Gerbils

either they are fighting for dominancy or simply playing around. if you can hear a small squeak or them grinding their teeth before they fight, with their paws up, then you might want to separate them because that means their fighting for dominancy and you never know how far theyll go to get that dominancy. daeth doesnt usually happen, but i don't know if theyll kill each other. they might.

omiai:

as above, it can be proper fighting, but often gerbils fight for fun. Mine play a game with each other, they fight, then whoever wins gets to clean the other one. They enjoy it, and they have never harmed each other yet. But keep an eye on them, incase their fighting does turn nasty!

Baby rabbits will begin to eat pellets whenever they can get a hold of them. It is best to put them where they wont get them until the babies are about two weeks old, then the will begin to nibble on them. Wait a while before introducing fresh produce to baby rabbits.

well...

they can't actually be THAT harmful - but if they bite it can REALLY hurt (and cause slight bleeding!) also they can cling on to your finger quite bad! Sometimes though the your hamster just doesn't bite, other times it does. One of my hamsters clings on really bad, and the other had never bitten me whilst it was alive. sometimes they nibble, that doesn't cause bleeding and isn't at all harmful. I think they can pass diseases but other than that I don't think they're harmful.

Yes, but do not give them a lot. don't give them crackers either. So, if you can avoid giving them crackers or peanut butter, do not give it to them.

If the gerbil bite is a soft little peck then they may just be tasting you and once they get used to you they will stop. Feed them food from their bowl and treats out of your hand to get used to you. They are probably also frightened. You have to have contact with them everyday or they will only get worse. When you first start this you can use gloves to protect yourself.

If they are biting hard and draw blood they are frightened and you need to do things slow to not frighten them and don't try to pick them up until they are calm.

No. You should leave the new gerbils, mother and father together. If the parents seem to be harming their children you can take the one harming and separate it using the split cage method.

While reading this article, keep in mind that the age or size of the gerbil does not matter, except that younger (smaller) gerbils will need more nutrition and need to be fed less "treats". Gerbil food is nutritious and complete to any living gerbil -- wild, or as a pet. Most packaged gerbil food includes seeds, small traces of fruit and vegetables, and vitamin-packed pellets. With that said, there are an infinite amount of combinations of ingredients that could be inside packaged gerbil food; Thus, the one that is right for a specific gerbil varies. If your gerbil only eats certain parts of its food, or doesn't eat it at all, you should try a new type -- use common sense and instincts here. Gerbils drink water of any reasonable temperature; other drinks may upset their stomach (especially citrus-fruit juices!). Ice is perfectly safe to eat, as long as there are no significantly sharp edges, and the ice is not at an unreasonable temperature. Gerbils can eat breads and grains, but will only chow if they find them satisfying. Breads and grain generally provide an excellent source of various vitamins, and are not too fatty; you do not need to be too careful when feeding them these sort of items (Just don't overstuff your gerbil!). Breakfast cereals, however, are considered a treat if even slightly sweetened. Take Corn flakes, for example; even though they are not packed with sugar, are bad for a gerbil in large amounts (but they make balanced treats). Gerbils love fruits and vegetables; However, the amount of natural ingredients they consume when eating them upsets their stomachs very easily. Only provide a little bit of these sweet snacks at a time (The amount you can provide varies on the size of the gerbil). There are certain fruits that you must not feed a gerbil, however; these would include citrus fruits (oranges and limes), pears, and avacados. On the other hand, it is perfectly safe for them to eat strawberries, bannanas, grapes, apples Gerbils can and may eat certain plants, like dandillions; plants are perfectly safe for a gerbil to eat, but they are not as nutritious as other existent options. Gerbils vastly enjoy nuts and seeds. They taste great; but, commonly, they do not provide much nutrition, and have a lot of fat. Nuts and seeds should be considered a treat, like fruits and vegetables, and should not be given to gerbils too often. Gerbils aren't necessarily carnivores unless they are in desperate need of food, and only other animals remain. Gerbils won't usually eat one another until one of them dies (and the desperate need is still present). Of course, gerbil behavior varies, and it's possible that one gerbil ate another unnexpectedly; but it's generally not a problem, as most gerbils are quite friendly!

A)Elderly gerbils moms will kill their babies if she has been bred for an extended period of time.

B)Another answer: If the human scent gets on the baby gerbils before they grow hair, then the mothers will kill them because of the different scent.

yes they do. If you hold your gerbil(s) and put a finger near their face(s), you'll feel the whiskers.

Gerbils are not solitary animals, so you will have to either get another of approximately the same age, or 2 younger ones. It would be better to get the 2 younger ones though. If you choose not to get another one, your gerbil will end up really miserable.

