Naughty little gerbils

[Ceretrea]

I've done male gerbil reintroductions but I'm given to understand that females are more territorial so not sure its a good idea in these circumstances

[bulby]

The woman at the pet shop suggested to put them all in a bathtub with a tiny bit of lukewarm water in it just to hopefully confuse them enough to make them bond again. I don't know if I should try this or not though.

[Pebbles82]

Ooh that sounds a bit iffy to me! Are gerbils supposed to get wet? According to this gerbils don't like water and shouldn't get wet

can i bathe my gerbils? | The Gerbil Forum

Maybe a big sand bath? Not as big as a bathtub obviously! There's a bit about reintroducing gerbils on here too

When is it Safe to Reintroduce my Gerbils? | The Gerbil Forum

Maybe you could join the gerbil forum too

[boxedmoon]

From my exepeince with intros. The split tank method is the best and by switching sides an odd amount of times a day, they get to sleep in each others nest and get used to the smell. After a few weeks you can put them together in neutral territory with a bit of vanilla on their noses and watch them till they have bonded.

I've manage to pair 2 sets boys this way. I've found that a baby works best and I'm planning on pairing a lone girl this way when I've set up my spilt tank. She lost her sister to a tumor

[racinghamster]

Hi. Female gerbils are notorious for falling out and if this little one has been away from the other pair, they could attack her badly (de-clan). So if she was mine, I would keep her on her own now due to the high risk of her being attacked and not welcomed back into the trio. Trio`s are not a good idea anyway.

As for the pet shop advice, this is likely to cause stress and even illness. DON`T go there. Gerbils are desert creatures.

Cage splitting is sometimes a good idea, but not with female gerbils. Even an adult male being introduced to a baby male needs cage splitting and slow introductions done through a fine mesh and switching some of the bedding/substrate from each end of the tank to introduce the new scents. The cage splitter has to be properly secured too and not just held in place by dishes or clips. gerbils can dig under and move things easily!

So yes, allow this single female to live alone now. It`s sad I know, but they are not human with human emotions. She will be fine on her own with playtimes and attention. Chew toys like small cardboard boxes and toilet/kitchen roll tubes will keep her amused. x

[JazWillow]

I also have gerbils, two girls that have lived together happily with no problems. I think you can try the split cage and see how they react.

[EnerHam]

I've had three females live together for eight months before one left another with serious injuries. Introductions between females tend to be higher risk than with males. It may be possible to introduce them via the split cage method as others have said, but it would be safer just to keep the lone girl on her own. I think the risk outweighs the potential benefit here.

The advice the pet shop lady gave you sounds like a guinea pig introduction method. I wouldn't try it.