I have inherited 2 gerbils, they have lived togeher for 2 years now and I have had them for 3 weeks, we have 2 cats who are intersted however have made no attemps to harm them. this eve they stated fighting and it was a nightmare, both covered in blood as I ried to seperate them I also got bit....what is happening???? can I trust them alone together???? at mo they are in a container together..not in cage and they are grooming one another. wha can I do

Is this a related pair at all

not sure, think so. should I seperate them tonight? both covered in blood, don't know what to do!!!
scared they will go into shock!

its a hard one really and it normaly starts when there around 1 or 2 year old if there covered in blood and you can part them then i think it maybe a good idea.There totaly differant habits to hamsters ext.You will actualy find in most cases all males get on very well.Id have to exsplain what happens in wild to make sense of this one you may have got a dominant pair.

And im trying to think how to exsplain it :hihi:

when they live in wild they live in very large groups when theres any dominant gerbil it will leave its group.But in captivity it cant and the result is somtimes fight and it can be to the death no idea why but normaly there ok together until they are getting on in age..There young eventualy dont see there parents as parents and try to dominate and drive them away.
After sounding a total plonker cant think how else to exsplain that one.
They all play fight but sounds like you got a dominant pair there.I would keep a close eye on them if you try them back together.
What did you mean by in a container though

lol, thank you for replying to me. they usually get on so well, groom each other, sleep together etc. I thought it could be the attention of the cats that stressed them however they have bin with me for 3 weeks now and the cats just sit and look, they are never alone with them and i stop any interaction between them.

lol, thank you for replying to me. they usually get on so well, groom each other, sleep together etc. I thought it could be the attention of the cats that stressed them however they have bin with me for 3 weeks now and the cats just sit and look, they are never alone with them and i stop any interaction between them.I suppose it could be stress ralated i assume you have them in a container to sort them out ?
maybe that is it fight over sort of speak just keep a eye on them.Make sure no infection comes from any wounds.

container was the bottom draw of an old fridge...you know the salad draw... kept with them and they were ok however managed to seperate the cage into 2 halfs, both have water and food and plenty of space..might try to reunite them tomorrow..watch this space!!!

I would give the cage a thorough clean out and disinfect it with some animal friendly stuff to get rid of all the scents. then i would try reintroducing them and watch them carefully for at least 20 mins. Make sure you have a towel to hand or a thick glove on before you do so incase you need to seperate them as bites can be nasty.
Have they been in the cage that they have alwasy been in?

Be very vigilant. I had three gerbils who lived quite happily together until I went into my sons's bedroom one morning to feed them and found two of the gerbils eating the third!!!! I separated them and didn't let them interact after that - maybe it was "one of those things" and they didn't get on with each other but it wasn't pleasant in any case.

If gerbils draw blood, it can be very very difficult to reintroduce them. I think what I would do is keep them completely separate for as long as possible (in an attempt to get them to forget each other, and to make them lonely) then try a very slow and careful split cage intro (google the method).

However, be prepared for them to continue fighting and they may have to live apart.

it may be worth following a re-intro, please look at e-gerbil.com for instructions on how to make an intro tank, this will hopefully, give them the opportunity to sort themselves out and re-establish the hierarcy without fear of fights, the attached forum, egerbil forum, can give wonderful advice and support, if you need any more info please contact me, thanks emma

well bet ive got fun to come with 6 of the buggers lol

Thanks guys for all your help. reintroducing them v slowly and up to now looks good, lots of grooming and sleeping together when i allow them to be together supervised!!! fingers crossed!!

I'd seperate them. I had the same problem with Russian Dwarve hamsters. They were sisters, and lived fine together for about 3 months, but then the bigger one would keep biting the smaller one- they were fine outside of the cage. Its normal to have the odd fight, but if its causing blood, split them up. Luckily my cage (2 big rotastaks) could be split in to 2. After they were split up, they were fine- both happier alone.