How to introduce gerbils?

[Jenz]

I have this girl gerbil who lives alone in her cage, but my mom and I decided to a male gerbil to keep her company. They both keep trying to kill each other! Do I need a splitcage? or........

 

[Logan]

Gerbils are best kept as pairs or larger groups, but introducing gerbils that are older than 10 weeks or so can be difficult. Here's guide to helping older gerbils accept new gerbils. This is only recommended for introducing a single gerbil to a single gerbil. Trying to introduce a new gerbil to an already-established group is not recommended as the group may gang up on and kill the "intruder

1.Get divided cage, or use a cage within a cage, to allow the gerbils to see and smell each other with no contact.

2.Place one gerbil in each side of the divider

3.Several times a day, swap the gerbils from side to side, so that the gerbils get used to each others' scent.

4.Continue swapping from side to side for a minumum of 7 days (it may take longer). Once the gerbils appear curious and not aggressive to each other, the divider can be removed. Often, the gerbils will start sleeping near one another on opposite sides of the divider, a good sign that they are accepting one another.

5.Once they are together, watch carefully for a while. For the first 20 minutes be close by and wearing leather gloves, so that the gerbils can be separated if serious fighting occurs. Gerbils will often play fight, boxing and chasing each other and squeaking; this is fine. Serious fighting usually involves the gerbils forming a tight ball and rolling around, squeaking shrilly, and biting at each others necks. Blood is often drawn.

6.After this time has passed, keep an eye on them fairly closely for another 3-4 hours.

7.If the gerbils fight, go back to the divided cage stage and repeat, keeping them divided for a longer period of time. If two or three tries with the divided cage trick doesn't stop the fighting, they will likely never get along.

8.If there is no fighting after a few hours, the gerbils can be left together. If they cuddle up to sleep and groom each other, they will likely be okay.

9.Watch for any signs of bite wounds and fighting over the first several days. Go back to the divided cage if they seem to be injuring each other.

Tips:
1.If possible, try to introduce a younger (i.e. less than 10 weeks) gerbil to an adult. This seems to work particularly well with males. Females may be harder to introduce.

2.Divided hamster cages can sometimes be found, or you can divide an aquarium diagonally with a piece of wire mesh. The mesh should not be too open or the gerbils may be able to injure each other through the mesh.

3.If you can't rig up a divided cage, you can place a smaller cage inside a larger cage. Simply swap the gerbils between the larger and smaller cages.

4.Never try to introduce a gerbil to a pair or group of gerbils, or introduce groups of gerbils to each other.