Gerbils- tell me all about them

[jenn-]

So this empty 10 gallon fish tank has been sitting waiting for fish for 8 months. I think we have decided gerbils might get it instead though. Tell me all about gerbils (not considering rats). How often do you really need to change their bedding? Does it stink really bad when you do? Any favorite brands of foods or bedding? Did you sex them yourself or just trust the pet store? Any warnings or cautions? Sell me on these rodents.

[Impish]

They're rodents.

 

Rodents are uber creepy.

 

Go for fish again.

 

:tongue_smilie::lol:

[Angel]

We had gerbils for 4 years...way over their average life span :D They are great little pets! They are social creatures and really like company, so make sure you get two. I would read up on sexing them before you go to the pet store. We trusted the pet shop salesman and had 17 gerbils in about 8 weeks :lol: I know more about gerbils than I EVER wanted to know. Our males were way friendlier than our females. Always! I would get two males. When we only had two, they barely ever smelled. Even if we got behind on the bedding. However, the bedding will smell if it get wet (like a faulty water bottle leaking). When they multiplied, we had trouble with the smell LOL. Gerbils LOVE to chew on things, namely toilet paper and toilet paper rolls. We most often would throw in a roll or tp for the gerbils to chew up for their bedding. They loved it and we loved watching them do it. My dd's would also save pop tart and cereal boxes along with paper towel tubes and make things for the gerbils to play in and then they would chew those up for bedding as well. Your 10 gallon tank is perfect. That gives them plenty of room.

 

We learned a lot from this website when the little critters started procreating (funny thing about gerbils, they procreate immediately after giving birth, so by the time you find the first 8 baby gerbils there are more on the way)

 

http://agsgerbils.org/Learn/Gerbil_Care_Handbook/index.php

 

I would go for it! My dd's loved them and they were sweet little things, ours rarely bit or nipped...unlike the hamsters we once had. Good luck!

[MrsBasil]

We had gerbils when I was a kid. They are escape artists and got out of their cage a lot. If you get a mean one or one that just doesn't like to be picked up, they will bite.

 

I don't remember much else about them. We got ours from a friend who raised them.

[sparrow]

We LOVE gerbils! We had 2 that never, ever bit and would run to the cage door each time you passed by hoping you'd get them out to play. Ours were sisters. I find them to be much less stinky than other rodents due to the fact they're desert dwellers. Less water ingestion=less urine output=less stinky, in our experience.

 

When little Harriet died (Jane died the year before), our daughter asked for a guinea pig. I'm so sorry we didn't get more gerbils. Sunflower the g. pig is much more skittish and stinky! We will definitely get gerbils again.

[GraciebytheBay]

Gerbils are great! We have had many throughout the years. They are usually friendly and curious, although they don't really bond with their owners because they need to have a "mate" and they will bond with them. Two females have worked well for us. The pet store owner assured us of the sex, and we were quite glad he was correct. Sometimes they squabble but for the most part, they snuggle and get into mischief together!

 

We clean their cage once a week (a 10-gallon aquarium), but we have gone as long as two weeks. They do not smell at all! They are the only rodent we have had that does not smell. Pine or cedar shavings are cheap, but they are not good for gerbils (allergies). We use CareFresh. You'll also want to give them a fair amount of unscented toilet paper so they can shred it for their nest.

 

We buy the same food that the pet store uses for their gerbils, just the basic gerbil/hamster food. They don't need premium food, but we occasionally buy it for a treat. They are little piggies when it comes to sunflower seeds and will gorge themselves on them if given too many. I love to watch them dig through their food to find the seeds.

 

We have never had a gerbil aggressively bite, only when they thought my son's finger was a carrot. Ouch! If you get them young, they will get used to you quickly. We started by having the kids put their hands flat, palm-up in the cage and letting the gerbils crawl over their hands. Then we put seeds in their hands. Gerbils will generally not be cuddly and will not like to be picked up. However, they are friendly and will crawl all over your hand.

