Introducing to a duo.

[Gurry]

I recently adopted an 8-week old gerbil as I felt bad as he was living by himself for 2 weeks with no companion, as apparently he had passed away. His name is Benji.

We luckily have a backup cage to keep Benji in for the meantime, though my current duo, Gus and Jerry, live in a 55 (imperial) gallon tank (66 U.S gallons). We would love to introduce them, though we are unsure whether it may be worth doing this as Gus and Jerry are already an established pair. Gus and Jerry, however, are extremely friendly and do not show any signs of aggression towards seeing Benji in his seperate tank.

Gus and Jerry are 10 months old, and have been with us since they were around 10-12 weeks. Is it possible to introduce Benji to my duo, or are we best getting him his own friend? Any advice would be appreciated.

[LilyandDaisy]

Hello,

I think it's unlikely to work out unfortunately as because Benji is about 8 weeks old, he is starting to become an adult gerbil and that's how other gerbils will see him. An established pair won't generally accept another adult gerbil and there is a risk of splitting up Gus and Jerry if you try.

It's certainly not ideal for such a young gerbil to be on his own though. Are you able to get another gerbil to join Benji?

[Gurry]

Jul 23, 2024 10:59:55 GMT -8 LilyandDaisy said:

Hello,

I think it's unlikely to work out unfortunately as because Benji is about 8 weeks old, he is starting to become an adult gerbil and that's how other gerbils will see him. An established pair won't generally accept another adult gerbil and there is a risk of splitting up Gus and Jerry if you try.

It's certainly not ideal for such a young gerbil to be on his own though. Are you able to get another gerbil to join Benji?

Hi, thanks for your response. I suppose it would be a good idea not to introduce them, as we don’t want to risk fights or declanning especially if one of the gerbils bonds to Benji, but the other doesn’t particularly like him. It would not be fair to introduce a new gerbil to them as Gus and Jerry are happy as a pair. I will be able to get another gerbil to bond to Benji instead and get them a separate large tank and see how that goes. Thanks for the advice.