TJ's Rodent Ranch on Sept 18, 2023 6:26:36 GMT -8
Hi there, so lovely to see your girls so happy, so quickly! I know many people would probably say to put them back in and keep them split for a while using conventional methods, but I honestly think that as long as they're doing really well together it would be best to leave them. Once they've been together for this long without any fights, let alone sleeping together, yes you could consider them in a fragile bond. Daphne may have been entirely relieved to see another gerbil, and neither wanted to start a fight. If they're getting along so well I think just leaving them together could save both you and the gerbils a lot of the stress that a split can be. Best of luck!  |
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Post by catnut on Sept 18, 2023 13:21:12 GMT -8
soo sweet and beatiful black and whites! Just watch for any declanning but hopefully they were both very lonely and that will keep them happy. |
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Post by mygerbilprince on Sept 18, 2023 15:00:15 GMT -8
My 4 girls all bonded in under a week. I had 3 on one side and 1 on the other. One of the three girls found her way around the divider and was getting along fine with the single gerbil, so I introduced them all to each other. After a bit, they were getting along just fine, sleeping together and grooming each other. However, a few months later they fought, and now they're in a split cage again. Some progress has been made though (yay!)
So I guess make what you wish of all of this. The quick introduction could have lead to the de-clan, or it could have been other factors. If they're getting along okay just keep an eye on them and they should be alright. Remember, there's no harm in separating them again just to be safe. Good luck & keep us updated!
PS that picture is sooooo adorable
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Sept 18, 2023 16:39:06 GMT -8
It seems like you got incredibly lucky with a quick introduction. I don't think there's any point separating them now if they're sleeping together and seem peaceful, but be really careful with adding new things. Don't add too much too soon and only one thing at a time.
How old are the gerbils, out of curiosity? I think older gerbils can sometimes bond very quickly as they don't care so much about all the territorial stuff.
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Post by ps25 on Sept 19, 2023 9:12:23 GMT -8
Agree, I would leave them be. Keep a careful eye on them but give them chance to properly bond now. Dont change anything in their set up for at least 2 or 3 days. I have bonded gerbils after just one night so it can work. But I dont recommend it in general :-)
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Post by rowan on Sept 23, 2023 16:43:23 GMT -8
I'm happy to say that after six days the two are still going strong. The third day they had a few disagreements but didn't physically attack each other, and the next day they were back to normal. I've waited quite a while and will be introducing a hide to them tomorrow. I feel like their bond is set in stone right now, so I am comfortable enough to begin adding enrichment to their tank every few days.  Here they are sleeping together; Darcy on the left, Daphne on the right. We were wondering if they were related as we got each of them from different breeders who work quite closely trading stock, and they look very similar. River City Gerbils, Darcy's breeder, confirmed our suspicions; they are second cousins, sharing great grandparents. Daphne's breeder is Adorable Whimsical Whiskers.  Here's a picture of baby Darcy at about 10 weeks old. She's 10 months old now, and Daphne is 15 months old (fun fact: Daphne's birthday is the day before mine). |
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Post by TJ's Rodent Ranch on Sept 23, 2023 18:58:44 GMT -8
Great to see it's coming along so well. Yeah, they're most certainly bonded now, I don't think you have anything to worry about. What a sweet picture! It's so nice to see them so happy. That's really cool about them being related, that's very interesting. The gene that gave them the pied appearance probably came from one gerbil earlier on, and so I'm not surprised they're related, especially (well really, because) they trade stock a lot. Anyways, yes it's really awesome that they're so happy together, I hope they love their new tank! |
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Post by catnut on Sept 24, 2023 13:23:53 GMT -8
beautiful gerbils, i was able to get mottled black brothers' from a breeder years ago, they lived to 3 1/2 years old and were awesome, friendly boys but unfortunetely she isn't breeding any longer or i would've gotten more gerbils from her so now save rescues. It's getting harder to get gerbils where i am as well, which is worrying.
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