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Post by southcore on Jun 22, 2005 21:46:36 GMT -8
Ok i have two intros to make. I have my beautiful little boy to introduce to my spotted agouti femal pip. I also have to split Mia and Pip up and introdcue Mia to Chewie and Baby. I can't really decide if this is the course of action i want to take or not. I have a small cage that i could keep mia in till i had pups, but i don't really want to do that to her. So to keep her company until i get her a mate(and eventually possibly reunite her with pip) I'm going to let her hang with the other two girls (assuming they accept her. I bought some hardwware cloth tonight, but i'm not sure if i should have gotten the 1/2". I got the 1/4" and i'm not sure if they will be able to see clearly enough through it. I'm going out towards home depot again in the morning so if anyone has any thoughts on that please share.
Next i'd like to ask what is the best way to split the cage. right down the middle or diagonally?I've seen pictures of both.
Do i need all fresh bedding since i'm split caging with the male and female. My little guy is only 6 weeks old max, and since some think that they could be introduced without the split cage anyway, could i just leave the bedding in (i had just replaced i a few days ago and i don't want to waste it). With the other girls, could i just mix up bedding with each others different smells, or would i just be better off starting fresh?
And any kind words to help me cope with breaking up my sweet little girls is welcome lol.
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Post by RitzieAnn on Jun 22, 2005 22:51:33 GMT -8
Don't waste the bedding. When I split cage, I usually swap the gerbils every day, or every other day or something.
I have a Tank divider for fish that I use with my gerbils. I wove garbabe ties at the ends so they don't chew it. Works well, it splits the tank in the middle, so each gerbil has a square of space to live in.
My second one is just a piece of hardware cloth, and it's in a U shape, and that sits at the end of my 10 gal, and just makes a U shape. I use this one when I'm trying to put one male into a group of other males.
Good luck!
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Post by sherri on Jun 23, 2005 7:17:48 GMT -8
I just used the 1/2" and even though my gerbils could get their noses thru the holes, it didn't look to me like they would have been able to open their mouths enough to bite thru it. It worked great. I put the divider in diagonal because it seemed to be the safest and easiest...in that they really couldn't easily access the ends that were stuck in the cracks/corners of the tank.
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Post by southcore on Jun 23, 2005 12:47:53 GMT -8
I'm having trouble with my wire divider...it seems like they will be able to just dig out the bedding from around it and move it enough at the bottome to get underneath...how can i avoid this? can i use duct tape?
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Post by southcore on Jun 23, 2005 13:21:18 GMT -8
Update: I have my little boy in the same tank as my Pip...they are separated and i'm watching them closely...this was just a test run as i have to work tonight and don't wanna leave them unattended.for the next three hours i'm going to watch them very closely, then put them in seperate cages before i leave...tomorrow i'm going for the ful run, and i'm introducing Mia to Baby and Chewie...should be eventful.
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Post by southcore on Jun 23, 2005 22:55:30 GMT -8
I rigged up a better split cage (bascially made a cage within a cage out of the hardware cloth) and i feel comfrotable with leaving them that way over night. I've also been told by a few people that introducing my (now) lone siamese cagemate of Pip to my other two females isn't a good idea and that i should just leave her by herself and attempt to pair her with a pup from the litter. ALSO, i have been told i should just get a young female (but since pups are hard to come by these days i don't see that happening). I was told that since Pip might not accept the little guy, that i would have separated her and her sister for no reason and that they might not accept each other again and then i'd have 3 lone gerbils...and i'm getting sad for Mia b/c she seems lonely already. Does anyone think anything would be wrong with letting Pip and Mia have some play time everyday? Or what about putting mia in the split with pip? I'm afraid that it will ruin the split caging. I am just really worried about Pip not accepting the little guy, and then not being able to reintroduce her to her best friend mia.
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Post by RitzieAnn on Jun 23, 2005 23:35:15 GMT -8
I clanned up a bitchy little gir (named "Little B", for a reason...) and I was told it wouldn't happen. I also adopted a bully from a petstore and he caused a few blood bathes, but he's paired up with younger male (from Sandy) and there was NO blood involved! But who do you have split caged right now? Even if you can't get them clanned up, you can always keep them split caged. That way they have gerbil company, but they can't fight each other. Just make sure your cage is bigger than 10 gals, or that they get time outside the tank every day! I wish you luck. Keep us updated!
