Gerbils

Gerbils are not extrmely hard to take care of. They need a cage (obviously (: ) but not a very large one; I have two and they used to live in a ten gallon terrarium just fine. (I got an attachment for Christmas last year). They need food, which is not hard to find at all. Food specifically for gerbils is available, but most hamster foods also work. Also, they need oats, and green vegetables, like lettuce and spinach. They LOVE oats and veggies.Treats are also a nice addition to their eceryday meal, but should not replace anything. There are many treats in pet stores that gerbils like. Mine like 'Honey and Yogurt Drops'. They also like Cap'n Peanut Butter Crunch. They need a regular-sized rodent water bottle and cold water, renewed once weekly. For their health, a weekly cleaning is good. To set up their cage, I put paper towels in to keep their, eh, digestion byproducts from sticking to the glass on the bottom of the cage. On top of thatm I put about one and a half to two inches of ASPEN wood shavings, which are also sold at many pet stores. Again, ASPEN. This is best. Pine, I don't know, but DO NOT GET CEDAR. This can cause disease, fungus, and all sorts of nasty things. To clean the cage, I take the gerbils out and put them in a exercise ball and just let them roam my room. I then dunp the old shavings and paper towels into a trash can (with a bag), use Clorox Wipes to clean out the cage (there will occasionally be some stuff stuck to the bottom glass, this is normal.) I then put paper towels in, then shavings, clean out their bottle with hot water and fill it up with cold water, and you're done. A lid for the cage is necessary. This can be a normal top for a ten gallon aquarium (which is what the terrarium is; as a structure, they're identical), or an expansion-type thing that sits on top and has its own door-thing. Also, gerbils need an exercise wheel and other opportunities for exercise. For example, small rodent/lizard pens are available. I put down two layers of newspaper in the area of the pen, put in some toys, and pretty much let them go crazy. You should get an exercise wheel with no openings in it. You will see why when you read more. It is best to get a wire-bar cage attachment and a wheel with a connector thing for the bars. For example, mine has a turnable knob that I slide throught he bars and then twist to keep it up. When you first get your gerbil(s), try not to touch them and DO NOT pick them up for the first three or four days. Allow them to get used to their new home, and your voice and the sounds of your home. Then, start with touching and light petting in-cage. When they seem comfortable with that, then you can pick them up one at a time (recommended until you are experienced; I've had mine for two years now and I love to have them both running around on my arms and shoulders.) Beware of biting at an early stage of ownership. After about a month, biting is less common. I am never bitten now. Gerbils live for two to four years. If one of your gerbils escapes, the first thing you need to do is shut of the room the cage is in from the rest of house. If the escape was less than, I'd say, fifteen to twenty minutes of your discovery of the escape, chances are your furry friend is still in the room. Watch your step carefully, and look anywhere, ANYWHERE it could be. Mine have been under my bed, dresser, nightstand, even in a little space behind my computer desk. (That was the worst!) If you start to notice your gerbil's behavior change, it may be sick, You should contact the pet store you got the gerbil from for advice (or other pet stores); there are not many veterinarians who specialize in rodents. A particularly common disease in gerbils is called 'wet-tail'. It is characterized by irritableness, lethargy, loss of appetite, and frequent urination and defecation. It is highly contagious, and if you own more than one gerbil, separate the sick gerbil from the others. Danger rates vary, but some cases are fatal. Luckily, neither of my gerbils have contracted this disease. If you want to own more than one gerbil, you should introduce them to each other at a young age. This works best if they are from the same litter. Gerbils are naturally nocturnal, bur may eventually adapt to their owner's schedule. Mine used to keep me awake nights on end with their scurrying and chewing and such, but they have settled down (thank God). Your gerbils should be kept somewhere with light, such as a well-lit bedroom. My room is well-lit, and the cage is right by a window. The gerbils seem to enjoy this. If you notice a crook in your gerbil's tail, it is most likely broken. Though it may heal incorrectly, it does not cause any major problems. One of my gerbil's tail was broken in two places due to an accident involving an old free-standing exercise wheel. He gets around just fine, and doesnt seem to even notice his slightly bent tail anymore.

I hope you enjoy your new members of the family!

A cage that is for hamsters or gerbils. Something that has more than one level is ideal, to keep them entertained, but nothing too extravagant. Rotastak cages are generally good for gerbils but can come with an excessive amount of tubes/tunnels etc. gerbils just won't use that kind of thing.

You could use a plain one story aquarium as well, your gerbil would need some other things to keep it entertained as well though.

I recommend a pair of smallish aquariums as gerbils love to dig in the bedding and will push it onto the floor in a wire cage. i usally put 4 inchs of bedding on the floor as well as tissue boxs and toilet paper tubes. i wouldn't put anything in the cage that's not ceramic or metal unless you don't mind them chewing on it.

the most important part of a gerbils cage is, another gerbil :3

Gerbils can eat some cheese sometimes, and a teaspoon of yogurt is good for them once in a while. Milk is not good for them, though.

I personally pick gerbils. they aren't nocturnal they make up whenever something is happing around them. they are curious and since they are desert animals they have improved kidneys so they produce little waste and they don't smell as bad as another rodent's have very flexible schedules and very nice. you can even teach them tricks.

