# Gerbil advice



## Tweedle Dee (Jan 6, 2008)

Hi, can someone help us? We (well my kids!) have 5 Gerbils all aged around 7-8 months old. 2 very healthy, well behaved boys and 3 girls. The Girls live in a 2 tier gerbilarium (suitable for up to 6 gerbils apparently)..my problem is that one of them 'Angel' has attacked her sister and caused wounds all around her nose, her feet and she also has bites on her tail. What would have caused this attack after all this time they have been living togeather? They have plenty of space, things to chew, food , water etc. Will i need to seperate her and if so wont she be lonely on her own? Saying that they seem to be ok at the moment though.

Another Q i wanted to ask - The girls look quite unhealthy compaired to the boys, A bit thinner and their coats arent great, kind of greasy looking. Is there anything i can give them to supplement their diets other than their mix? (they do eat it all) Oh and do gerbils like sand baths?

Thanks in advance!

Ang x


----------



## Tweedle Dee (Jan 6, 2008)

Oh meant to add, i rescued the girls through pets at homes rehoming centre 

Ang x


----------



## StolenkissGerbils (Aug 8, 2008)

What you're experiencing with them is what's known as a "de-clanning". At that age it's not unknown, especially in females, which are the dominant sex in gerbils. Basically they've just got sick of each other and if you don't separate them Angel will probably kill her sister. Even though they look ok now, it's only a matter of time.

The sister (sorry, you didn't mention her name) will be lonely so you'll have to get her a companion. The younger the new one is, the easier it will be to introduce them. You mustn't just stick them in the cage/tank together when you do introduce though, because they'll just kill each other. You need to do what's called a split tank introduction. Basically you have to use very fine wire mesh (gaps half a centimetre or less, my advice is to get an old fire screen and cut it up) to divide the tank in two, be it diagonally or down the middle as you look at the tank. One gerbil goes on each side of the divide. Be ABSOLUTELY 100% CERTAIN that they can't get over, under or around the divide! I can't stress this enough. The two gerbils need food and water on both sides, obviously, but other than that they should have only about 2 inches of woodshavings/bedding, some nesting material and maybe a cardboard tube and nothing else. This is so they don't just hide from each other or distract themselves with toys and defeat the object of the exercise. You need to take the gerbils out and swap them round to each other's sides of the tank about 4-6 times a day, or as often as you can manage with work. Once when you get up, once at lunch, once at dinner and once at bedtime would be a good schedule. You must watch them for 1-2 weeks or more, swapping like this every day. When they stop stomping their feet and lunging at each other (if they do that, plenty don't), and when they're not scent-marking all over the place with their belly gland, this is a good sign they're accepting each other's smell. A sure sign you're ready to try removing the divide is when they sniff and groom each other through the mesh, sleep in each other's nests and sometimes cuddle up to sleep next to each other at the divide.

When you do remove the divide, make sure you have the time to watch them for several hours. It's by no means certain that the intro will be a success even if the signs are all good. You may have to put the divide back in and try again a few days later. It's normal for there to be a bit of foot-stomping and skittishness but any rolling up in a ball together and attacking each other WILL end up in the death of one or both if they aren't separated. For this reason, you might want to have some heavy gardening gloves on when you remove the mesh because in the frenzy of a gerbil fight they'll bite anything that touches them and you will get bitten when you separate them so it's best to be protected.

As to your other questions, first of all YES! Gerbils love sand baths. They should have access to them at least once or twice a week, whether they look dirty or not. Use chinchilla sand or children's play sand. If when you pour the sand you get clouds of dust, this means it's too fine and you need to try another brand.

The diet issue - extra protein would be good for them, especially if their coat looks funny or their whiskers seem to have broken off. Give them cat or dog biscuits or dry cat/dog food. The stuff for puppies and kittens is good because it often has extra calcium in it. If you're brave enough you can give them crickets or mealworms but you need to supervise them while they have any live food and take out anything they leave behind otherwise it'll go rotten and make them sick. To bulk the girls up you might also give them sunflower seeds, unsalted raw peanuts/pine nuts/pumpkin seeds/just about any nuts or seeds really, raisins, banana chips (without honey or coating of any kind), dried fruit such as prunes or dried apricots etc, millet sprays (usually sold in the birdseed section) or unsweetened porridge oats. Be sure they have their usual mix too though because these are just extras I've mentioned.

Hopefully this helps


----------



## sullivan (Aug 29, 2008)

This is the problem i had with my three boys they were all brother and were fine for the first 8 months and then i noticed that one of them wasnt coming out much. I stripped down there tank as we use to use peat so they could burry if they wanted. when i got to the bottom one of the other gerbils i think had cournered another and it was to scared to come out. It had lost a little weight so i separated them as some times we could here squeking at night. He then starting eating better and did very well without his brothers.The other brothers were fine. I think alot was to do with the pecking order.


----------



## StolenkissGerbils (Aug 8, 2008)

Yeah it does happen unfortunately. I had gerbils when I was a kid that picked on their brother so much that I was unable to save him. They bullied him, attacked him and stole all his food from him. It was horrible to watch them turn on the lowest-ranked one like that.

It's very unpleasant but now that the OP knows this is happening the little one can be removed and will likely make a full recovery.


----------



## Tweedle Dee (Jan 6, 2008)

Thank you so much for your reply stolenkissgerbils  (sorry dont know your name).

We have taken your advise and seperated Candy into a spare hamster cage for now and will hopefully find her a friend to keep her company(along with a bigger tank ). She is looking very sorry for herself atm and although she is eating she is quite sedate and looks a little sore from her wounds. We are keeping a close eye on her 

Have taken on board the dietry advice and we are off to get some seeds and nuts and dried fruit for them .. i presume i will need to introduce it all slowly.

Have also ordered some sand and a metal tray for them! 

fingers crossed we will hopefully have healthy, happy gerbils soon!

Thank-you once again...

Ang x


----------



## StolenkissGerbils (Aug 8, 2008)

Actually there's no need to introduce dietary changes slowly. Gerbils love variety in their diet. All the stuff I mentioned would be extra anyway so you can just pop it into the cage once a day or whatever. Don't forget the protein too! This is absolutely necessary for growth and repair, especially since Candy is injured. Cat/dog biscuits are fine, you don't need to deal with creepy crawlies if you don't want to.

I hope they will all be ok. Good luck, and keep us posted


----------



## sullivan (Aug 29, 2008)

StolenkissGerbils said:


> Actually there's no need to introduce dietary changes slowly. Gerbils love variety in their diet. All the stuff I mentioned would be extra anyway so you can just pop it into the cage once a day or whatever. Don't forget the protein too! This is absolutely necessary for growth and repair, especially since Candy is injured. Cat/dog biscuits are fine, you don't need to deal with creepy crawlies if you don't want to.
> 
> I hope they will all be ok. Good luck, and keep us posted


Mine use to like an odd black berry and a bit of dandylion leave. Is this ok


----------



## StolenkissGerbils (Aug 8, 2008)

That's fine as long as there's no weedkiller or bugs on them.


----------



## Tweedle Dee (Jan 6, 2008)

Thanks thats great, they seem to be enjoying their new grub...looking into getting some wriggly food as well , i used to keep Iguanas so not too bothered about the beastie's as long as i dont have to touch them...tweezers are a great invention lol!!

Ang x


----------



## StolenkissGerbils (Aug 8, 2008)

That's great news Tweedle Dee  How is the little invalid doing? Are her bites healing?

Shame you aren't local to me, I could have given you a little friend for her. Never mind though, I'm sure you'll be able to find a nice little pal for Candy.


----------

