>>What kind were they?
>
>I never knew what kind they were. This was about 20 years
>ago and I just went to the store and bought them. I think two
>of them were called Teddy Bears, they had long fur - one
>was beige and the other was black. I think the 3rd had
>short hair but he was white with other colors (maybe a
>calico, but I don't remember for sure).
If they were labelled 'teddybears' they were syrians. And
that explains what happened.
>If they were Syrian, I guess that explains why they did that.
Syrians, are social during limited times...the female is in
heat and wants to be bred, she will be nice to the male.
They still have to be watched, as after they get done, she
may turn on him and kill him anyway.
When the female has her litter, she will be tolerant of her
brood until they get around 4 weeks...and the males
decide to try to breed her when she's in heat again.
The littermates themselves, will accept other hamsters
of about their age, to about six weeks old. Then at
around six to ten weeks, they start showing their anti-social
desires and start fighting.
Most syrians seen in pet stores are around 4 weeks old.
They are still social, will get along, and can be kept together
in a cage for them to be sold. Almost all will be sold by
six weeks, as they are small and cute....
One, the store did you a great disservice by selling you
more than one and NOT telling you they had to be kept
separately. Two, you were very lucky they got along as
long as they did. Three, the fight and aftermath you
seen is not unusual (I've done rescues and gotten the
survivors of a fight like that...where 3-6 adults were in
a small cage together, at a year old, and carnage
happened. The person who owned them got ahold of
me and goes, they're fighting come get them NOW.
I deal with the aftermath and separate them all and
nurse the ones that can survive and...warn that owner
to never ever do it again, I don't care what the pet
store told you or what you seen at the pet store. Repeat
same story several times...)
So. Gerbils are not like that. They are social animals,
but they have rules and preferences about their clanning
and how you can re-group and introduce them to each
other. Other than they gnaw more and harder, I think
they are easier to keep than hamsters!
Deb
Rebel's Rodent Ranch