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Absolutely, gerbils are better and more reliable pets. I have had pets all my life, especially rodents and after owning 13 mice, several different breeds of hamsters (including teddy bear, & dwar, the two favorites) I can say that my two gerbils now are by far the easiest to handle, care for, and love :)

gerbils are naturally inquisitive, a bit smarter than most rodents, very entertaining to watch (they make tunnels and like to build towers out of fluff), and almost weirdly friendly. it seems like they must have very few natural predators in the wild because they always want to come right up to you and snifff you, eat food out of your hand, etc. they also hop more than run, so they are easy to catch if they escape.

they are also cleaner, poop and pee a little less than other rodents, are diurnal (come out in early morning and afternoon rather than purely nocturnal), and require less food and water because they are desert animals.

of course every gerbil is different and they need to be handled from a young age. they also chew through EVERYTHING and need many chew toys.

***One thing thats VERY important to know is that you should never get just one gerbil. they are very, very social creatures, so two is best. (three can be problematic, ive heard).

little cylindratic pieces **not sure of spelling of piecies**

Yes it get fat! Fgvtgvyhnujimkk

A Gerbil will explode if it eats a carrot

Many ways:

-Check their eyes to see if their eyes are odd

-See if they eat

-See if there normal

-See how the react when you pick them up

I hope my tips help. My brother has a gerbil called hammy

About the size of a pea

Give 1 teaspoon of gerbil food per gerbil. If you have 2 put 2 teaspoons of food in their bowl. Hope this helped!

Adults might not, but babies do. I recently had a runt in my litter who was clinging to life. Trying to save its life, I warmed up some cow's milk in the microwave and used my pinkie as a nipple. It actually worked! The little thing was sucking milk from my finger. It is now doing quite well and has grown up like the others. And all the mother did was lick the milk from its face.

Gerbils have quite a strong stomach and do not get diarrhea as easily as hamsters or rats. But you have to be careful about what they eat and how much you give them. Only give them a little bit of one of these at a time if you are going to give a gerbil any.

bread (Only a tiny bit as it swells up in their stomach.)

carrot

apple

cheerios

shreddies

lettuce

dried banana

pumpkin seed

raisin

grape

peas

celery

sunflower seed

cornflakes

They can also eat lentils.

Gerbils can eat some fruits, but only small bits a couple times a week. Safe fruits include:

- Apple

- Banana

- Blackberries

- Blueberries

- Cherries

- Grapes

- Kiwi

- Melons

- Mango

- Orange

- Peach

- Pear

- Pineapple

- Plums

- Raspberries

- Strawberries

- Tangerine

- Tomatoes

Always be watchful when feeding new foods to make sure that they are not causing any stomach upset. Have fun!

A general rule of thumb don't mix in a cage if you can avoid it.

you must wear protective clothing, gloves and goggles. Firstly place the gerbil in a clamp with its hands tied behind its back and always use a gerbil muzzle so not to be bitten at any stage. Now its safe to cut your Gerbil.

Gerbils should not be sold at less than six weeks of age. Beware of anyone selling you one younger, as the gerbil will most likely not be easy to tame. A six-week-old gerbil pup can go for $3 up to $12, depending on who you go to. Large retail pet stores typically sell theirs for $10+, while breeders go for about $5-$10.

If you mean raising them, it isn't the gerbil pups that will be your expense, at least for three weeks. Momma gerbil, however, will be needing extra food and water, and the cage will need cleaned more often with 6+ gerbils running around in it. Gerbil pups will start eating food around 3 weeks of age, and then the food bowl will really need refilled! Major expenses will come around 6-8 weeks (whenever you decide to separate them) as you will need separate cages for female and male pups, and separate supplies such as water bottles and exercise wheels. However, raising lil gerbil pups is generally a sweet and rewarding experience, if you know what you are doing.

Gorillas (not gorilas) are tropical animals and are not adapted to life in a colder climate. Of course, conditions in a captive setting might allow for the successful survival of a gorilla despite cool conditions.

i would say grams.

I wouldn't try it. I had a hamster and a rat and tried to put them together. Now I only have a rat and a empty hamster cage. Rodents only like their own species. Gerbils like gerbils, rats like rats, and so on.

Me too. I had 2 hamsters. My rat got out of its cage and lets just say i had to go to 2 funerals last weekend. See, rats are scavengers and will kill and eat anything so don't try it. I had to put that rat down :( it stopped eating because it liked hamster flesh better than its food.

A gerbil's bounce is a defense mechanism. They can use it to dodge something trying to grasp them or to escape.

Yes, until they are at least six weeks old. You can even choose to leave the father in there, because he will help raise them by sitting on them and keeping them warm. Gerbils pups will depend on their mother for food until they are about 3 or 4 weeks old, at which point they will open their eyes, run around, and begin chewing on gerbil food and drinking from a water bottle. The pups should remain with their mothers even after they are weaned because they develop better social, grooming, and survival skills during this time. Most gerbil breeders will leave their pups with the mother for seven or eight weeks, but watch out for unwanted breeding during this time because a gerbil pup can become sexually mature by six weeks.

If you have enough sand you should just put sand in the bottom. It is like a bath for them and keeps them clean.