My last group of females had to be split up until each was living alone. I
ended up putting them all in 10 gallon tanks next to each other and
recommend you try this too. They watched each other and became terrible
beggars. If we opened one lid, or talked to one gerb, they all came
running.
You can try getting a baby companion for Milly, but I would NOT use a larger
tank. Territory can be much more of an issue in a larger tank. I had two
sisters in a 20 gallon & I had to clean it more frequently than the other
cages & could not give them plastic tubes or much for toys to play with
because they would start territorial disputes. They eventually fell out
anyway & had to be split up.
You could also try getting plastic balls for them to run in. We put all the
gerbils out at once to run in balls even though they lived separately. Tape
the lids on, they tend to pop open when they crash. Bare floors are the
best for running, they can really tear around.
Good luck!
Mary
-----Original Message-----
From: Beki Jones [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2001 9:21 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Lone Gerbil Advice
Some of you may remember that I wrote in a few weeks ago asking for advice
when my three female gerbils had a fight. I had to separate Milly from
Molly and Mandy. Molly and Mandy have settled down well to being a pair.
They seem closer than ever and Molly often falls asleep with Mandy grooming
her which is really cute to see. Milly has her own 20" x 12" acquarium but
is not settling down to life alone well. She spends a lot of her time just
looking out listlessly from her bed. The rest of the time she is attacking
the lid of the acquarium trying to get out. We are giving her plenty of
free floor time but she has to time-share with the guinea pigs so it cannot
be every evening. The evenings which she cannot come out she spends
throwing herself up against the lid which is distressing to listen to. When
she is out she spends a lot of time trying to get back up to the old
acquarium. She climbs up the armchair near there and stands watching Mandy
and Molly. She has also found a way of getting up the back of our gas fire
and not coming out again till morning. We have tried to block off her
access but with Milly, although she has the run of the whole living room, if
there is any area blocked off, that's where she wants to be and she will
spend hours trying to find a way round the blockade.
I am finding her obvious unhappiness very distressing. So, last night I
moved her acquarium next to the other one with the idea that she could be
near the other two, and could watch them. But now I am not sure if this is
good or bad. Do you think this is a comfort to her, or is it just torturing
her since she watches them playing together yet is all alone?
I am considering getting her a new friend. The thought of her spending the
next 2-3 years alone is too much. I am taking it I will have to buy a
bigger acquarium, say 30" x 12", then create some kind of wire mesh divider
down the middle. Now, I don't know of any breeders in the West Midlands, UK
(unless someone here knows different)so I will have to go back to the
petshop where I bought them to get a new friend. This will mean that the
new female will be about 8 weeks old. Milly is 9 months old. Will this
work? Milly is a very confident gerbil. She is large and powerful with
giant feet. She is also very much not even scared of us. You cannot chase
Milly off, she will stand her ground then dodge through your feet to get
back to what she was chewing, so would have no problem standing her ground
with the pushiest of gerbils. With this kind of dominant personality, would
I be looking for a new confident gerbil, or a timid one so not to cuase
further dominance disputes?
If, after doing the week of switching them back and forth with the split
sscreen method, they still fought, would they live happily with the screen
permanently in place. At least this way she would have company to
watch/sniff through the grille, or is this not a good idea?
Sorry for the long post, but I need as full advice as possible before
embarking on this. I am worried about going to all this and then having
another gerbil who will end up living alone!
Any advice would be greatfully received.
Beki
Mom to Milly, Molly and Mandy
_________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com.
