# gerbil alone or reintroduce?



## PrincessGingy (May 27, 2011)

My gerbil Spice died the other day :sad: I hadn't had her long she and her sister were rescue. I've read that introducing a new one can be really hard, especially for females and due to unforseen circumstances I won't be around to monitor fighting etc for another week or so. My mom has been watching over her and says she seems quite content at the moment What do you all think?


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## Crittery (May 2, 2011)

I'm sorry about Spice 

How old is your remaining girl? I've done a few splitcages with boys (which are easier) and it has been quite difficult, taken a good few weeks and girls as you say can be the hardest. From what I've read, you must have a girl of a similar size and it can take months.

One option I looked into for my girl when she was lonely was to get her a boyfriend once she was too old to have pups - this seems to be after two but obviously could be very risky if you got it wrong! Sadly she died before it came up so we never attempted it.

Where are you based? The lady at Indys Rascals in Dundee has a lot of experience in splitcaging. I also know a very good breeder in Brighton if either of those would help you? There is also Dorothy from Bath gerbil Rescue who has been brilliant with advice.


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## GerbilNik (Apr 1, 2011)

Crittery said:


> I'm sorry about Spice
> 
> How old is your remaining girl? I've done a few splitcages with boys (which are easier) and it has been quite difficult, taken a good few weeks and girls as you say can be the hardest. From what I've read, you must have a girl of a similar size and it can take months.
> 
> ...


Girls aren't much harder to introduce to each other than males. This is another myth that seems to be circulating. It all depends on the individuals personality. I run Indy's Rascals Gerbil Rehome (thanks for the mention :thumbsup: ) and have done a lot of splitcages - I've actually never had a problem introducing females. It does need to be done very carefully. Here's a step by step guide on my website if you want to have a read

Indys Rascals » Gerbil Introductions


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## Crittery (May 2, 2011)

GerbilNik said:


> Girls aren't much harder to introduce to each other than males. This is another myth that seems to be circulating. It all depends on the individuals personality. I run Indy's Rascals Gerbil Rehome (thanks for the mention :thumbsup: ) and have done a lot of splitcages - I've actually never had a problem introducing females.


Have seen, it is a very good guide 

O/T - I haven't personally done enough splitcages to say definitively whether girls are harder to intro than boys myself, it is just something a lot of keepers I've spoken with seem to report so its interesting that you've haven't had the same issues. The other issues I've heard of are that girls are more subject to declanning, and are less stable in trios or larger than boys are - have you found this to be true?

PrincessGingy - how is your lone girl getting on?


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## PrincessGingy (May 27, 2011)

Erm tbh I don't really know as my mom is taking care of all my animals. I have actually been admitted to hospital so am not with any of pets at the moment :sad: missing them like crazy. I don't think my mom would tell me if Sugar is stressed as she doesn't want to worry me. I guess I'll find out when I get out and can see for myself. Like I said due to the circumstances I wouldn't be able to do split cage at the moment and I'm worried the longer she's alone the harder it will be to introduce.
Also I don't know her age exactly as she was rescue but about 6/7 months so not too old and I don't want her to spend her life alone.


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## GerbilNik (Apr 1, 2011)

Crittery said:


> Have seen, it is a very good guide
> 
> O/T - I haven't personally done enough splitcages to say definitively whether girls are harder to intro than boys myself, it is just something a lot of keepers I've spoken with seem to report so its interesting that you've haven't had the same issues. The other issues I've heard of are that girls are more subject to declanning, and are less stable in trios or larger than boys are - have you found this to be true?
> 
> PrincessGingy - how is your lone girl getting on?


I would say i probably have done around 100ish split cages - if anything i have found the girls easier than the boys! (again all boils down to individual personality etc). I think it also depends on how you read their behaviour too. In the split cage i've found leaving the split in too long (as well as rushing in and removing it too early of course) can prove problematic. I've seen people say that splits can even last months and to me thats far too long. In the split you aren't supposed to clean out the tank at all as the whole point is that the two gerbils end up with the same scent as the territory and accept each other that way. If i had gerbils who wouldn't get on after a number of weeks i would abandon the split and try them with others as it's not really fair for them to have the constant switching which is required on a daily basis for that length of time. Plus at some point you would have to clean them out and then you are back to square one.

