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Post by rnltred on Dec 26, 2005 14:13:02 GMT -8
Hello All, We are new to this forum and are located in Vermont, USA. We currently have 19 gerbils. We have had a number of occaisions where 2 or more females housed together have (after a considerable length of time) all of a sudden began to fight seriously. Sometimes injuries resulting. Once ultimately a death. We've noticed that in each instance, at least and sometimes both gerbils were Argente in color. Has anyone else seen this? Just wondering, and maybe we'll limit our females to 2 per tank ( they are/were in 20 gal. long). All were sisters and together since birth. Do we need to be doing something different? This is sad! Thanks in advance, Keith & Luana Green Mt. Gerbils AGS Members
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Post by lizzy on Dec 26, 2005 14:47:03 GMT -8
Females fighting when they are in large groups is very common. They tend to be the most territorial out of the two sexes. It is therefore a good idea to keep them in pairs only or if you are keeping them in larger groups keep a very close eye. It also depends on the size tanks you are keeping them in, if the enclosures are not big enough or too big they are more likely to fight, as a guide a pair of gerbils should have 10-15 gallons to share.
There is some debate about "colour discrimination" amongst gerbils but no solid evidence.
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Post by AndreaS15 on Dec 27, 2005 0:02:57 GMT -8
Wow, my first female de-clan was an Argente..... strange. How old were the females and how many did you house together, what size was the housing? Did you ever have to medicate them? or change something in their habitat?
I have kept a group of 6 females for up to 8 or so months before i decided it was time to seperate. I now have 2 groups of three that are great, and working out wonderfully. With that, I'm not sure I would keep more then 3 adult females per tank (no matter the size of the tank), I would just be to affraid of conflict. My 6 was kind of a learning experiment.
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Post by kimsgerbils on Dec 27, 2005 3:38:00 GMT -8
My largest clan was a group of 4 males in a 20 gallon and they killed one of their cagemates and fatally wounded another once they were about 8 months... Right now I'm going to try keeping a mom and 2 of her daughters in a 20 long, and then 3 brothers in another 20 long... Good luck, I hate declannings and I hope you and I don't have to experience any more...
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Post by rnltred on Dec 27, 2005 7:00:28 GMT -8
Our largest group of females ever was 3 and we had a pair of sisters who de-clanned when they were about 1 year. Another group of 3 was 2.5 years when they declanned. They all were in 20gal Long tanks. None have been in anything smaller than a 10gal. Nothing was changed recently before any declanning. Our vet says that sometimes their hormones just go crazy.
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Post by lizkiss2010 on Jan 5, 2006 13:15:07 GMT -8
my first de-claning also involved an argente colored female...i wonder... it was a sad situation, the two females fought but they were separated in time so they both lived and had some surface wounds. they drew blood, so i'm told there is no hope of reunion with them. but, i have had them do some bath-tub runs together and they seem to get along just fine. but, for now they are separated - it makes me too nervous to think about them fighting while i'm gone.
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Post by queenofthenile on Jan 7, 2006 6:51:20 GMT -8
My female declannings always involved a black female, so go figure .
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Post by rnltred on Jan 7, 2006 8:25:14 GMT -8
Our most recent declanning involved an Argente and 2 numegs, no one was injured here, just some missing fur, but the one before that involved an Argente, a black and an Agouti. That argente ultimately died from pneumonia after recovering from the bite wound to the side of her face. The vet thought she had been bitten through her ear canal. Once I've witnessed a serious fight, I would have a hard time putting them back together for fear of what might happen when I wasn't there to intervene. Luana (my wife) has kept Gerbils since the days when the only color available in the US was Agouti and she says she never had a de-clanning before and has kept many multiple female clans.
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