Sitemaps

One of my gerbil died the other one is getting lonley2007-11-24 22:13:18

One of my gerbils died last week. Salt (my other gerbil) is getting kinda lonley he will only eat a little bit and won't come out of his house.I am worried. So I wanted to get another gerbil but I don't know if Salt will Accept another gerbil...Got any ideas??? PLZ HELP!

Answers:

Gerbils are social but I had one live to be almost 5 years old and she was by herself.

I often take the single gerbils and odd littermates from pet stores since I can give them a lot of one on one attention. Introducing a new friend for Salt can be very dangerous and I really wouldn't advise it. They can kill one another in seconds. Biting and wounding is common also.

Depending on the age of your gerbil, he may get along with a much older gerbil who has also been independant for awhile. An older one would be seen as less of a threat and Salt could be dominant which, seeing as how it's his cage this is important. They are very territorial and scent oriented.

Whatever you decide to do, you can help Salt get over the blues by: changing the litter more often, adding new interesting toys, rearranging the toys from time to time, stimulating his senses by putting in different food, holding him as much as possible, putting the cage in non-direct sunlight, putting the cage near a cracked window at night, and letting him explore new spaces he can't escape from.

Let him stretch those long hind legs which are great for jumping and digging and let him go for a jog in an empty tub or something. Research has shown that sunlight works as well on hamsters and rodents to brighten their moods as it does on humans.

---

Yeah get a female he will love her forever.

---

get another gerbil it is better than just making him lonely all the time.

---

Gerbils are social animals, so it's important to get two to live together. A lonely gerbil is likely to develop depression, obesity and not be as active as it would be if it had a partner. Gerbils can live in same sex groups or in mixed sex pairs. It is important to remember that if you place a male with a female they will breed. Males can live together in pairs or groups with little or no problem as long as enough space is provided for them. Females are more territorial than males, and tend to fight in large groups, so it is advised to house females only in pairs. If you get a pair of gerbils they will bond for life, but this doesn't mean that they won't bond to you if they are paired. As a matter of fact, a gerbil that has a gerbil companion is more outgoing and tends to make friends with it's owner more easily than a lone gerbil. A lone gerbils is usually scared, because it feels unprotected (safety in groups).