Too old to intro?

[tanzanyte]

Last week we lost Pepsi. I'll post elsewhere as I think I need to offload because of the circumstances. Anyways Max is now alone. He seems ok but is understandably a little lost. He is coming out to see us more and has been bringing bedding up and taking it back down again, which he hasn't done until the other day when Pepsi was very ill and was sleeping upstairs.
I don't know what to do as he seems quite healthy and I wouldn't want him stuck alone if he could survive quite a bit longer. Plus my daughter has he mocks and GCSE's so won't be able to devote as much time.
I have found another lone male, aged 2.5 years that I am enquiring about, although he may have already gone. Does anyone know if 3 is too old to intro? Would it take longer or be more upsetting for them?
My daughter is worried that we could be wrecking his last few months of life (bonding our girls took 3 months).

[TJ's Rodent Ranch]

hi there. I'm so sorry to hear about Pepsi.
In this circumstance, since he's 3, I probably wouldn't introduce him to another gerbil. Older gerbils can live very well by themselves, so after the initial shock of losing Pepsi, he'll probably be able to spend the rest of his life just with you perfectly well. If you think Max has another year in him (although living to four is very uncommon) then it's something you could consider if you don't think you'll be able to spend much time with him, but if you believe he's only going to be around for three or four months than leaving him alone and hanging out with him as you can for that time would probably work well, especially since the stress of bonding to another gerbil (if things didn't go great) could push him over the edge and could take the rest of his life, with little time actually enjoying time together as a bonded pair.

Anyway, in all I probably wouldn't bond him to another gerbil for those reasons. Of course, he is your gerbil so if he starts seeming lonely, and really appears to need another gerbil of course you would know best for him. In that case, try to find another around his age.

Hope you're doing okay with the loss of Pepsi, I'm sure you'll know best for Max

[catnut]

RIP Pepsi, soo sorry for your loss. Just take it day by day and see how Max is before deciding if he needs a friend or not.

[LilyandDaisy]

I don't think 3 is necessarily too old but I understand the concern about a possible long introduction taking away too much time. Sometimes intros with elderly gerbils can be quite quick, but it depends on the gerbils really. Perhaps you could consider a permanent split in the event that the intro doesn't work out within a certain time frame?

[tanzanyte]

Thanks for your advice. The older gerbil I’d found has already been bonded. I honestly don’t know how the guy does it so fast as it was only there for a week. The likelihood of finding another is slim so unless Max is really struggling I’ll see how we go. He does seem to be popping up for more contact. At this rate he’ll be as fat as a bacon pig from all of the treats he’s getting!

[betty]

If you are experienced with bonding and you have older guys - pairing isn't usually an issue - usually days at most.

Most of the time 2 oldies just go 'hi' and that is that - however there are the odd occasions where they have a personality clash. Rare - but they do happen.

Sometimes the less dominant gerbil in a pairing can seemingly have a change in character and become more bold when left as a single - and often this makes them seem like a good candidate for lone living. I have had a few oldies that seemed much more human orientated after a partner passed - so it can happen that way.