Gerbils live a happy and active but short life. Gerbils’ longevity averages about 3 years, although rarely they will live to 5 years or more. When a gerbil does pass away, you will be left with the problem of how to handle its surviving partner. Gerbils are highly social animals, and they do not like to live alone. Recognizing the signs of aging in your pet may help prepare you for the decisions you must make when one of your gerbil friends goes on to “Gerbil Heaven”.

Signs of Aging

Even by two or two and a half years, you may notice signs of aging in your beloved pet. Your gerbil may slow down a bit, moving less around the tank, sleeping more. He or she may have less interest in his or her wheel, and may chew up tubes and boxes with less gusto.  These changes may be most noticeable in comparision with its partner; if you regularly see one gerbil up and about while the other sleeps soundly in the nest, it may mean that one of your gerbils is slowing down.

When your gerbil reaches two years of age, monitor its health and behavior more closely. Consider investing in a digital scale ($25 or so) and weigh your gerbils once a month or more, keeping a written record. Any steady or sudden loss or gain of weight could be a sign of trouble. Weight loss could mean your gerbil’s teeth are getting too long (because of reduced chewing), or an underlying medical condition may be present. Weight gain, particularly rapid gain, can indicate a tumor or other disease. These conditions should be brought to a vet’s attention promptly.

The End of Life

Some elderly gerbils will show no particular decline in function, and then suddenly one day, you visit the tank to discover he or she cannot move. Or, you might watch your gerbil slowly shutting down, sleeping most of the time, and perhaps grumpy and nippy when handled. The important thing to observe is whether your gerbil can or cannot take pleasure in normal gerbil activities: chewing, nesting, digging, grooming, eating, drinking and running in the wheel. As long as your gerbil is doing what gerbils like to do, let him or her continue doing it. But when the time comes that your gerbil has no interest in anything but sleeping, or cannot move around to feed itself, the merciful course of action is to see your vet about letting your gerbil go.

The Survivor

When one of your gerbils passes away, the other may at first seem shocked or distressed. He or she may sit quietly in a corner, or may hunt around the tank as if looking for his lost friend. His immediate sorrow may be consoled by extra attention from you, by cleaning the cage to remove the scent of his missing friend, by adding new toys or diversions, or by putting the tank in a room where there are other gerbils present. (Throw everyone in the room a box so that there is lots of noise of scurrying and digging!)

Another gerbil may show no change in behavior after the loss of its partner. It doesn’t mean your gerbil is hard-hearted! Even though your gerbil may act the same, he or she will live a longer, healthier life with a new companion.

So, the next step is to get a new friend for your gerbil. If your elderly gerbil died of a sudden (and possibly contagious) illness, you may wish to wait a week or so to observe the survivor for symptoms. A week or so alone will also increase your remaining gerbil’s interest in a new friend, easing the introduction process. Use this week of waiting to investigate sources for a new gerbil pet. Keep your survivor busy with affection and entertainment.

What Kind of New Friend?

The new friend you choose will depend on the gender and age of your survivor. This table gives suggestions about the easiest and most-likely-to-succeed introductions, using the Split Cage Method:

	Male	Female
Young (< 6 mo)	One male pup	Another young female
Adult (6-18 mo)	One male pup	A younger adult female
Mature (18 mo+)	Under 2 years: 1 male pup 2½+ years: 2 male pups	A male (any age)

The rationale behind these recomendations is as follows. Males tend to be very nurturing, and generally will accept younger males without difficulty. However, a trio of males can become unstable when the younger males reach 6-9 months of age. If your single male will probably not live past his new friends' 6 month birthday, get two young males to avoid having to repeat the exercise too soon. Otherwise, get one. Male-male intros are fairly easy and once you've done one, you won't worry about doing another.

Females, on the other hand, are more particular about new partners. Ideally, a new female partner should be about the same size as your survivor, so that the newcomer has a chance of holding her own if the introduction gets testy. Our suggestion of introducing a male to your elderly female gerbil may at first sound shocking, but females generally cannot have pups past the age of 18-24 months, and a female may accept a male more readily. Therefore, a male-female pairing may have the best chance of success with an older female left alone. (However, individual cycles vary; if having an unexpected litter would be an unthinkable disaster, consider a male only for a female 2 years of age or more.)

Gerbils Alone

If for any reason you are feeling like you’d rather not bring in a new friend and continue your gerbil hobby, leaving your gerbil alone may seem like the only option. If your surviving gerbil is himself very elderly (more than three years old), you can take consolation that he or she probably will not have too much time alone. However, he or she will live more happily with a friend. You might see if another family would like to the experience of re-pairing your elderly gerbil and taking over the hobby. If your gerbil must stay alone, lots of attention from you, frequent grooming with a small brush, good food, and a warm nest will help make his or her last months more joyful. Ideally, though, you will bring another friend into your elderly gerbil’s life, as there is no substitute for a good friend!