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Post by southcore on Jun 23, 2005 23:46:53 GMT -8
I have my younger(yet definately the alpha between her and her best pal Mia) female Pip split with my 6 week old male (as yet named). Mia is by herself and i hate it for her. I bought a 25 gallon bin today, and i was just thinking that MAYBE if i dide some hard fast work tomorow i could rig it up to allow me to split it into three parts, two large parts for Pip and the little boy, and then a smaller section connected to Mia's tank to allow her to come and visit Pip with out any fighting...i don't know i'm just weighing my options. I appreciate you comments b/c they raised my spirits a bit. This person that was so negative must've had a bad, or some bad experience(s) and so they didn't want the same to happen to me. really all i can do is try to intoduce my very sweet little mia to my other two girls, or do one of the other many options. I'll be sure to keep everyone updated. And keep the advice coming!
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Post by southcore on Jun 24, 2005 12:19:30 GMT -8
UPDATE: The Dude and Pip have been together since this morning at about 1:30 AM. They slept near each other last night, but not right next to the screen against each other. Pip has gotten over trying to sracth at teh cage to get at him. She now just smells and goes about her business. I've switched sides for them once today, and i'm going to do it again before i got to work at 5. I hope it doesn't take them long to mate and produce a litter, b/c poor Mia is all by herself with no friend  edit: she just tried to get at him again. I'm not worried or anything, just thought i'd mention that she's not quite over that yet. SHe's also rubbing her nose raw on the wire mesh  he hair will grow back right? |
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Post by southcore on Jun 25, 2005 9:01:44 GMT -8
UPDATE(again): Day Two is well underway and things have calmed down considerably. They stil sniff each other, but they then go on about their business. I think i saw them trying to lick each other's mouths (presumably for saliva identification). The female is now sleeping in the nest that the male had made for himself in the corner of the tank. The Dude is still being active so i don't know if he's gonna sleep in her spot or not. It would be wonderful if i could take the split out tomorrow since its my last off day for forever, , but i'm not gonna push it. Until i see them sleeping next to each other, or trying to groom through the wire, they are gonna stay split.
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Post by southcore on Jun 26, 2005 21:37:43 GMT -8
UPDATE: I decided to intro them tonight...and it worked!! Pip and The Dude are getting along happily...as a matter of fact Pip didn't pay much attention to him for a while, then she groomed him some, and he's still small so its funny to watch him try and chase her and whatnot. Also she just kinda shoves him around when she's going about her business. He's probably used to it though, b/c with all the pups in the tank he came from he got knocked around a lot....they are so cute together. Now i have to just wait till they mate. I'm not sure how long that will be, but at least the scary part is over(or should be.)
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Post by RitzieAnn on Jun 26, 2005 22:01:48 GMT -8
YAY! I"m so excited! That's great! SOrry that nobody has been writing to your post... but I"m glad that this intro worked. Now, are you going to leave this pair together? Or will you be splitting them after you see some heavy mating and then split caging her with her female friend? Then who is your boy going to live with?
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Post by southcore on Jun 27, 2005 4:05:00 GMT -8
They are going to stay together...I've got the first two litters placed already anyway, and the pet store down the street will take any gerbils i can't place (and they are very knowlegable and nice, and ask plenty of questions to prospective buyers. The only reason they have agreed to accept from me is their breeding pair is rather old.
On another note, i'm not so sure Pip has been to sleep sincei introduced them. This is has me a little worried. I kept waking up all night and putting my hand in the cage to make sure The Dude was still alive. But i may have spoken too soon, b/c right nowi think she's trying to go to sleep on top of him lol. anyhow, all i guess i can do it watch and wait.
EDIT: I spoke WAY too soon...I looked back over there and they had switched corners and The Dude was laying on top of Pip, and he was asleep lol! Then i look back over and she's running around the cage running back and forth between the corner and the pieces of TP i put in there last night, making a next for them both! i'm so excited!
Now for another question, How exactly do i know she's in heat? I don't really expect them to mate the firs time since he's only about 7 weeks old now.
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Post by whitmoregirl on Jun 27, 2005 5:43:22 GMT -8
She'll be more hyper and if you watch her, she'll touch the male then run away and lift her bum up.
Mine do it to one another - and as they're all girls, it's rather funny to see their reactions!
Update: Almost forgot, how's Mia handling the split? Is she doing OK on her own? (Is it Mia? Sorry if it's actually Pip!)
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Post by southcore on Jun 27, 2005 8:40:36 GMT -8
Mia's doing fine. She's has a great personality and i've put a piece of PVC pipe in her cage that she loves. I've been giving her cardboard to chew on and she's been loving it lol. She's showing no signs of being sad, and i'm not that suprised since Pip was always pushing her around lol. Also, i think she might have lived on her own at one time already anyhow, and so she's used to it. Hopefully i'll get her a cagemate before too long.
As far as Pip and The Dude go, Pip is rolled over on her back right now and The Dude is grooming her like crazy. They are getting along famously. I'm so glad it worked out.
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he hair will grow back right?