Okay, last week I got two baby boy gerbils from the pet store. They had only gotten them that day and they were newly weaned. I've had them for about a week. They have been just fine. Today my sister got a new gerbil from the pet store. He is a baby too. They are in two adjoining cages. Now the three fight a lot with each other. I don't know if gerbils play fight because they don't draw blood and they don't always fight, sometimes they just sniff each other and walk on. I don't know what to do about it. I don't want to take any of them back, but I also don't want to separate them. I REALLY don't want any of them to eat another one. Please help! I only want answers if you are 100% positive what you are saying is correct.
2007-02-17 07:49:40 · 4 answers · asked by Gerbil_luver93 1 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
Okay, no one is going to agree on this. Oh well. I would just like to add that they will sleep next to each other. Maybe they're just scared because I cleaned it and added a new cage to it. Anyone think they're just nervous? Well, they have calmed down a little bit now.
2007-02-17 08:10:28 · update #1
Yes, gerbils play-fight. Most young animals do-- it's part of growing up.
Usually you should only introduce gerbils through a careful split-cage, but with such young males they will probably settle in fine. If they draw blood, separate them, but otherwise just keep a close eye on them.
If you want to avoid future dominance issues, you need to keep them in one cage (preferable a glass tank, though), rather than two adjoining ones. The separate cages encourage the gerbils to set up separate territories, which can lead to fighting.
2007-02-18 06:24:34 · answer #1 · answered by ShootingStar Gerbils 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
gerbils don't play fight, they aren't that smart, but if they haven't drawn blood then that just means they're either trying to show which ones dominant or they're trying to kill the new one, they just haven't succeeded yet so you either separate the new ones from the old ones or let them kill each other, in hamsters its just the females that fight with each other for some thing but gerbils may be the same way so you may want to check to make sure all of them are males and if they are you could try getting the m a larger cage, maybe they're just territorial! hope i helped.
2007-02-17 08:06:24 · answer #2 · answered by brooke 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
All gerbils play fight, this is characterised by boxing and jumping around. This allows gerbils to establish their hierarchy without serious conflict. This sort of activity is harmless. However, serious fighting will be obvious by bites around the head and tail area. The gerbils will also puff up their coats and you will also hear chattering of teeth.
2007-02-17 08:03:16 · answer #3 · answered by Beth 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i think they must play fight sometimes.
2007-02-17 08:31:44 · answer #4 · answered by emily m 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