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Post by lizzy on Jul 26, 2004 5:12:19 GMT -8
k, i've got an 11 week old female (juliet) and a 5-8 week year old female (raven) in a split cage (finally managed to come up with one lol!)
juliet keeps scrabbling through the bars and trying to get through, while raven keeps squeaking. is this normal/okay?
how long will it take? 1-2 weeks? do hiding places on both sides of the cage help? how long should i wait before trying to introduce them? when introducing them, what danger signs should i look for (mounting, chasing, etc)?
sorry for the amount of questions! thanks.
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Post by queenofthenile on Jul 26, 2004 6:25:39 GMT -8
It sounds to me like Juliet is the dominant and Raven is the submissive gerbil. The squeaking indicates fear. I would give one house to each gerbil and some cardboard. Not too much stuff so that they can ignore each other, but enough to take the little one's fear away.
Since Juliet is sounding aggressive, it will probably take two weeks to split them. As for danger signs, if they roll into a ball fight, split them immediately (heavy leather gloves are essential here, they *will* bite you). If you see vicious chasing and lots of squeaking, they need more time. Mounting is fine, as is thumping. The best indication that they are going to get along, is if you see them grooming each other or sleeping in a pile.
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Post by lizzy on Jul 26, 2004 15:20:12 GMT -8
thanks!  also, is it a good idea to swap them around sides now and again, if so how often? i heard it was a good idea because they get to know each other's scent and stuff. |
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Post by queenofthenile on Jul 26, 2004 18:52:22 GMT -8
I'm impatient, so I swap them every 2 hours ;D. Most people swap them everywhere from 2-5 times a day. I think swapping is necessary, because of the exchange of scent.
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Post by lizzy on Jul 28, 2004 12:03:41 GMT -8
well, i keep switching them around, and they seem to be getting along a lot better now raven's stopped squeaking and juliet seems to be less/not at all aggressive. they just sniff/touch noses through the divider, but that's all the contact they have. is this going well yes? should i try takingthe divider away in about a week? |
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Post by queenofthenile on Jul 28, 2004 13:06:51 GMT -8
Yes, it sounds very good. I would try it in a week, or even a bit sooner if they start sleeping next to each other or attempting to groom each other through the bars.
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Post by lizzy on Jul 31, 2004 11:12:06 GMT -8
well i've been swapping them round constantly and they seem fine together now. i let them run about a bit with no divider (supervised of course) and they weren't aggressive at all. raven was stamping a bit at first but thats okay isn't it? they kept touching noses/sniffing each other i'm going to take the divider away on wednesday, or maybe sooner? |
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Post by queenofthenile on Jul 31, 2004 22:17:15 GMT -8
IMO, you can take away the divider now and just watch them for several hours. If fighting erupts, split again. If there isn't any fighting, then you're home free ;D.
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Post by lizzy on Aug 3, 2004 6:19:47 GMT -8
i took out the divider a couple days ago, and now they're fine  yay! thanks for all your help |
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yay!