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Post by moletteuk on Mar 16, 2021 10:53:38 GMT
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Post by Xellie on Mar 16, 2021 15:24:57 GMT
Yes, so basically to buy time (I need to reconfig some space if I were to set up a whole new cage and that will take a bit of time, this was really bad timing due to a bit of renovating) I will put half of that on the top and split the middle so they have a place to meet.
I can put them in full size ones eventually, but I'd need to make space to move the boys cage away in order to side by side them.
I've done all the math and science, I can definitely quite easily do that in the mean time.
The question is, if it'll work for getting them back together. My concern is that the longer they can't "see" each other the harder this will be.
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Post by moletteuk on Mar 17, 2021 11:54:10 GMT
OK, I'm with you now.
Not seeing each other for a while can weaken the bonds, but if everyone is agitated and scrappy, sometimes not seeing each other can help to calm everyone down. Very difficult to know which situation you are in, depends how agitated everyone has been. You can only do your best with the situation you are in, it's impossible to get everything perfect.
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Post by bouncy on Mar 17, 2021 12:02:27 GMT
Let's hope the additional space will solve all your problems!
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Post by Xellie on Mar 17, 2021 17:39:04 GMT
They are trying very hard to get into each others cage right now (the top girls are trying to clamber down the front into the bottom cage while the bottom girls are standing as close to the top as they can).
They are definitely distressed trying to reach each other, but I can't tell if its love or bloodthirst, so I'm going to get them in a divided setup first and hope that smooths them over.
Cage arrived today, engineering happens tomorrow.
If interested: I'm using 2 pet planets, building one fully (onto a custom much lower stand on the floor) - Not adding the roof, but adding a top pan instead. Building the bottom of the second cage on top of that - using some angle brackets to hold it in place since it doesn't have the feet to slide in).
Then the side panel from the unused section will go across the middle of the middle section.
The bottom girls will access the middle floor through the front left corner, and the top girls through the back right corner. They'll have equal space and a good area of interaction.
Then! long term if everyone becomes friends again, the bottom section will have a 3/4 length shelf added (space for wheel in the bottom) and the middle will have a full length + a half size above that (since apparently little tiny spaces are also fun and good), and the top will have a half size too and that's a lot of floor space.
And if it doesn't work I can consider either 2x 3 storey cages (and a partnership with the boys) or 3x 2 storey cages with 3 girls in each and the 2 boys on their own.
Options!
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Post by bouncy on Mar 17, 2021 17:54:22 GMT
So basically, a four storey cage! I know the critter nations are designed for adding extra levels like that, so it should be great!
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Post by deguconvert on Mar 17, 2021 22:04:36 GMT
Sounds like a great plan! Cleaning may require a step ladder.
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Post by Xellie on Mar 17, 2021 23:04:36 GMT
It will! Luckily I already have one for fixing their hammocks and toys.
They haven't seen each other for a few days. But I held each one up to the group to see how they reacted
So in the top group we have: Bryn, Kara, Mocha And in the bottom group: Freya, Mist, Choca
Bryn was bullying Choca, which led to the original split. Then after a few days, Mocha started attacking Mist (during a supervised meeting to try and keep them friendly).
I held group 2 up to the bars one at a time to say hi and this is what happened:
Everyone loves Freya, there was some chirrups and trills on all sides. She's a big girl, I don't think anyone wants to fight her. Kara loves everyone and was super excited to see her friends. Mocha lunged at Mist, but the others don't have a problem with them. Bryn was grinding her teeth at Choca, but didn't attack.
On a side note, Mocha grinds her teeth at me when I'm cleaning/stealing their poops. She's really grumpy the last day or two!
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Post by bouncy on Mar 17, 2021 23:13:59 GMT
Could be worse, Spidey attacks my hand when I reach in with the dustpan and brush
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Post by Xellie on Mar 17, 2021 23:16:10 GMT
Banshee lunges at me when I reach in to touch anything food related. We are making slow progress though. He's climbed on me a couple of times in the last week!
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Post by Xellie on Mar 20, 2021 0:01:13 GMT
Operation 3 Tier Pet planet first stage is complete at almost midnight.
turns out older models and newer models have the bolts in different places. Super fun.
They have a divided third and neutral level in the middle where they are meeting. No aggression and no persistence so far. (Apart from Kara who's tail swished 99 times/sec when she saw her friends while making happy sounds). There's been a little bit of chirping and nose rubbing, but it only lasts a few seconds.
I'm taking the ignoring as a good sign - if it's like introducing gerbils who are full on "I'LL KILL YOU" mode if they hate someone.
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Post by deguconvert on Mar 20, 2021 17:03:32 GMT
It can be a good sign . . . but it is early to say for sure that it is. Sometimes they ignore, while waiting for the opportunity to arise that permits them to try to dominate. Or confront. You need to play the time game now, watching and waiting.
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Post by Xellie on Mar 20, 2021 21:52:42 GMT
Mocha escaped into the other girl's side today. There was no fighting, but some obvious hierarchy reset had happened. Luckily she got along fine with the girl she had been fighting with.
Choca and Bryn however.... It's choca that is being the aggressor now through the barrier! I think she's a bit upset from last time.
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Post by moletteuk on Mar 21, 2021 12:09:04 GMT
It's normally best to make a wooden frame and staple mesh on boths sides of that for a divider, and then attach the wooden frame to the cage to make a sturdy divider.
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Post by Xellie on Mar 21, 2021 15:26:43 GMT
I'm actually using 2 side panels from the unused 4th part of the old cage - I knew not to make one layer because they'd still attack
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Post by Xellie on Mar 22, 2021 16:52:29 GMT
The two that had the original falling out are persistently niggling at each other through the barrier now, a bit of lunging and a lot of attacking the barrier.
I supervised a meet between everyone and that went fine for an hour or so, then choca got involved in some very aggressive chasing.
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Post by moletteuk on Mar 22, 2021 18:22:52 GMT
If things are getting worse or you want to give them a break, block the divide with something solid so they can't see each other.
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Post by Xellie on Mar 22, 2021 19:27:02 GMT
I'm not sure how far I should let the chasing go at this stage. I haven't seen any FBOD behaviour, but the chasing is fairly extreme.
I'm sort of hoping they'll work out their grudge through the bars at this stage.
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Post by bouncy on Mar 22, 2021 22:18:38 GMT
I've had a couple of aggressive chases when sneaky has been trying (and failing) to climb the hierarchy. Once Sneaky backed down, or Spud ran too far, things calmed down. There were some fisticuffs that I had to intervene in, but I wanted them to sort it out for themselves.
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Post by Xellie on Mar 23, 2021 16:50:55 GMT
The chasing seems to start in one part of the cage (we had a supervised session last night) - all was well for an hour then choca ended up with a scratch under her eye
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