Greetings, List,
I am wondering how you can tell which gerbil is dominant? When Mario was
alive, he and Luigi used to have little "boxing matches" (we called them
"grooming bickers"), which ended with one gerby grooming the other, usually
Mario grooming Luigi. I always thought this was some sort of
dominance-establishing behavior, but with only two gerbies I could never tell
which was the dominant behavior - the groomer or the groomee? Also, when they
slept in their tissue box, Luigi always slept closest to the opening, with
Mario way inside. Are either of these dominant behaviors, and if so, which
ones? Or am I completely off base?
I am also wondering how to know if I should try to get Luigi another
cage-mate? He turned 3 years old last December, and has been alone since
Mario died that same month. I was expecting him to show signs of listlessness
or depression, but so far he has not. Right after Mario died, Luigi was
slightly more agitated and less sociable (he was the more sociable one) and
more inclined to bite (he usually nips when stressed; Mario usually
squealed), but he seems to have gotten over that. Now he acts pretty much
like he did when Mario was still with him. I think part of the fun of having
gerbils is to watch them interact with each other, so I would kinda like to
get another mate for him. But I don't want to stress him out. Any advice?
Thanks.
Mo