 

Gerbils are very fast and will escape any way they possibly can! We have a screen cover for our aquarium and have never had a problem with them escaping, but that doesn't mean they haven't explored all possibilities!

 

They chew everything, so I recommend a glass water bottle. Don't bother with a food bowl unless it's glass. They'll just chew it up. They like to bury their food anyway, so there's really no need for a bowl. They are great recyclers! They get our cereal boxes (torn in half, which they run through delightedly and eventually chew), toilet paper and paper towel tubes. They must chew or their teeth will overgrow. We also put a wood house in, and that lasts about three months. http://www.amazon.com/Super-Pet-Woodland-Medium-Hamster/dp/B0009WH8ZE/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1293739964&sr=8-7

 

We do not tire of watching our gerbils explore their home. It is so much fun to watch them after we clean their cage because they want to see everything you've done! They run around, run through the tubes, frantically shred their toilet paper for nesting, dig tunnels and completely rearrange their home to their own satisfaction. Then, they will munch on some food and settle in for a nap, one on top of the other.

 

We love our gerbils (can you tell?!) and would love to answer any other questions you might have. :001_smile:

[Chris in VA]

Raised gerbils for years!

Get two--very social. Some say males will fight, but that has not been my experience.

 

Find the spunky ones in the cage at the pet store, not the one that lets you pet him--he'll die in a few days.:tongue_smilie:

 

Go for brown or all black--the fancy kind don't seem to be as healthy (this is purely anecdotal, experience-based advice).

 

Don't use cedar bedding--go for pine or the other kind--the oil in cedar is irritating.

 

Give them plenty to chew on--toilet paper/paper towel tubes are great, and feel free to give them several at a time. Their teeth keep growing, so chewing is important. Don't, however, give them anything with ink on it, as it can be bad for them. They like to fluff up white paper towels and kleenex, too.

 

High quality food is a must. Don't feed them bird seed--it's not the same nutritionally as real gerbil food, tho it looks kinda the same.

 

They are desert animals, but water is still essential. Make sure you check the bottle every day, as they are prone to leaking, esp when the gerbil does things that shake the cage.

 

The mother will eat her babies--try to not get a female. We had several generations at a time, and they attacked each other.

 

If one dies, it's hard to introduce another adult to an adult--read up on how to do it.

 

Make sure the cage is secure at the top.

 

If you get a wheel, they say the plastic ones without spaces inbetween spokes is best, but ours chewed it, so we used the wire wheel. It was fine.

 

They like to be challenged--taking them out and handling them is fine, but expect a nip or two if you don't do it often. Making mazes on the floor is great for them!

 

They don't smell (like mice--bleckkk!!) very much as their pee is so concentrated, but once a week is about right for cage changing. Wipe down the walls of the aquarium with something very, very mild, like a mild vinegar/water solution. Make sure it's dry before you put them back in--oh, and use a box or a small plastic cage (like a large bug catcher or something) to hold them while you are changing the cage, as it gets difficult to have a kid hold them in his/her hands for that long (takes about 5 minutes to change our cage).

 

That's all I know!! :D

[jenn-]

Thank you so much for your responses. I have always been anti-rodent, but the ones we saw at a library just made me say aw. Then I made the mistake of asking the eldest if she would prefer gerbils of fish. She hesitated for less than a nano second before declaring "gerbils."

[AlmiraGulch]

They're rodents.

 

Rodents are uber creepy.

 

Go for fish again.

 

:tongue_smilie::lol:

 

Yes. This. Especially the rodents with long, creepy tails. Gaah!!!:eek:

 

(Except....we did have a couple of dwarf hamsters that I loved.)

[gingersmom]

We had them when I was a kid.

 

My mother did not know she had been given a boy and a girl but we found out really fast.

 

I lost track of how many we landed with.

 

And lets just say they are not always loving parents to their newborn children (30 years later I am still having nightmares).

 

Get a dog.

[6packofun]

I hate gerbils. Love rats, hate gerbils. They are so annoyingly active at night that they can't be in the same room with me after dark. They dig, dig, dig in the tank, never getting the freaking clue that you can't burrow through glass!!!!!!

