Thanks again for all the tips and advice. I'm always double checking everything but it is a guide as the first thing I learned with rats is that some individuals just dont play by the rules lol

I reckon I will still go for boys, we getting to be an all boy pets household here at this rate

I've seen some large aquariums on youtube. My question:- Is there such a thing as too big? I read that too much territory can result in declanning. Is that true or another myth?

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Mum to the meece:- Milly, and Bramble. And the rats:- Blossom, Vimes, Mort, Teppic, Leo, Hex, Oats, Binky, Kevin, Honey, Blu, Pixie, Patch, Vyrt, Havelock, Squibbles and Newt. And Charlie the dog x

http://scritches.webs.com

Again it all comes down to breeding, personality, health etc. It is possible in larger territories that declanning is more likely to happen in groups of gerbils as two separate territories can be made and cause friction. However it depends what your definition of large is. This is a rough guide as to what sizes i'd suggest for gerbils

1-2 gerbils = 2.5 foot tank (minimum length) - 3 foot tank
3-4 gerbils = 3 foot tank/4 foot tank
4-6 gerbils = 4-5 foot tank

With gerbils really you never know if they are going to end up declanning or not and really its the luck of the draw! The percentage of de-clans compared to the percentage of gerbils who live out their lives happily however is very small and the risk is higher in larger groups of gerbils. Although it may never happen, its always best to be aware that it "could" so you are prepared if it does.

bearing in mind these will be rescue gerbils so background will be dodgy compared to those from a good breeder

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Mum to the meece:- Milly, and Bramble. And the rats:- Blossom, Vimes, Mort, Teppic, Leo, Hex, Oats, Binky, Kevin, Honey, Blu, Pixie, Patch, Vyrt, Havelock, Squibbles and Newt. And Charlie the dog x

http://scritches.webs.com

All of my gerbils are rescues, and they are great personality wise (except for Bart but shhhhh we wont talk about bad Bart )

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gsds (Henrick and Bella), the cats (Syd, Lilly, Elvis and Dizzy), the gerbils (Honey, Lisa, crusty, Millhouse, Flanders, Bart and Homer), the rats (Valentine, Flower, Petal, Blossom, Koda, Cava, George), the mice (Minnie, Pop, Seudag, Caraid, Silver, Trouble, Athena, Pandora, Aphrodite, Meep, and Springtime)

I run a gerbil rescue and have done for nearly three years now and have only experienced one de-clan and it was two boys. I've probably got the "worst" gerbils possible by way of inbreeding, neglect or ill heath/disability.

That is good to know, thank you

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Mum to the meece:- Milly, and Bramble. And the rats:- Blossom, Vimes, Mort, Teppic, Leo, Hex, Oats, Binky, Kevin, Honey, Blu, Pixie, Patch, Vyrt, Havelock, Squibbles and Newt. And Charlie the dog x

http://scritches.webs.com