baby gerbil introduction

[Polly]

Hi all!
I'm getting three 6 week old baby gerbil boys from an animal rescue this weekend, and I'm thrilled to bursting. They're the newest addition to my family--I have two gerbil girls, Chickie and Tricky, who have given me a taste for more.
My question is about introducing this band of brothers to another baby who is about a month younger. As I was researching cages for my new boys, I was chatting with the woman who takes care of the small animals at the petshop. When she heard I had gerbils, she asked if I wanted some babies--one of their gerbils had babies and since they can't sell them, they're giving them away. There are two left--a boy and a girl. I told her I really didn't think I could take them, but that I'd think about it. I'm really hesitant about it, but since I've learned a lot from reading here, I thought I'd ask and see if it seems like it'd work to all you guys. I'm such a softie, especially when it comes to young'uns. Thanks for your input. --Polly

[Padfoot]

So, the petshop baby is 2 weeks old and the rescue babies are 6 weeks old, right? When the petshop baby is 5 weeks (weaning age), the rescue babies will be 9 weeks old. At this age, you can attempt a direct introduction since they are still very young (watch that I'm saying WEEKS and not MONTHS). You should put the younger one in a neutral area (like a new cage or a bathtub) and let him run there for 10-15 minutes, then put in the older babies, and watch them interact for at least 1 hour. Have gloves and a stick or something ready in case you need to separate them (so you won't get bit). Clean the cage very very well (if you are using the used one to house them all.. so it won't have the smell of the older babies) and put them there, and watch them interact again. Watch out for signs of agression like chasing and fighting: they entangle in a really tight ball, if you see this, separate immediately, they are trying to kill each other. If you see them sleeping all together, then the introduction did worked. 8) If the intro doesn't work, attempt a split cage for a couple of weeks.

[Polly]

Hooray! I'm so glad I can try an introduction with these boys. From what I've read, it seems like baby introductions are easier, but I wasn't sure since it's a single being introduced to a group. I'll post pictures of the three new boys when we're all settled in this weekend. Also, I wanted to thank the folks who post on this forum (especially Padfoot, of course)--this is my first post, but I've read the archives and learned a whole lot that I didn't get from general information blurbs. You guys rock!

[andreaS15]

I have done an intro with a 5 week old and two 8 week old boys, and it worked out great.
I introded them in a split play pen, then after they got curious I opened the sides of the pen for them to meet, the little guy was timmid, but they groomed him all over and everyones bene happy since.
Sometimes when I am doing a gerbil Intro I will use a dap of Vanilla extract (pure), i will dab a bit with my finger on there head, tummy and rear. This will help hide the gerbils original smell and make both gerbils smell somewhat the same.