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Post by allison on Dec 1, 2004 8:17:37 GMT -8
Yeah after I bought my cages I took a peak at the cost of tanks and was a little teed off to find that they are no more expensive than a cage, cheaper even. ARGH! But I don't want to switch after spending all that money. Maybe in a few months when I get my job back.
I was thinking would it be ok to get 2 baby boys? Would Rocko (finally picked a name for him after so long!) be overwhelmed? And would my set up be ok for 3?
I'm going to name the new guy Nitz, and if I get a third either Gimpy or Cal. After the guys from Undergrads. OOo maybe I should get 4 to have all of the guys. Would 4 be too many?
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Post by j on Dec 1, 2004 8:33:15 GMT -8
If you want to go for 4 gerbils.. better off splitting the cages up and putting 2 in each one.
Plastic Habitrail type set ups aren't the safest for larger clans. Tubes can cause territorial issues because they'll pee in them and rub their scent in them to *mark and claim territory*. And as they get bigger, it's hard for them to squeeze by eachother so a lot of times you'll get 1 or 2 gerbils that fall asleep in a tube or sits in the tube squeaking and not letting anyone by..causing fights/problems.
So..stick with 2 or split the cages up and get 4.
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Post by allison on Dec 1, 2004 21:18:32 GMT -8
The territory thing wont happen with 2? Now I'm worried.
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Post by queenofthenile on Dec 2, 2004 5:49:23 GMT -8
Allison, pairs are much more stable then trios and quads. You may run into the rare case where a pair fights over a tube, but it isn't very likely. With more than two, you begin to get territorial infighting (which can be precipitated by property - ie: houses/tubes). I personally would just be safe and adopt 1 male gerbil. Of course, that's because I haven't had luck with larger groups . Some people have had success with groups larger than two, but I've even had pairs fight on me .
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Post by lizzy on Dec 2, 2004 9:43:12 GMT -8
one thing you have to watch with that setup, is as they get a bit older they can start "claiming" different parts of the cage. this is less likely with males, though. good luck!
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Post by allison on Dec 3, 2004 22:33:22 GMT -8
OMG!!!!!! Heehee!! I got my 2nd gerbil today! He is soooo cute! And in case they were wrong about the sexing they said they'd take the babies. Yaaay! He's a light blondey color with a white spot on his head and a white tip at the end of his tail. I'll get pictures soon, probably tomorrow. I didn't do the split cage, thought I'd see how they are then split cage if I had to. They love each other! When I put him in Rocko was sleeping so I let him sleep while Nitz explored and got his scent flowing. Then Rocko woke up and when they first saw each other they ran to each other and sniffed noses, then afterwards Rocko was trying to what looked like mount him...I was a little worried about that but he soon gave that up and just started following him around trying to sniff his butt. I watched them for about an hour then left them alone. When I came back to check on them Rocko was sitting in his bed with his head sticking out and I couldn't see Nitz anywhere, just after I started to panic Nitz pokes his head out from under the bedding beside Rocko. They are sleeping together!!! Rocko also licks him alot, Nitzs butt is always wet. When I found then sleeping together Rockos head was all wet, I'm guessing Nitz was licking him. Heehee! I'm so glad it went well. And I really hope Nitz is a boy! But the pet store did say they'd take the babies. So thats good I guess. YAAY!
Edit: Also when they first met after sniffing each others noses Nitz walked under Rocko. Rocko just stood there and Nitz kept on walking. Was cute!
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Post by allison on Dec 6, 2004 17:20:42 GMT -8
Theres Nitz.
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