I posted a question about introducing gerbils back in December after one
of my two gerbils died, and I'd like to thank Jill, Eva, and Amy for their
advice. I wasn't able to put it into action right away because of some
health problems in the survivor, but she's been on antibiotics and I'm
thinking I'd like to give her a new friend in the next month, so I've got
some more questions. First off, Janine is just a little over two years
old right now, and I'm wondering if she'd be better off with a youngster
or with a gerbil her own age, assuming I could find one. I got
conflicting answers the last time I asked this question, so if anyone else
has any opinions on this, I'd love to hear them. Also, since I would
imagine that Janine is now past breeding age, would a new male gerbil be
easier for her to get along with than a new female? Would a young male
try to mate with her even though she's past breeding age? My primary
concern is preventing Janine from being harassed in her old age by some
young stranger. I don't want her to have to be alone, but I'd rather that
than have her being pushed around and attacked, obviously, and the fact
that she is at the troublesome two-year dominance shift mark has been
causing me some extra worry. Any advice anyone can give on this
situation would be much appreciated. Thanks!
-Lisa
