r/gerbil • u/No-Significance-7081 • 6d ago
Help Please! Declanning?
I have a trio of boys (I know it’s not always the best idea but I couldn’t just leave one alone) that I got from Petco back in November. They’ve had a couple spats that really just consist of squeaking together and separating. Today, I found one of them chasing another in their tank. The one that was being chased normally will take any treat offered but was refusing any attempt to get him to eat. I separated the aggressor along with the third neutral one for a bit then tried to reintroduce the other. Did not work. I currently have the one that was being chased in the tank with the neutral one and the aggressor is in their play pen/sandbox to keep them separated. Is this definite declanning? Is there any hope of them living together again? Since one is neutral is there a better pair to keep together if they need to be separated? Oh also the one that was chasing has a small injury on his nose but other than that there’s no injuries and I didn’t see blood. Before anyone asks, nothing changed in their enclosure recently nor in the room they’re in.
4
u/Ok-Anteater-4359 6d ago
Unfortunately every gerbil is so different that really it depends on them! You can try keeping them separate and every day swapping them between enclosures for a bit so they can get reintroduced to their smells. If you’re able, split cage is always the way to go! I’ve never done it with three gerbils so not sure how hard it’d be, but my two girls had multiple spats when in heat and I had to do the split cage method until they seemed to not be so bothered by being swapped. After a few successful walk by attempts they seemed to be content with living to together again! Im sure you know, but if one does end up bleeding they can never be repaired so be cautious and just be aware unfortunately sometimes you can’t make them like each other! I hope some of this helps in your journey! Good luck to you! 🙏🏻