# Three female Gerbils Together?



## dilleight (Aug 15, 2011)

Hi All

My gerbil had 4 pups- 3 boys and a girl. She currently lives with her daughter from the first litter (only 1 female in that litter too). The boys have gone to be rehomed but I'm not sure what to do with the girl. I know 3 female gerbils together isn't ideal but then otherwise the baby is going to end up alone. What is the lesser of 2 evils?

If anyone needs a new friend for a female gerbil in York/Leeds she's only 8 weeks old!


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## GerbilNik (Apr 1, 2011)

The three gerbil rule isn't really true tbh. There is no research to back up these ideas - only heresay. It all depends on the individual gerbils concerned personalities as to whether or not they will get on happily. I have two sets of three girls from similar situations and all get on really well. In the past I have had other trio's of girls who have got on fine. I would leave the girls as a trio which means much less stress for everyone involved.


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## dilleight (Aug 15, 2011)

Thanks GerbilNik, it does seem like everyone on the web is giving different advice but always presenting it as fact! I think we will keep them together for now and watch them.


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## PrincessGingy (May 27, 2011)

Trio is definately best. If it doesn't work out for you let me know as my dad drives up to Leeds every week pretty much and I have some girls I could do an introduction with. She certainly shouldn't be alone as they are very social and mine got depressed when her cage mate died.


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## GerbilNik (Apr 1, 2011)

dilleight said:


> Thanks GerbilNik, it does seem like everyone on the web is giving different advice but always presenting it as fact! I think we will keep them together for now and watch them.


No problem. The more gerbils you have together then technically yes there is a bit of a higher chance that they could declan but even pairs have a chance of doing this anyway. As long as you are aware there is a possibility that it "could" happen and are prepared for this then it's all you can do really.

Signs that they may be starting to declan are:

Excessive scent marking -you may see the other gerbil/s urine soaked fur
Excessive mounting - same as above (females may do this more often when they are in heat which is normal behaviour)
Sleeping in separate areas a lot of the time.
Excessive chasing and or biting, especially at tail area
Hearing a lot of squeaking coming from the tank.


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## dilleight (Aug 15, 2011)

Yeah we've had some declanning before and stopped them hurting each other I just hope it doesn't happen this time as we bred our lonely gerbil and found it harder to find homes for the pups than I expected so we now have 8 gerbils! Dad is with 2 boys and mum is with 2 girls then there's 2 other boys! We managed to find a home for 2 boys but 3 others went for rehoming at the pet shop today  I think gerbils seem to have gone a bit out of fashion


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## GerbilNik (Apr 1, 2011)

I run a Gerbil rescue and rehoming is pretty much at a standstill, so I know what you mean!


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## PrincessGingy (May 27, 2011)

Gerbilnik where is your centre based? 
I don't know why people wouldn't want gerbils. They are so interesting to watch in a tank making burrows and I find them easier to tame than hamsters.


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## GerbilNik (Apr 1, 2011)

I'm in Dundee in Scotland. We aren't a centre as such as it's just run from our own home. Been doing it three years in October. We are completely full up right now and apart from a lady who fosters for us keeping her 3 foster girls we haven't rehomed any for months. It doesn't bother me the not rehoming as we do our best, but obviously due to numbers and time constraints it's preferable for them to have homes where people can spend more time with them. Also means we can't take any more in as we just don't have the space.


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## PrincessGingy (May 27, 2011)

Aw I would love to rehome some but I'm all the way down in Shropshire. I love gerbils and don't know why they aren't more popular as pets.


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## dilleight (Aug 15, 2011)

Can we start some sort of marketing campaign? I'd love to breed gerbils but I want happy homes for them!


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## Zanki (Jun 1, 2011)

I feel sorry for the gerbils in Pets at Home, Coventry. The same trio has been on sale for the last three months, maybe more. They are very beautiful little boys and I can't see why no one would buy them. 

Although I feel more sorry for the rats. Trio of boys, in the middle of the entrace, I'm guessing so people will feel sorry for them and buy them but one of the boys is very aggressive. I went to say hello and he launched himself at the bars and then sat glarring at me. It was pretty freaky, I've never seen a rodent do that before. I felt sorry for him, but he even scared me. If I didn't have my girls I may have taken them on, but that rat today was scary.


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## GerbilNik (Apr 1, 2011)

dilleight said:


> Can we start some sort of marketing campaign? I'd love to breed gerbils but I want happy homes for them!


The thing is if you decide you want to breed, you need to be prepared to offer every little life you bring into the world a permanent home with yourself. I always think if you have to advertise "surplus" animals then it means you are breeding too many. I have around 30 gerbils here all looking for homes, who were bred at some point and then either given/sold to members of the public one way or another. They have been passed from pillar to post as they started off as cute little babies, then the novelty wore off as does often happen. This sort of thing all leads to health and behavioural problems and is why many more Gerbils are now showing up in Rescues worldwide.


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## dilleight (Aug 15, 2011)

Yeah I do agree with this and we have been willing to keep the gerbils ourselves. We only bred 2 litters which is the minimum and then separated the parents. If the boys are not rehomed I will go and get them! The problem is if there are no breeders it's hard to get young gerbils to befriend lonely older gerbils!


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## GerbilNik (Apr 1, 2011)

dilleight said:


> Yeah I do agree with this and we have been willing to keep the gerbils ourselves. We only bred 2 litters which is the minimum and then separated the parents. If the boys are not rehomed I will go and get them! The problem is if there are no breeders it's hard to get young gerbils to befriend lonely older gerbils!


It doesn't have to be a really young gerbil that you introduce to lonely older ones. Depending on each gerbil's personality you can bond older ones together if it's done properly. Also there are more gerbils popping up in rescues so the chances of getting young ones are better than they would have been before.
I would agree though that getting youngsters from a responsible hobby breeder rather than a commercial breeder/pet shop is far better as I know many people aren't as keen on rescues as there often isn't any history on them and also are usually a result of accidental litters. It's only my personal preference to try rescues first. While breeding is not something I would choose to do myself now, I certainly have no problem with *responsible* breeders.


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