Bud and Sam Not Meant to Be

Poor Bud and Sam. Putting them together was not meant to be. Their personalities clashed. They won't even interact when I held each one in my hand. They have been in a split since the end of the July.

Last night Bud went to his own digs. I took the divider out and gave Sam the big 20 gallon for now. I will just have to give them extra toys and stimulation. Bud was always good with the ladies. I might get him a senior female to love. I might do the same with Sam later on. Male to female bonding seems to always work better.

Bud is about 1 1/2 feet away from the other two boys. At least he can smell them and know they are around. I am planning on putting Sam in the 15 gallon (where Mona and Simone are currently located) and give the girls the big 20 gallon to romp around. That sounds like the best option I have right now. This is my first failure in try to put two gerbils together.

Also, while I was cleaning an extra small cage, I found Trixie's last thing she chewed. A partial paper plate. It brought sadness to my heart.

Bud and Sam Intro Round 2

Well...this past Saturday on the 29th I tried another intro.

It went a little better. I managed to keep them together for about 1 1/2 hours before they wanted to hurt each other. I really thought it might work today. The split tank was cleaned out. It had to be cleaned. A tiny bug problem. There are wheels on both sides of the 20 gallon split now.

They seem to want to be together. They sleep in each others beds. They like the scent of the other gerbil but when face to face. Nope. They are both dominant type gerbils. One of their fights, I got bit hard with the gloves on from Bud. I think Bud got bit in the rump. No blood but it is tender to the touch.

The neutral territory seems to work for the short term. What do think? If anything, the split can be permanent so at least they won't be totally alone. I will still do the flip flopping and the butt sniffing.

Will keep on trying every weekend. I have never had failure of putting two gerbils together.