Can I re-bond my gerbils?

[isthatanaardvark]

I have 3 gerbils (Ash, Ruby and Bonnie) they are all sisters from the same litter. Recently Ash escaped out of their enclosure and was missing for about 2-3 days. This morning I caught her in a humane mousetrap with the help of good ol'peanut butter. But she was looking in a bad way, almost like she was sweating? I'm not sure if it was stress related. Or if she was covered in peanut oil. I tried to return her with her sisters, but they started to attack and chase her. I removed her from them, and she is now in her own enclosure. I have given her a small bath to wash off any oil she may have been covered in. And she has been grooming herself a lot since. I also set up a small dust bath for her. Is there any way I could reintroduce her to her sisters? Or is too late and she can't go back with them? Any advice is greatly appreciated!

[LilyandDaisy]

I'm sorry to hear this (but glad to hear you got Ash back of course!)

Unfortunately there is quite a high chance that you won't be able to get your girls back together. After 2-3 days your remaining pair would likely have started to form a new "hierarchical understanding" that didn't include Ash. Perhaps if she was the dominant gerbil before, another of the gerbils has taken that spot now and they certainly wouldn't want her back. Or even if she was only the second in the social hierarchy, again, her spot might be taken and the gerbil who is holding it now will see her as a threat.

However there is also a slight possibility that if she was covered in peanut oil when she returned, her sisters struggled to recognise her and this is what caused them to attack her. In this case, it's risky but there is one method you could try as a final effort to get the gerbils together again:

- You'll need a carrier, small cage, or a larger tank sectioned down to a very small area of about 20cm wide. It needs to be completely neutral and clean, with none of their used bedding or usual toys. Add some clean bedding and a water bottle if it will fit, but nothing else at this stage.
- Add the gerbils and watch them like a hawk for the first hour. Be armed with something rigid to push between fighting gerbils if needed (ideally also wear gloves). If they fight, unfortunately you'll need to accept that they can't live together anymore.
- If they make it through the first hour, you can give them some food (including fresh vegetables for moisture) and hay or cardboard for shredding. Ideally you want to see them settle down and sleep together.
- Leave them as they are for at least 6 hours, and stay in the same room as much as possible.
- If after 6 hours or so, they still seem ok, and they've been in a carrier, you can at this stage move them into a thoroughly cleaned and completely neutral enclosure, which should be no bigger than about 40cm long. If they've been in a small cage or sectioned down tank, I would keep them in there overnight but you could increase their space a little.
- Ideally put the gerbils in your bedroom for the night, in case they fight overnight.
- If they haven't fought, they've slept together and they've made it through the night together, you have reason for cautious optimism but you still need to be really careful. Over the next few days and weeks you can very gradually increase their space, bedding and enrichment, but I would avoid giving them any of their old toys that still have their scent on them.

This method is risky, both because they may attack Ash again, and because there is a chance that her presence might cause issues between Ruby and Bonnie and in one of the worst case scenarios, you could end up with 3 lone gerbils. Also, (just for anyone else reading) I would only ever use this method for reintroducing gerbils who have been briefly apart, never for introducing gerbils who are complete strangers.

Also, I wouldn't use this method if Ash was previously the dominant gerbil in the trio. I think this is too risky because gerbils tend not to like having their ex-bosses around. =In this situation there is a risk that Ash might be grudgingly accepted at first but then gradually pushed out and excluded, culminating in a declan in which she might be injured. So pretty much only if Ash was previously a subordinate gerbil.

Another thing to consider is that female trios are very unstable anyway, and most of them actually end up declanning at some point. I'm not sure how old yours are but there's a strong possibility there would have been a split at some point anyway. Now that you have a pair and a single, you could consider the option of "quitting while you're ahead" so to speak and looking for a new friend for Ash, since there's a high chance you would have been in a similar situation within the next few months anyway. And it's possible you might follow the above steps only for them to declan in a few weeks or months anyway.

I know this all sounds very complicated! Unfortunately female trios do tend to be quite complicated. I hope you're able to find a solution for Ash whatever that ends up being.

Please do keep us updated!

[isthatanaardvark]

Ok! I will try what you recommend. I hope I can get them back together. I dont want her to be lonely. But first I'm going to let her calm down and rest for a bit. I'm not sure what position she had within them. When I previously observed them, they seemed to all do their own thing. So I couldn't really tell too much. But looking at all of them, from what I can see of the fight. Bonnie and Ruby had bites on their noses. But Ash seems to be ok, just a bit shaken up. But I'll see how it goes

[betty]

How is everyone doing now a good month after their troubles? Hopefully all settled again??

[Markpd]

Also interested to know....