Gerbils

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.

Gerbils are fast for their size, they travel at speeds of 8-11 mph and sprint at 17 mph maximum, they're predicted to be the fastest of the tiny rodents. But they're not as fast as their cosins the guinea pig and the rat which are 30 mph + . Sources: Rodent Velocity Expert

Rats are omnivores, like people. As such, your rat can eat just about anything you do! There are some foods that are dangerous for rats, and you can find a list of those here.

http://www.petratscanada.com/forbidden_foods.htm

Male hamsters sometimes eat their young. I would suggest putting him in his own cage and keep the babies with their mother for the first 6 months or so.

Though, it also depends on the breed of hamster. Syrian hamsters cannot be kept with the female after they mate and give birth, because they'll eat the babies. Dwarf hamsters, however, can live amiably in groups, and the males actually help raise them. Also, depending on the breed again, I'm sure you can actually separate them earlier if they're weaned.

No, they should have white or whatever there fur color is for a belly

What I did was have a tough glove (or gardening glove) and hold the FRIGHTENED gerbil. Note:A frightened gerbil bites. Grab a napkin,toilet paper, or anything available like that and use it to cover up the wound. Maybe do something like watch TV or something while paying attention to your gerbil. Hold it there for a good 15 to 30 min and he should be fine. Be careful. If not attended to fast enough, the Gerbil could bleed to death.

- GerbilExpert

If it's a minor problem: Try getting the gerbil some wood blocks to chew on. Uncooked noodles, stale bread, and other tough materials that won't be hazardous to the gerbil's health will help wear the teeth down. If it's a major problem, you should take your gerbil to a vet to get it's teeth properly trimmed.

Not rare but they are very unique! That's for sure!

Most gerbils enjoy sunflower seeds. I've seen them eaten the most out of a mixture and are often preferred.

Find a way to separate them and then see how severe the bleeding is. :)

Gerbils can chew on wood and any twig that is non toxic. Make sure that any natural piece of wood or twig has not been treated with any kind of pesticide or has insects lying within. I like to purchase a bag of wood toys made for rodents at a store. As stated in another answer I had given , I like to give toilet and paper towel rolls to them.( make sure no glue) Also, egg cartons with no substance of egg at all on them and coffee cup holders. They go crazy for them. I give them a couple of rolls a night and they chew away!!

NENE

Basic first aid.

Wash the wound carefully with plenty of soap and hot water.

Use a little hydrogen peroxide to disinfect

Apply an antiseptic cream While it is not likely to get infected, if it starts to swell and hurt seek medical attention.

it is not safe to feed gerbils any bread,(any kind)thus this will cause their tiny intestines to inflate.they will stop eating and die.

As gerbils are omnivores, they can eat most things, they can eat bread, just not too much. If you have to feed it bread, feed it wholmeal. Watered bread, mushed up dried food, and mushed up fruit (as instructed by the vet) saved my gerbils life when it pulled out its teeth. It has done so 4 times since and hasn't yet died. But don't ever feed it too much so be sparing with it (perhaps only once a month or so, give it 1cm2 for example).

:)

Mine lived for 6 years, but the oldest was 8 years

http://www.chacha.com/question/how-old-is-the-oldest-gerbil

Source: gerbil breeder

my friend has the guiness world record for 8 years, but he had one that lived for 13