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Post by matt on Dec 31, 2004 23:55:27 GMT -8
Hi all! New to the board. ;D
I had two mates living together but separated them. For a year, the father was living with his son, and the mother with her daughter in two different cages. Unfortunately the daughter escaped and died so I put the mother with the two males. All went well...I assume because the males were just interested in mating, and because the female was scared. Now the three are fine together months later.
But I'm thinking of taking one gerbil away and giving him a new mate and leaving the initial mates (both three years old now) together. I believe she is too old to bear children anyway.
Is it safe to just dump a young female in with the one year old male, or will they fight?
Thanks everyone!
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Post by j on Jan 1, 2005 2:59:26 GMT -8
Ha that's crazy that it worked. Usually males fight over females, Guess maybe in your case it worked because she's too old to get pregnant. The safest and easiest way to add a female with the male is to get a pup as young as you can like 5-7 weeks old. If she's older, you can try dumping her in but theres a better chance of them fighting and you'll have to do a split cage method. Which is this: home.studenten.net/~petermaas/gerbils/introducing.htm ;D
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Post by amie on Jan 1, 2005 13:31:20 GMT -8
I hav no idea!!! sry
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Post by amie on Jan 1, 2005 13:32:07 GMT -8
I hav no idea!!! sry. wen i was first reading ur post i thought u were talking bout ppl!! but wen u said cages that cleared things....a bit
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Post by sweetie on Jan 1, 2005 13:33:46 GMT -8
Hey Matt,
I too am surprised that there was no fighting over the female. It just goes to show that every one has different experiences.
J had a great point of taking a young female pup about 5-10 weeks old. I would keep the young pup separate for a few days until you are sure she has no illness. Watch for diarreah and mucous discharge. Then you might be lucky enough to try to introduce the two with out a split cage. I would take the young male pup out the same day you get the pup. That way he gets used to not having the other two around and he will be less aggressive. Then put both in a new clean tank with no preexisting smells. You could have one in a wire cage and see how they interact. If there is no thumping or aggression, you could try to let them near each other. Please wear gloves so that you may separate them at the first signs of aggression and you won't get bitten.
Are you going to breed them? If so, perhaps it is best to get an older female . One who is 9 months old. You could then do a split cage method. If you get an older one, she will be better prepared physically to bear pups. The young female pup will not even be grown herself.
I hope this has helped. Keep us posted.
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Post by matt on Jan 2, 2005 16:15:09 GMT -8
Thanks everyone! I'll definitely follow that advice with the 5-7 week old pup. I'll put him with the son (1 year old) and keep the pair of three year old mates in a separate cage. I'm fairly certain that female is unable to bear children at this point anyway. Yes, I would like to breed the gerbils, but it's not a major concern for me. The main thing is, having two cages with mates. I find mates get along best with each other.
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