[vettechmomof2]

The 10 gallon tank might be an issue for you as that is the bare minimum size that you want for 2 gerbils.

Otherwise, I have had gerbils for many years. i bred them in college for my frogs and a few clients reptiles as well and always had tanks of them around. The smallest tank we have right now is a 20 long for 2 gerbils. We have 10 total.

Our oldest is 4 years old and his sons just turned 2 on christmas day. They are by far the sweetest. I actually got them from a breeder. Much healthier, friendly and beautiful coloring.

Then we adopted 2 more who were in a smaller tank and fighting all of the time (the owner was moving and did not want them anymore because of the fighting, they were only in a 10 gallon tank). Once seperated they became GREAT. I use them for school talks often.

We picked up a very sickly mom, older daughter and 3 newborn gerbils at a local pet store that were abandoned(mom was actively giving birth when the owners found their box). Mom is sickly(teeth issues that require monthly care) and the other female has seizures but the babies are friendly and healthy even though we will NOT breed them.

We use Aspen bedding and change the tank once a month or when we give a lot of tubes/cardboard to shred. The paper gets wet and that is what smells.

One of our gerbils does have stinky urine because he has developed diabetes but I do not need to do anything for him at this time except watch him.

Gerbils are diurnal and LOVe to be awake when their people are around so do not keep them in a bedroom.

Again we have 10 gerbils right now and 5 tanks for them. They are happiest with other gerbils IF raised with thos egerbils or introduced properly together. If not beware because HUGE gerbil fights can occur.

I have raised hundreds of litters of gerbils in community tanks and as long as I had the spacing fine I never had a female eat their babies, they might steal others babies but no losses.

Any specific questions just ask.

[vettechmomof2]

These are only some of our tanks and it was close to a cleaning but after gerbils chew up tubes and cardboard they will literally fill their tanks up high and use it as extra bedding.

My daughter loves taking pictures of them but because they are quick the pictures are not always clear.

[vettechmomof2]

Some other pictures that we have taken.

[kristavws]

They're rodents.

 

Rodents are uber creepy.

 

Go for fish again.

 

:tongue_smilie::lol:

 

I haven't read through all the post, but agree with the first one I read. Run away, run away....fast! Terrible to say, but my dh and I were both happy when the gerbil escaped, and the Dachshund did him in. Gerbils - stinky, smelly, will bite you, and more horrible things.

 

Krista

[kristavws]

We had them when I was a kid.

 

My mother did not know she had been given a boy and a girl but we found out really fast.

 

I lost track of how many we landed with.

 

And lets just say they are not always loving parents to their newborn children (30 years later I am still having nightmares).

 

Get a dog.

 

Should have added this to my other post - just get a dog!

 

Krista

[Denisemomof4]

I saw a gerbil being picked on at a pet store in the mall. It's tail was bleeding and when I reached my hand into the open tank, he RAN up my arm. He was terrified! I felt so bad for him. He's the first pet I ever brought home without consulting dh.

 

He was such a sweet little animal. He never once bit me. Most of my hampsters have bitten me but this gerbil never did, and i was told they don't bite as much as hampsters do. If they are handled, like mine was in the open tank, they are usually used to touch and won't bite or get scared.

 

I never keep hampsters, mice or gerbils in bedrooms because they are nocturnal and will make noise. I really enjoy all of them, though, and think they are adorable. I don't remember if the gerbil cage smelled but usually they will use one area of the cage to pee in, and I would scoop that area out twice per week, changing the entire cage once. I find them to be very easy to keep.

 

I was so happy that mine lived longer than two years and was going strong. One day he somehow broke out of his cage and my dachsund killed him. I was devastated. Yes, a grown woman devastated over the death of her gerbil.:blush:

[jenn-]

Thank you for the continued responses. I think we are going to go for it as soon as we get home from vacation. If it was up to my DD we would buy some on the way. Unfortunately the 10 gallon tank needs a little bit of cleaning first. I just hope the pet stores we have access to have some that don't look like rats.