Fighting Gerbils

[godlymom]

Hi everyone! I am new here and hope that you can help me. We have a pair of male gerbils that have co habitated together for almost a year. Monday, we went into the living room and found them brawling in a ball soaked in blood. We got them separated and put them in their own cages.

Now, can they ever be re-introduced? Or will they have to be alone forever? I hope you can help me. They do seem to be very unhappy and looking for one another. We are just devistated.

Copper is a "lilac" who lost his brother the day we brought them home. He was kept at the store for us to see if he would get tyzzers as well. But he came home at about a month.
He began to get aggressive as gerbils do when they are alone so we brought Scamp (REW) home. He was only about 6wks old and they took to each other famously.

Now, suddenly, they are fighting to the death with bites all over their heads and their lips are torn. They are eating, drinking and digging so we assume they are fine.

[wolfsoul]

How old was this new gerbil when you got him, and how long has he been caged with your old gerbil? Did you introduce them on nuetral ground?

It sounds to me as if one of the gerbils has matured and the other finds it as a threat. Maybe you should keep them apart until their wounds heal, and maybe a couple weeks later re-introduce them?

[godlymom]

Copper is the oldest and he was about 3 months old. And Scamp was about 5-6wks old. I used the split cage method, and they just got along famously for the last nearly 10 months.

Someone had asked if they had been scuffling recently. Now that I think about it, I have noticed them tussling over the water bottle a few times. But they slept together and groomed each other all the time.

Their wounds are healing nicely. They seem to be superficial. Neither one has been hampered at all by them. My daughter has been holding them near each other and letting them sniff each other and they get excited. I do not know whether it is happy excitement or "I'll get you this time!" excitement.

Won't they forget each other in two weeks?

[tikeyas_mom]

I think they should be housed seperately because if ones life is at risk then why risk it? I have 1 male gerbil he has a middle ear infection, he has no cage mate and seems to be happy.

[godlymom]

Scamp seems to handle being alone better than Copper. Copper has gotten very aggressive while living alone in the past. We have been handling them even more these last few days than we ever have. Hopefully he'll handle it a little better now that he is grown.

I agree with you on housing them separately. If my girls ever walked in and one or both were dead or seriously injured, they would be hysterical.

thanks for your input all!

[tikeyas_mom]

I have just gotten my second gerbil tosday, named Jade, hes grey and white, very pritty. any who. Sage and Jade seem to get along GREAT!! they kisss and groom and sleep together hee hee it is so cute . good luck with your gerbils

[slleipnir]

From my experience you should get a divider and introduce them slowly let them be able to smell and get use to each other and then put a big glove on and take it away (leaving them together for like a few days) if or once then fight separate them (glove comes in handy here ;]) do it a few more times maybe wait longer if they dont cooperate. Mine never got use to each other so i think it depends on the gerbil