I've owned Gerbils for the last 30 years... and they have heavy scent related territory issues. I've had gerbils that were sleeping in a happy gerbil pile one day... de-clan and start fighting to the death the next. I had to split up my current triad of gerbil girls because of an aggressive gerbil... sometimes they have hormone changes... which change their scent... and all of a sudden they become "strangers" to one another. I've tried split-tank... and even rubbing all of my gerbils with a little vanilla extract to give them a "common" scent to get them back together... but they seem to be permanently de-clanned.
It's sad... but really, there wasn't much I could have done to prevent it. I always wash my hands before handling them so I don't introduce any weird smell into their environment. I don't play with them around anything heavily scented. And they get the same diet and treats... so I did everything I could on my end.
I don't really know rabbits... but know that eventually you'll find someone who is compatible with your cranky bunny. Unlike gerbils... which even most rescues see as "disposable" pets... I can't try adopting a friend for my lonely gerbil... and have a place to bring them back to if it doesn't work out. Thank Jah for Red Door... and kudos to you for trying so hard and being such a responsible bunny owner.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2012-09-17 05:04 pm (UTC)It's sad... but really, there wasn't much I could have done to prevent it. I always wash my hands before handling them so I don't introduce any weird smell into their environment. I don't play with them around anything heavily scented. And they get the same diet and treats... so I did everything I could on my end.
I don't really know rabbits... but know that eventually you'll find someone who is compatible with your cranky bunny. Unlike gerbils... which even most rescues see as "disposable" pets... I can't try adopting a friend for my lonely gerbil... and have a place to bring them back to if it doesn't work out. Thank Jah for Red Door... and kudos to you for trying so hard and being such a responsible bunny owner.