Introducing my gerbils
- Thread starter Daisy
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for you and Pippa.
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Very sad to hear Astra has passed. Cuddle softly at the bridge little one 
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I have got a new gerbil from a local rescue to introduce to Pippa. She's 18 months old and came with the name of Lucy (which I might keep, or I might change it).
The video below shows Pippa and Lucy's first meeting in the small split tank. Pippa is the grey gerbil in the foreground. Unfortunately Pippa was quite stressed and scared as you can see in the video so I moved them to a larger split tank with deeper bedding and a wheel. Traditionally split tank introductions are done in a 60cm tank with shallow bedding and not much enrichment, so that the gerbils focus on each other, but recently people have been trying a modified method that seems to work better for some gerbils where you allow them more space and more enrichment to begin with. It can be particularly helpful with young females who are usually the hardest to introduce. Pippa calmed down right away in the bigger tank and they are making progress now.
The video below shows Pippa and Lucy's first meeting in the small split tank. Pippa is the grey gerbil in the foreground. Unfortunately Pippa was quite stressed and scared as you can see in the video so I moved them to a larger split tank with deeper bedding and a wheel. Traditionally split tank introductions are done in a 60cm tank with shallow bedding and not much enrichment, so that the gerbils focus on each other, but recently people have been trying a modified method that seems to work better for some gerbils where you allow them more space and more enrichment to begin with. It can be particularly helpful with young females who are usually the hardest to introduce. Pippa calmed down right away in the bigger tank and they are making progress now.
. Clearly getting to know each other. It’s lovely Pippa will have a new companion and “maybe Lucy” has a new home 
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I realise I never updated this thread. Pippa and Lucy weren't quite hitting it off and around the same time, my other gerbils Peanut and Luna started having some issues, so I made the decision to end the intro between Pippa and Lucy. I introduced Pippa to Peanut and Lucy to Luna and those introductions went well.
Sadly I lost Pippa early this morning. I noticed just before midnight that she had laboured breathing. I took her straight to the emergency vets, who took her to the back for some warming and oxygen. When the vet came out to speak to me, he said she was better on oxygen but every time she was picked up she started gasping (meaning she was worse than she'd been at home). He offered me either euthanasia and hospitalisation with antibiotics and anti-inflammatories. I asked to see Pippa so I could get my own sense of how she was. He went to get her, but when he came back he told me she'd just died. She was only about 1 year and 9 months old.
Sadly I lost Pippa early this morning. I noticed just before midnight that she had laboured breathing. I took her straight to the emergency vets, who took her to the back for some warming and oxygen. When the vet came out to speak to me, he said she was better on oxygen but every time she was picked up she started gasping (meaning she was worse than she'd been at home). He offered me either euthanasia and hospitalisation with antibiotics and anti-inflammatories. I asked to see Pippa so I could get my own sense of how she was. He went to get her, but when he came back he told me she'd just died. She was only about 1 year and 9 months old.
Glad you've found another little friend for Peanut.
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Snuggle softly at the bridge little Pippa
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I've got a new gerbil named Emma. She and Peanut have been in the split tank for a week and a half now and things look satisfactory. You never really know until you remove the split.
Emma is the light one. She's quite intense in this video but I think that was more curiosity than aggression because apparently she'd been on her own for a year. She's 18 months old.
Emma is the light one. She's quite intense in this video but I think that was more curiosity than aggression because apparently she'd been on her own for a year. She's 18 months old.
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It's great that she can have a home where she can live with another gerbil 
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I'm curious that the space is small for each gerbil and the bedding is shallow. Is that to make sure they are as exposed to each other as possible?
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I think it's a temporary situation as part of the introduction process.
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- Messages
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- 1,015
Yes, the small space is to encourage them to have contact with each other. They get swapped round three times a day so that they get used to each other's scents. It's usually only for a couple of weeks.