Unexpected gerbils behaviour

Hi Heather, how are you?

I wanted to ask you about something that happened with our pair of female gerbils. They are a year and a half old. They have been together since we got them from the pet center, so we assume they are sisters. They never had any issues. However, today, and quite unexpectedly, one gerbil started attacking and chasing the other in a very violent and aggressive way. I know that aggression can occur when trying to introduce gerbils from different litters, but I’ve never seen this behavior in sisters. Thankfully, we were home when it happened; otherwise, I don’t know what could have occurred. We have now separated them into different tanks. We noticed that one of the gerbils is in heat, but this has happened many times before, and we've never seen them attack each other.

What do you think could have caused this? What do you recommend in these cases? Can we reintroduce them? We’re not comfortable knowing that they could attack each other again when no one is home. Thanks in advance Heather! Regards Angie

4 answers0 replies

Comments (4)

Aza D

Aug 20

Thanks Heather!!!! 😎

Heather Mackay

Aug 19

Sorry you're experiencing this, unfortunately declanning can happen at any time for any reason, even in a pair of siblings. It would help to see your enclosure set up so I can see if there's anything that could have caused them to fight over

As you were able to separate them quickly you could try rebonding them after some time separated if they were together happily for a while, but I understand your hesitation to do this. The alternative would be to find them each new friends and bond them separately, keeping their enclosures as far away as possible, ideally in separate rooms to minimise stress and bonding interference from smelling each other

Aza D

Aug 20

Replying to

Hi Heather, how are you? First of all, thank you so much for your response. I wanted to let you know that we tried reintroducing the two gerbil sisters, Nella (the gray) & Bianca (the black), while keeping a close eye on them, and they accepted each other perfectly! Now that you mention it, we realized something. We have other siblings (Canela & Allie) that are in a separate tank. But we noticed that their tanks were very close to each other, so perhaps they were getting a bit aggressive by smelling and hearing each other! Now we’ve moved the tanks further apart, and we’ve noticed that they’re a bit calmer! Heather, you’re amazing! With the Timon and Pumbaa bonding guide, we’ve been able to successfully pair up 3 gerbil couples, and today we’ve learned something new thanks to you! 🐹Thank you so much! 😎

(Crazy Siblings eating in picture :) )

Regards from Argentina! Angie

Heather Mackay

Aug 20

Replying to

That's great! I'm so glad you were able to get them back together 😊 the closeness of the tanks could definitely have been an issue, with Luna & Moo when I moved Sandy into the living room I noticed they started falling out and once I move Sandy out again they settled, so I definitely think it's a potential risk factor, some pairs may be stable enough that it doesn't affect them, but for others it can definitely affect their bond, I'm glad you've been able to get them settled again with moving the tanks farther apart, keep a close eye and if you notice tension building again, it could be worth trialling moving the other tank to a separate room and see if that helps. But fingers crossed they'll be just fine as they are 🤞