One of my gerbil died the other one is getting lonley....?

Question

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!

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

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.

Source(s):

Gerbil owner for 22 years. Also have had hamsters, jirds, degus, rats, and mice.

Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

Thank you! I have been doing that and Salt has been much brighter Everyday when I come home from school he is always at the cage door ready to be pick up! I don't think he think about his pass away brother at all! THX!

Answer 2

Yeah get a female he will love her forever.

Answer 3

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

Answer 4

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).
Gerbils are highly territorial animals, so if you place 2 adults that don't know each other, they will most likely fight. Introductions should be done very carefully.

Answer 5

Maybe getting one that looks exactly the same. Or if you are willing to wait you get another gerbil and another cage and let your new gerbil live in the new cage for about 2 weeks.(so the scent gets around.) Then switch the gerbils by putting the new one in the old cage and the old one in the new cage. Have this happen for about 2 weeks. Then put them both in the same cage and they should be used to each other. Make sure that the cages are on opposite sides of the room

Answer 6

Yes definitely get another one! keep em in separate cages and put the cages close together and see if they seem ok with each other - if they do put em in the same cage

Bobs your uncle!

Answer 7

dont get one of the opposite gender becaus ei got two gerbils a girl and boy but the boy killed her

Answer 8

Gerbils typically are very social and if introduced properly can easily get along. Was this a female that passed away? They typically mate for life, and when one dies the other won't usually accept a new mate, but they can still get along. I think it would be best to get another male, so you don't have babies. Do get him a friend though, they love having company. Introduce slowly, and supervise when they're together at first to make sure they don't injure one another if there is any fighting. Good luck

Answer 9

first I would play with salt alot to keep him active and give him some fresh cabbage as that is good for rodents when they are stressed ... when you get the new gerbil, which is a good thing to do, I would suggest getting it a temp cage and then slowly easing it in with salt...one day they could spend some time together through the cage bars (in other words start by putting the cages next to each other) then let them spend five minutes together in the same cage...supervised by you...the next day give them 30 minutes...increase the time slowly like that for about a week and then at the end of the week they should be able to live in the same cage
get a cheap temporary cage for the new one to stay in for the first week and at the end of the week you can either connect the two cages by tubes and give your gerbils a bigger home OR you can keep it as an isolation cage in case one of your gerbils ever gets sick or pregant and needs to be apart from the other gerbil...remember to give them the cabbage: IT REALLY HELPS WHEN THEY ARE STRESSED just buy a fresh head of cabbage at the grocery store for less than $5 and feed them each a couple pieces about the size of a quarter everyday until the cabbage is all gone to insure good health and low stress levels...
good luck...
and I'm sorry for your loss...

Answer 10

get another if u have to even with ur own money do u want it to die of a broken heart

Source(s):

i have had this happen befor