advice on introducing please

[susan]

Hi, Ive had a bit of conflicting advice and  wonder if anyone could help me make the best choice.I have a lone uneutered 14 month old male, Cookie, who lived happily with his brother, who very sadly died last week. As I didnt want him to be alone, I got a 2 year old uneutered male and an 8 month old female who are unrelated, but had been living together with her parents. Cookie is in his cage and the 2 new ones in theirs, they are in seperate rooms at the moment. I would like them to be able to all be together
Could somebody set me straight on introducing them in terms of
*should both boys be neutered,or not?
*would the female be ok with 2 males, she is slightly smaller than Cookie, the new male is slightly bigger than Cookie
*would it just be best to leave the new ones in the seperate cage and get a female for Cookie?
Any advice is greatly appreciated,I want happy gliders
Susan

[Marie]

Hi Susan, I'm very sorry to hear about Cookie's brother, what happened?   

I would recommend neutering Cookie, he shouldn't fight with the neutered male but he will mate with the female.  Each animal is different, so what works for one may not work for another, they're as individual as we are.  Getting Cookie neutered will just make things a whole lot easier, and it's better to err on the side of caution. 

The female will be fine with the two boys, but if you do get Cookie neutered do it sooner rather than later as you'll have to leave it about a month before introducing (he can still be fertile for about a month after the snip).  During that month you can swap pouches and toys etc so they can become accustomed to each others scents.

A trio to me is better than a pair in case something happens to one of them, you're not left with the one, and they're highly social animals, the more you've got to snuggle up to one another the less chance of them getting too cold. 

[susan]

Thanks for that Marie, but the new boy is also uneutered-so would it be best to neuter both boys? I dont want them to fight, and I wouldnt want the little girl to be having to fight them off all the time
Susan

[Rakuen]

Yes, it'd be best to have both males neutered. It will help prevent them from fighting each other and will make things much easier for you and them :]

[Marie]

Sorry, I thought you'd said the new boy was neutered.  In that case yeah, get both of them done and leave them a month before introducing.

[susan]

Thanks for that, made their appointments today for next week.
Susan

[Rakuen]

Hope all goes well, keep us updated :]