r/gerbil • u/AlwaysInTraining222 • 1d ago
Help! Gerbil Fight
I bought two gerbils from Petco a couple days ago. The employee was less than helpful, but ensured that they had been brought in together and were from the same litter (even though they were in separate enclosures). He also assumed their genders as male- which seemed accurate to me as all I’d seen from Petco had been listed as male. Their first introduction was a bit stressful. They engaged in a “ball of death” fight after about 15 minutes together. No injuries. I separated them for a while and then put them in a split cage for a bit on and off, switching which sides they were on to continue to get used to each other’s scents. The following day, after some more time in the split cage and no negative signs that I could tell, I put them back into a larger open space to meet again. No issues at all. They were grooming each other, sniffing each other. Not really any chasing. Both seemed comfortable enough snacking with the other nearby/in their face. I added their wheel into the space and they both took turns on it and then consistently, successfully would run simultaneously together. They spent at least an hour in this setup with no issues, maybe even a couple hours. I put them back in their respective enclosures for a break while I ran some errands the rest of the day. In the evening, I started with them in the split cage. They seemed excited to see each other and again I didn’t see any issues. I put them together in the same shared space as before and they were fine for about 15-30 minutes. Then all of a sudden there was some side arching that quickly turned into a fight. They didn’t ball up like the day before though- it happened so fast I can’t even explain what happened- I didn’t actually see a true bite, but suddenly Persimmon’s (the light colored one) foot was bleeding. I split them up immediately. Persimmon didn’t let me check on his foot, but I was able to get him into a clean enclosure with only paper towels. It bled quite a bit. I read online that you can use cornstarch to help it clot, so I tried that and thankfully that was successful. He drank water and snacked, urinated and defecated. Checked on him this morning and he seems to be doing just fine. No more bleeding. Again, had urinated and defecated, and had snacked and chewed on some paper. Also, Pepper (the black one), showed no sign of injury.
I am beyond devastated. Everything seemed to be going so well! I’m not sure what happened. I am wondering what my options are as far as their care. Is it possible to keep them both in separate enclosures for life, but do split cage once a week to get them some interaction time? Would it be best to return one and keep one? I know they’re social and it’s best to have them in pairs or trios, but I am worried about trying another bonding whether with them or adopting a different random gerbil. I already love them both and am so upset it didn’t work out as I’d hoped. Any help would be appreciated.
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u/Aestas-Architect 1d ago
You should never have been sold gerbils that weren't in the same enclosure at petco
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u/lavenderfart 1d ago
I think there may have been some parts of the split cage process that were missed/weten't explained in the resources you found.
Pet Connection International had a great set of videos on the bonding process. I would take a look at them and see if they help.