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antipodi
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Tue Mar 28, 2006 4:15 pm
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Caring for your Gerbil
So you have decided to purchase your first Gerbil . well here is som e information that will help and give you some background on this cute creature...
Scientific Name: Meriones unguiculatus
Life Span: 2-3 years (up to 5 reported)
Size: body about 4 inches long, tail another 4 inches.
Appearance: fairly small rodents with long furry tails that have a little tuft of fur at the end. The wild type coloration is "agouti", where each hair is banded with gray, yellowish, and black, with off-white hair on the belly. However, through selective breeding, several lovely color variations are available.
Habits: Mongolian gerbils are not nocturnal although they are sometimes active at night; they go through several sleep/active cycles in the course of 24 hours. They are very curious and will explore anything, and can be quite entertaining.
Social Behavior: gerbils are social animals, living in colonies in the wild, so do not do well as a solitary pet.
Keeping a same sex pair (litter mates usually do well together) is much preferred. However, if you have a single older gerbil, it can be difficult to introduce a new one as they are quite territorial. Some hints on formal introductions can be found in "How to Introduce Gerbils."
Temperament: being social creatures, gerbils can become quite tame. They generally have a pretty agreeable temperament and are generally only inclined to bite if feeling threatened.
Important! Never pick up a gerbil by the tail.
Cage:
For a pair of gerbils a cage about 12 inches by 24 inches (by 12 inches tall) is a good minimum size, but since gerbils are active, a larger cage is better. Glass aquariums can be used and are favored over wire cages by many owners. Aquariums allow a deep layer of bedding so the gerbils can burrow. A secure mesh lid is necessary to prevent escapes and allow ventilation. Wire cages can be used for gerbils, but they do have a tendency to kick the bedding out when the burrow, making a mess, and they sometimes chew on the wire resulting in sores on their noses. For wire cages, the bar spacing should be no more than 1/2 inch. Plastic cages do not hold up to the chewing habits of gerbils.
Bedding
A fairly thick (2-3 inch) layer of bedding in the cage provides a good base and allows the gerbils to dig a bit. Avoid cedar or pine shavings; aspen is fine to use as are a number of other newer pet-safe beddings available now. See "The Problem with Wood Shavings" and "Top Ten Alternatives to Cedar and Pine Shavings" for more information.
Nesting material that the gerbils can shred and use to line their nests is also a good idea. The nesting material sold in pet stores is not ideal for this as little feet can get entangled in the strands. It is better to use simple white facial tissue which you can shred into strips for the gerbils, or paper towels and/or grass hay.
Nest Box
Gerbils need a nest box to feel secure; they will hide out in it and use if for sleeping. A sturdy wood or ceramic nest box is preferable to plastic since the plastic will quickly be destroyed by chewing. The wood will likely get chewed to but tends to last a little longer. Clay flower pots are another possible choice.
Accessories
Provide lots of materials for climbing and enrichment, such as thick pieces of wood, stable rocks, ladders, ramps and platforms. Toys should also be provided that are safe for chewing (i.e. not plastic or with small bits that might be ingested). Wood toys or simple blocks of wood, branches, hay, wood and rope parrot toys, and small cardboard boxes are all good choices. Toilet paper tubes, though quickly destroyed, will likely be a favorite toy.
A water bottle, with a metal spout, can be hung on the cage. A fresh supply of water should always be available. Heavy ceramic food dishes are the best choice since they are harder to tip.
You can consider getting an exercise wheel, but get one with a solid surface to prevent injuries (some owners modify the typical hamster style wheel by applying tape over the wheel to provide a solid surface). There should be no place for the gerbil to catch its tail. You might even want to try something a little different like the Flying Saucer.
Feeding:
Diet should consist of a good quality gerbil pellet or lab block or a gerbil seed mix. Pellets or blocks are well balanced, but do not offer variety so while they make a good base for the diet, they should be supplemented with a loose seed mix and a variety of other foods. Small amounts of fresh vegetables and fruit, occasional insect treats such as meal worms, hard boiled egg, dandelion leaves (no pesticides) and treats such as raisins can be offered. It is a good idea to leave seed mixes in the dish until completely eaten; otherwise some gerbils will pick out sunflower seeds and corn from seed mixtures, leaving the high protein, low fat seeds behind.
Taming
Generally, frequent handling will keep a gerbil quite tame. If all else fails, bribery with sunflower seeds can help make a gerbil more amenable to handling
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Antipodi
May one day man and Animals live together in harmony and peace
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jsqueek
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Joined: 24 Feb 2006
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Location: UK
Wed Mar 29, 2006 11:39 am
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when i was a kid i had 3 gerbils, 2 brown and one white.
i remember once buying a different bedding for them, and they got all tangled up in it,luckily i managed to get them untangled.
i threw that stuff away and used shredded tissue instead.
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antipodi
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Wed Mar 29, 2006 12:34 pm
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Interesting fact for some strange reason Gerbils are not allowed in Australia maybe they might just go ferral and that is why so I have only seen pictures of them ..the above info is a Vet report...
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Antipodi
May one day man and Animals live together in harmony and peace
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jsqueek
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Wed Mar 29, 2006 2:43 pm
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yes that does seem strange, is there any other pets you cant keep there ?
i remember mine used to love an empty toilet roll, they'd run through it then chewwit all up, it would keep them occupied for ages.
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antipodi
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Wed Mar 29, 2006 4:13 pm
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I think its to do with the danger of becomming ferral ..we have a plague of rabbits in Australia and foxes ..so I guess they are trying to avoid any more problems. I know they also don't allow Salamanders here either..
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Antipodi
May one day man and Animals live together in harmony and peace
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jsqueek
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Joined: 24 Feb 2006
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Thu Mar 30, 2006 5:19 am
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never hold a gerbil by the tail  this is how we were tought to in school.
so why shouldnt you do this ? is it that the tail will break or fracture ?
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antipodi
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Thu Mar 30, 2006 6:21 am
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This sheet comes from Vet info ...Im pretty sure it is just that many Gerbils have been taken to the Vet with fractures ...
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Antipodi
May one day man and Animals live together in harmony and peace
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jsqueek
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Joined: 24 Feb 2006
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Location: UK
Thu Mar 30, 2006 7:13 am
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yes i dont doubt its right, info now is so much better than 20 to 30 years ago, and it just shocked me to think i held them wrong.
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