I have heard that gerbils can eat carrots, celery, strawberries, of course sunflower seeds , pumpkin seeds, peanuts, grapes, apples, cucumber and raisins but they should be fed in a small amount! You should pick out sunflower seeds because they are a treat, not meant to be eaten in big portions. You can use them to train or give them it as a treat. NO AVACODOS! Hope you find this helpful! -Bana0316

My piggy went through the same thing, he needs a salt lick, they sell them at every pet store. We have salt on our hands and body from sweating and guinea pigs thinks it tastes good, they love salt and your guinea pig will be very happy once he receives his salt lick!

Guinea pigs don't need salt licks. It could be that your pet is being affectionate (that's what I like to think when mine does that!).

It's true, they don't need salt licks. Mine has one and he likes it, but he still licks our fingers. It could just be him being affectionate, or liking the taste of salt on your fingers, or it could mean he needs putting back to go to the toilet or something. If you're holding him while you're stood up, it might mean he wants to get down, as guinea pigs don't like being held high.

It would be better if they didn't, they can't swim and you don't need to bathe them. They clean themselves.

NO! You shouldn't get your gerbils wet. You should bathe them in chinchilla sand Not chinchilla dust.

Yup - I've got 2 pet gerbils and sometimes when I'm handing out pumpkin seeds, she'll store it in her mouth and glance at me for another one lol. I've also seen my gerbil hold several pieces of food, run to the corner, and spit them out and eat them one by one.

Fossil relatives of the common gerbil have been discovered as far back as the Middle Miocene Epoch, which was about 16.4 million to 11.2 million years ago!

The gerbils we commonly see as pets came from Mongolia. In 1935, twenty breeding pairs were deported to the UK, USA and Japan. The pet gerbils we have today can trace their history back to these forty original gerbils.

You shouldn't wean the babies. Mom will do it herself. She usually weans the babies around four weeks and then has a second litter around six weeks. If you intend to keep breeding keep dad in the cage. If not, take dad and the male babies out of the cage before the second litter comes, but leave at least one of the female babies from the first litter in with mom to help when the second litter comes and to be her companion after the babies are all re-homed. Babies can be sent off to new homes at eight weeks of age. If mom weans the babies too soon you can usually save some of them by feeding them Cheerios soaked in cat milk replacement.

Your gerbil probably won't bite you. But it usually will if you squeeze them. Never pick them up by their tail because it could come of, leavin your gerbil in pain, and you with a bite-this can easily be avoided though.

If you have to chase the gerbil around the cage, open the door & pop your hand down and keep it still. Let your gerbil walk over to you, smell your hand (shouldn't bit) and when they walk onto it you can lift them up but keep them over the cage or sit down so if they fall they don't have far to go.

If you take care of your gerbil it won't bite you unless it's been mis-handled in the past - then you can start wearing gloves until they trust you.

This was 1st answer:

It depends on how you're holding them. Don't squeeze them too tight, pick them up by the tail, or if they're scared. If you have to chase them around to hold them, stop and leave them alone. They're scared.

So long as you cook it thoroughly enough. Treat it like any other form of uncooked meat, needing to be skinned, de-boned etc.

Eww.. you eat gerbils?! They've got no meat on them, eat children instead.

As they originally come for the desert, they can survive in hot environments, but not really hot and should note placed in sunlight or near radiators as it can give them heat stroke. They also need plenty of water and shade.

10 to 12 weeks

Different Gerbils like to chew on different things but gnaw sticks are good for them

Yes.

Gerbils are enthusiastic chewers.

They will chew on practicaly anything but some things could choke and maybe kill them.

Toilet roll tubes are good for them as well as anything made out of that sort.

Do not give them painted cardboard.

Also in pet shops you can get wooden blocks designed for chewing and you can even get large chews for gerbils.

Gerbils tend to bite less in the first place, and if you get them from a respectable breeder and not from a pet store, the gerbil will probably already be hand-tamed and have no reason to bite except if it is threatened. Hamsters are nocturnal, and are not to keen on being woken up, and are therefore more prone to biting. As for hurting less, gerbils only nip unless they mean it and rarely draw blood, while hamsters tend to be biting to bite.

gerbils just get into little fights like that, a good way to stop it is to add on to your gerbils' cage to give them more space to get away from each other when ever they want :) As long as its not 2 boys together!!!

no not necessarily, if you brake a corner off and feed it it wont but giving them an entire cracker. give the gerbil an unsalted cracker try oyster shell crackers but definitely not a saltine cracker

You can choose what to use from:

@ An aquarion with a wire or mesh lid (Used for fish)

@ A bird cage with a bit of modification (The most expensive usualy)

@ A gerbilarium (Basically a hand made thing with a pull out floor to clean and only cleaned every 2-3 months)

@ A hamster cage, but these allow and gerbil to flick waste and food through the bars and most of the time aren't big enough.