Any gerbil sex in larger groups can provide problematic, and when the males hit around 12 months old and all the testosterone is flowing around its that that can cause problems.

Princess Gingy - so sorry to hear you are in hospital. I hope you are ok. Please do not worry yourself about your lone gerbil while you arent well. She will be fine for the time being. Also don't worry about her getting older and the success of the introduction. You can always intro her to a younger pup at a later date. Its often good for them to be alone for a while anyway to get used to the previous gerbil not being around any more and gives them time to be alone which means when you do go to do the split they should be really grateful for other gerbil company and can make things that bit easier. Get well soon!


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## nettleboo (Mar 1, 2011)

hello i introduced some girls pretty easily but the boys im having difficulty with so in my experience boys are harder than girls. you could give this a go make sure the gerbil cant get though the other side fur will fly and they are determined little blighters so make a good divide. take it really slow swap them to the other the sides without cleaning out the cage after a week wait a week again then what i did was introduce on neutral ground after a few weeks but monitor the way the gerbils act if after they swap sides and they are still haning around the divide trying to fight dont introduce basically leave the divide in place till they are ignoring each other. good luck xx


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## GerbilNik (Apr 1, 2011)

Hi just to say it's best not to do the introduction on neutral ground. This only destroys all the hard work you have been doing trying to get them to accept each other as part of the territory. You want to be certain they are ready and are completely relaxed with each other in their space, so when its time it's just a case of taking away the divide.


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## GerbilNik (Apr 1, 2011)

nettleboo said:


> hello i introduced some girls pretty easily but the boys im having difficulty with so in my experience boys are harder than girls. you could give this a go make sure the gerbil cant get though the other side fur will fly and they are determined little blighters so make a good divide. take it really slow swap them to the other the sides without cleaning out the cage after a week wait a week again then what i did was introduce on neutral ground after a few weeks but monitor the way the gerbils act if after they swap sides and they are still haning around the divide trying to fight dont introduce basically leave the divide in place till they are ignoring each other. good luck xx


Just to say do you have any toys or foodbowls etc in the split with the boys?


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## PrincessGingy (May 27, 2011)

Well I came home today and saw my gerbil for myself. She jumped up everytime I came in the room looking for some attention and I thought she needed a friend. I went to [email protected] (I know its bad but I wanted a friend for her as soon as possible). There was a lovely little girl there who got stright on my hand when I put it in the cage so I haver taken her home (probably going to be called Snaps). I have to say the shop assistant was worse than normal. When I asked which cage was for the females he didn't know and practically lauhed when I asked if he knew which were the more docile, as if saying 'why the hell would I know?'. He tried to sell me 2 even though she was in a cage with 4 others and I explained she was going to be introduced. They couldn't tell me the age and the worst thing of all was the water bottle had fallen off the glass and when I told him he just looked at me blankly. Seriously I wanted to take them all home! The only thing he tried to do was sell me this crap thing: Abode Gerbilarium by Coopet | Pets at Home He was insisting that he couldn't sell a pet without knowing I had the correct cage as I wanted to buy a large traditional bar hamster one as it is easier to split and they will both move bank into a glass tank once they're settled (I'm not very good at DIY). 
Anyway rant over. So far they are doing very well. They have been trying to sniff each others noses and have not tried to scrap at all. Sugar has tried to burrow her way to her new friend bless her. But it all looks like it will go very well. Fingers crossed I have 2 happy girlies soon!


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## GerbilNik (Apr 1, 2011)

Just a word of warning. You should quarantine any new gerbil for at least two weeks before introducing to another gerbil. In many cases illness/disease only becomes apparant after a bout of stress (ie moving home) so even if your gerbil appears to be ok it doesn't mean they are completely free from any problems. If the gerbil does have anything underlying, the quarantine period should give the chance for any symptoms to show up and will protect all the gerbils involved. Good luck with the split though and hope you feel better.


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