Someone earlier had asked about introducing 10 week and 5 week pups. I
had meant to respond to this...
I have only one experience in this (so keep that in mind), but some
things that seemed to help in the introductions were:
1) all pups were in separate tanks (5) ahead of time so there were no
pre-established clans
2) they were introduced into a fresh tank (clean with new litter)
3) the tank was small (10 gallons) and no hiding places (I moved them to
a 20 gallon a week later)
4) all were doused well with diluted vanilla -- they all smelled the
same, plus the smell and the damp fur diverted their minds to grooming
themselves and each other
5) they were in a room with no other gerbils -- (this is important for
the long term, too -- esp. if you have females in other tanks).
6) wear gloves and have a soft paper box on hand to break up
fights/squabbles
7) have extra tanks on hand if separations are necessary
8) pick a day (days) when you are home all day -- be prepared to watch
them constantly until the grooming, piling, nesting, sleeping happens.
9) it worked best when the age separation was large (or small)
The gerbils closest in age worked it out with harmless boxing; and
the much older gerbil did not take pup-attacks seriously at all. With
the 10 and 6 week old things were much more tense and physical and these
had the most trouble working out king-ship. I'm thinking you might do
best to make introductions when the younger pups are very young/small so
that they don't threaten the older pups???
=================>>>>>
As a re-cap, this was my experience with pups of the approximate ages as
yours:
As the first phase of setting up my boy cage, I introduced two 6 weeks
pups and a 10 week pup. It was much more touch-and-go than I expected.
One of the six weekers was very fear-defensive leaping out at anyone who
approached him. The 10 week old was very unsure of his position as
top-pup and did not know how to handle the youngster. Half of the time
he ignored it and backed off the other time he responded (but not in a
full-fledged gerbil ball fight). All the time the 10 week old got more
and more apprehensive using these strange jerky/jittery movements to
move about the cage (versus being either still or a smooth rapid running
motion).
The other 6 week old on the other hand bonded right away to the 10 week
old asking for and getting groomed and piling onto him (when the 10 week
old was still/in the back corner).
Things drastically improved when I added my 8 month "benevolent king" to
the mix. He and everyone else clearly knew he was top dog and settled
into their subordinate roles. He very gently, gradually, and
persistently drew the fearful and lashing out pup into the clan over a
three day period. He did not respond to the pups "aggression" in any
way -- in fact he laid flat with eyes closed, pressed down in front of
the pup and let the pup chew on his face over and over again. He also
flipped the other 6 week old aside when the two youngsters would get
into boxing matches. With the big-guy in the mix the 10 week old
reverted to completely ignoring the pup and his attacks.
Please let me know how your boy tank introductions go; I am very
interested in this topic. Donna A.
