Moving, new job, and separating my gerbils

A lot has happened since I’ve last written, so I figured it was time for a lengthy update. After too many applications to count, I drove and attended roughly five or fewer interviews for potential job opportunities. I found it surprising how difficult it was to find a job in my field that wasn’t advertisement or public relations related. Bluffton News-Banner ended up being the fit for me.

It took a whole week to move into an upstairs apartment near my work. The place needed some work, but I knew it could be mine if I let it. It was a decision when I was looking for the best room in the apartment to house my animals, specifically my gerbils. Gerbils do not do well in noisy, high-traffic areas and will act strangely. My red fish, alongside my blue fish, died nearly three to four days after moving in. My white betta is the only remaining betta, along with the two Mystery Snails and Pepper Cory catfish. Although my Dwarf Hamster and gerbils survived the hour drive here just fine, the move took its toll on the gerbils.

My dark brown gerbil has always been HBIC, never missing a moment to chase or steal food away from the other. Before this time, I had never witnessed the two fight, not to mention the casual rolling around and playful tussles a herd will do from time to time. I would pass through the room and hear rustling and the sound of them running around the habitat. The dark brown gerbil was chasing the other violently to the point where the other would never leave the den. At first, I suspected the two were playing as I saw no blood or any injuries of the sort on either gerbil.

I did some careful research and found when gerbils experience high stress, they tend to exhibit strange behavior. I also found that old age can turn over even the kindest of gerbils. I let the situation go temporarily for a day or two until I realized she was chasing the other 24/7 through the night, day, everything. Separating the two, I remember feeling spontaneous and confused as this issue had never come up before. It’s been a week since then and I hesitate to place one with the other. Although I have enjoyed caring for the two along with my Dwarf Hamster, I’m not so sure I’ll buy another after they’ve gone.