[zofht3]

I bought two gerbils from petco on early July this year, and one of the two gerbils (the more active one imo) died 4 days ago.

I don't know their gender and age (yes i am a terrible parent...) but I did always tried my best to give them full supply of fresh water and food, and considering the other gerbil that is alive is still living 4 days after his cagemate has passed away, (he or she... is more active than ever actually... maybe he's happy that his cagemate died?) I don't really think I had any specific cause for the death of the gerbil.

Though, I had some research done and saw someone say when a gerbil dies due to age, the inside of the gerbil goes outside (similar to vomitting i guess?), and that is exactly what happened to my gerbil.

I am pretty sure he was normal the day before he died, and on the day the gerbil died, (I just came from school) his stomach was weird shaped, to be the most specific, like this :

) ( < when the normal shape of the gerbil's body should be this > l l.

also, when the gerbil died, some kind of reddish thing was stuck to its mouth, it looked almost like a red small, thin piece of cabbage. Judging from the look, it looked like the dead gerbil has puked a vomit along with its blood...

so... do you think that age was the reason why this gerbil died? and like i said up top, the geribl thats alone now is activier than ever, it eats food well, looks like it doesn't really miss his old cagemate anymore... do you think I should buy a new one?

I am thinking of buying two at the same time actually, which will make the cage to have total of 3 gerbils... do you think this is fine, or should i just buy one gerbil?



To make it easier for you guys to see my questions...

1) Why do you think my other gerbil die?
2) Should I just buy only one gerbil, or a gerbil couple
3) If it is okay to buy two gerbils, would the three of them get along? I am worried because two of them already know each other and my other one doesn't, that the two gerbils will bully the single gerbil...
4) Can anybody explain to me the split-cage method....

 

[Ren28]

Not sure if you have found your answers somewhere else or not, or even if you still need help, but I thought I could try...

First, I can't answer how your gerbil died, but I am very sorry for your loss.

To answer your questions about purchasing another gerbil, I think it would be a good idea. Gerbils are social animals, and are usually much happier if they have a friend. However, you really need to know what gender your remaining gerbil is before you try to purchase one or you could end up with babies lol. If you turn the gerbil over, there will be two noticeable bumps at the base of the tail if it is a male. You can also see if there is a breeder near you who may can help you determine the gender if you are still unsure.

I wouldn't purchase but one new gerbil for your remaining gerbil. It is very hard to introduce an established pair to a single gerbil, especially if they are females. Females should always be kept only in pairs because of dominance issues.

You can Google "split-cage introductions for gerbils" to find detailed instructions on how to do this. If you have the proper cage and divider, it is very easy. I have just recently successfully introduced a new breeding pair together via this method. It just takes some time and patience. It's not something you want to rush, no matter how well you think it's going through the wire.

 

[eaturbyfill]

If there were no external injuries, it probably died of either age or an underlying health problem that no one knew about.

I would use the split-cage method and try to get it a single friend.

Gender should be pretty obvious. Males have visible testicles, females, of course, do not. I'm sure you could look around and try to find a comparison of the two genders if you need to.