That's great! I'm so glad you were able to get them back together 😊 the closeness of the tanks could definitely have been an issue, with Luna & Moo when I moved Sandy into the living room I noticed they started falling out and once I move Sandy out again they settled, so I definitely think it's a potential risk factor, some pairs may be stable enough that it doesn't affect them, but for others it can definitely affect their bond, I'm glad you've been able to get them settled again with moving the tanks farther apart, keep a close eye and if you notice tension building again, it could be worth trialling moving the other tank to a separate room and see if that helps. But fingers crossed they'll be just fine as they are 🤞

Sorry you're experiencing this, unfortunately declanning can happen at any time for any reason, even in a pair of siblings. It would help to see your enclosure set up so I can see if there's anything that could have caused them to fight over As you were able to separate them quickly you could try rebonding them after some time separated if they were together happily for a while, but I understand your hesitation to do this. The alternative would be to find them each new friends and bond them separately, keeping their enclosures as far away as possible, ideally in separate rooms to minimise stress and bonding interference from smelling each other

First thing I need to mention is that blowing on gerbils is how researchers induce seizures in them in lab studies, so please don't do this, it's extremely dangerous. With the biting, if she's biting you when your hand is going into the enclosure, this will likely be because she's feeling scared and threatened, if you then punish her when she tries to defend herself (as she sees it) all this will be teaching her is that she's right to be afraid and attack, and will likely just get more and more forceful with her attacks. Your best bet is to stop putting your hand in the enclosure completely while she's awake. If you do see her up and about, try offering her treats (ones that she doesn't get any other time) at the door, keep your hand outside of the enclosure and let her come to you, this will help to teach her that (a) hands bring good things and (b) she has control over the situation as she can approach, or not, she has the choice to interact. This should help her to feel safer and more confident around your hands and should help to ease her fears. If you are still having issues with her biting when doing this, try wearing a biteproof glove and keep your hand very still, even if she bites you, just stay still, don't react and make sure you have some high value treats in your hand for her to take when she feels comfortable enough

For cleaning them out, you can use a tunnel/tube of some kind and get them to crawl into it to remove them from the enclosure. It sounds like you are making progress, some gerbils do take a bit longer to tame than others. I also noticed you said you remove their millet sprays during the night, I would be more inclined to leave it in. If they're nervous coming out when people are around they're not going to see the sprays in the topper as much, the point is to give them positive reinforcement just for being out to start with, so by leaving it out during the night, they learn it's a good place to be and may come out more during the day. I also recommend talking to them during the day as much as possible so they can get used to the sound of your voice, see if those changes can help 🙂

It may help if you spend some time talking to them, to get them more used to your voice, even if they're in their burrows. How much time are you able to spend with them when they come out in the evenings?

Ah okay, so are you spending lots of time talking to them? And when during the day are they coming out?

Where is their enclosure? Is it somewhere where you spend a lot of time or in a separate room?

It varies. As they're still so new they may not be coming up as much because they're still nervous, give them some more time and maybe try adding some sprays like millet in the topper to encourage them up more 🙂

3 weeks is very soon to be changing their bedding, in the minimum size tank (100x50x50cm) with good quality, absorbent bedding at a sufficient depth (25-40cm minimum) they should only need full cleans every 2-3 months keeping around a third of their bedding to put back in for scent association When it does eventually come time to clean them your best bet would be to use some kind of tube that they should crawl into themselves and then move them into a carrier/temporary enclosure while their home is cleaned, it's best to use this method at the start untill they're fully comfortable being picked up, which can take many months or longer, but it sounds like you're doing a great job with the taming so far 🙂

That's great, I'm so glad it worked out for you ☺️

Sorry to hear about your loss, I know how hard it is losing the little ones ❤️ the nibbling and small pee could possibly be a territorial thing, Dory is one that I've found that does that, especially if I smell like other gerbils she may nip me, scent mark me with her scent gland and she'll also do a funny walk on my hands as she pees on me to scent mark me some more. If you suspect one of yours is quite territorial I'd be inclined to give them more time in the split before trying a meet, and when you do try a meet be ready to separate at the first sign of tension, and definitely do your best to avoid letting them meet when either of them are in heat, it's a bad idea generally I think, but especially so with someone who's extra territorial

I suspect the reason why they didn't use the 6 inch wheel was because it was much too small, a 12 inch is the minimum size recommended by welfare organisations for wheels for gerbils, an 11 inch should be close enough but I wouldn't go any smaller than that. I'd also look at upgrading your tank if you can, the minimum size for them is 100x50x50cm, or approx 40x20x20 inches. I believe I shared some options for you in the Facebook group, the bucatstate 100x50 acrylic enclosure has a front opening door and enough room for the minimum 25cm of bedding, I believe niteangel also has similar enclosures if you're US based 🙂

No I didn't sorry, it may not have been delivered, that happened with someone else recently I think. My email is for business inquiries only though, so reaching out through the website, or my other social media pages is a better way to reach me 🙂

It's so fascinating seeing how different all their personalities are isn't it? 🥰

We also have a Facebook group with some more members in it if that would be of interest to you: https://m.facebook.com/groups/professionalgerbilcare/?ref=share ☺️

Awh, they look like my Luna and Pumbaa 🥹🥰

Haha that's adorable! I've never seen it before, but that's a very interesting way to drink 😆 Also, sorry for the delayed response, I never got a notification of the post x

You've gotten the first thing sorted with those gloves, and not responding when he bites that's a great start! That's usually what I recommend with bitey gerbils, gloved hand and offer food, ideally his favourite food, and don't respond or move if he bites, just stay very still. I'd also make sure to turn your head away and don't look at him when he's comes out, eye contact could make him feel threatened and make the behaviour worse. Hopefully with some time and careful positive reinforcement he can learn that biting doesn't work and that hands bring good things so there's no reason to be scared, it may take a long time though, especially if the behaviour is really ingrained. But even small amounts of progress like taking a minute or two to bite instead of a few seconds is good progress worth celebrating. It's important to take it slow, be patient and minimise anything that could possibly be exacerbating it, and hopefully he'll start coming round. Good luck! I'll be here if you need anymore help 💚

Okay that's good, I'd definitely keep a close eye on them because the treatment doesn't kill the eggs, so there could easily be some new babies hatching soon 😬

Oh wow, that looks great! Have you got treatment for the lice? I also think you'll need to keep changing the bedding while they're being treated to get rid of any nasties hanging out in the bedding, so lower bedding may be beneficial while you're treating too The amount of bedding is great for a normal setup though! I just think it's a good idea to keep it low while treating for things like mites and fleas