# Gerbils!



## Tigerneko (Jan 2, 2009)

Hey guys 

I am currently looking into getting a Gerbil 

I've done quite a bit of research on them but a lot of the websites are very contradictory, and it can get a little confusing 

I'm looking at getting two, I'm not fussed about sex (although not male and female for obvious reasons) I've read in various places that both males and females can live in same sex groups without fighting. Is there a certain sex that are more likely to get along peacefully, or is it equal with either sex? I will be getting two from the same litter, I don't want to be adding two new gerbils to one another because i've never owned them before so i'm not confident or knowledgeable enough to do that.

Also, just wondering what type/size of housing would be most suitable for two gerbils? I've been told that glass aquarium tanks are the best to use, and we keep our gerbils at college in these, and they're perfectly happy in them but i'm wondering if there are any suitable alternatives? I'd struggle to clean a large glass tank because obviously they're heavy, and i'd like to be able to lift it through to the bathroom to be able to clean it properly, and because i'd be cleaning it on my own, I don't want something that'd be too heavy to lift easily.

ooh, and also - what do you think is best for filling the tank with? Most use sawdust, but because they dig so much, i'm a little worried about it infecting/irritating their eyes and respiratory system, because it can be sharp stuff when it wants to be 

I know there's a few gerbil people on here so I thought i'd have an ask cos you lot know your stuff :thumbup1:


----------



## Marcia (Mar 10, 2009)

As a rule, males get along much better than females. Females can be very territorial, but if you get an already bonded pair or trio of females, they'll be just fine 
Glass tanks are better for a couple of reasons. Gerbils need a deep substrate to dig in, and you can't really get this with cages. Also, gerbils tend to chew the bars of a cage and this can stain their fur and damage their teeth.
All of ours are in glass tanks and they're not to bad to clean out 
I use a dust pan and brush to scoop all of the woodshavings out, and then i wipe it down with animal disinfectant. So actually, i don't do any lifting 

But yeah, we use dust extracted wood shavings and have never had problems with it irritating their eyes etc 

Had you thought about what colours you want yet?


----------



## Tigerneko (Jan 2, 2009)

Ooh thanks for that!

I was looking at the Gerbilariums but i'm really not sure of them - none of them seem big enough for two gerbils! Also, the 'cage' section of most of them have barred flooring, which is a massive no-no for any rodent  there's the Ferplast Gabry which has a solid metal (I think) floor on it, but it doesn't seem big enough at all. Most of them also have plastic tank areas on them, but I don't trust using plastic with them... so a glass tank seems to be the best option 

I'm not sure what colours I want..... i'd like two of different colours. There's a pair of black boys in the pet shop, and they're both lovely looking! I also like the Gray Agouti and the Doves, so i'd like a black and a Gray Agouti or Dove.... I want totally different colours so I can at least tell them apart :lol:

Would a 'cracked' tank be okay to use? Obviously not a badly smashed one, just like a hairline sort of crack - just because i'm a student so I like an eBay bargain LOL


----------



## Marcia (Mar 10, 2009)

a hairline crack would be fine 

I've got a gorgeous dove girl called Rachel 

I need to start finding homes for my 6 blacks, they'll be ready in a week  Time has flown by :lol:


----------



## Tigerneko (Jan 2, 2009)

aww, she's lovely!

I'd love one of your Gerbils, but i'm too far away!

You don't know of any Gerbil breeders in Lancashire do you? :lol:

We do get them in the pet shop, but i'd like one that was hand reared and isn't badly bred 

the two blacks in the pet shop looked lovely, I think they were both males and they did look very healthy, but there was a Golden Agouti and something that looked like a Dove or a Lilac colour in another tank, and neither of them looked very healthy at all 

I can't wait to get them :thumbup: just gotta get past the parents yet :eek6:

my mum seems to think that all rodents are horrible and smelly, but Gerbils are supposed to be less smelly than most other rodents, I think


----------



## Marcia (Mar 10, 2009)

Nope sorry. Although you could probably try the gerbil breeders forum, they have lists of breeders all over the UK and the USA 

Gerbils don't smell at all, they're incredably clean 

My mother would never let me have them if i still lived at home, she doesn't like rodents with tails :lol: although her and my father did witness Ruby give birth at 5 in the morning, i was still in bed 
I'm slowly changing my mothers mind on rodents with tails, thankfully, my father has a soft spot for all animals


----------



## cherrie_b (Dec 14, 2008)

Marcia said:


> Nope sorry. Although you could probably try the gerbil breeders forum, they have lists of breeders all over the UK and the USA
> 
> Gerbils don't smell at all, they're incredably clean
> 
> ...


Furry/hairy tails are fine...bald tails scare me! :crazy:


----------



## zany_toon (Jan 30, 2009)

It has taken me four years to convince mother dearest to let me have mice in the house. She was terrified at the thought of them (although when i told her rat or mouse she became very quiet!) and when we went to see the breeder. The breeder gave her a runt to hold and now I can't keep her away from my mice. I am however, having problems convincing her that 8 mice, one cat and three fish tanks aren't enough. I want some gerbils, a rabbit and a guinea pig! I reckon it will take me around 10 years. At which point she will be too senile to care!! Happy days!!


----------



## Marcia (Mar 10, 2009)

zany_toon said:


> It has taken me four years to convince mother dearest to let me have mice in the house. She was terrified at the thought of them (although when i told her rat or mouse she became very quiet!) and when we went to see the breeder. The breeder gave her a runt to hold and now I can't keep her away from my mice. I am however, having problems convincing her that 8 mice, one cat and three fish tanks aren't enough. I want some gerbils, a rabbit and a guinea pig! I reckon it will take me around 10 years. At which point she will be too senile to care!! Happy days!!


Nope it's never enough, we've got to have them all! :lol:
Sounds a bit like pokemon


----------



## Tigerneko (Jan 2, 2009)

Marcia said:


> Nope it's never enough, we've got to have them all! :lol:
> Sounds a bit like pokemon


hehe if I could have my way, i'd have all sorts of rodents :lol:

I'm gonna wait for the right moment to ask my mum about the Gerbils :lol: ....preferably when my dad isn't in, I don't think I can tackle both at once LOL


----------



## Marcia (Mar 10, 2009)

Portia Elizabeth said:


> hehe if I could have my way, i'd have all sorts of rodents :lol:
> 
> I'm gonna wait for the right moment to ask my mum about the Gerbils :lol: ....preferably when my dad isn't in, I don't think I can tackle both at once LOL


Sounds like a plan :laugh:


----------



## Tigerneko (Jan 2, 2009)

GRRR was just about to ask my mum about it tonight then my dad came in from work 

I got a 'Caring for your Gerbil' leaflet from [email protected] today with the intention of strategically placing it somewhere in the house for them to find  i've had it poking out of my college bag all evening but I don't think they've noticed, might have to make it a bit more obvious LOL

They'd better let me get them, i'm so excited about it  found a few prospective glass tanks to buy, and my friend said she'll put an advert on her local freecycle for one, someone will have an old tank hanging around somewhere 

ooh, and one more question - what do you use as a lid for your tanks? The tank i've seen doesn't come with a lid, unless I want to pay 30 quid for a special fish tank lid  the tank itself is 30 quid! It'll definately need a lid no matter how tall the tank is, I have a terrier and it's amazing some of the places he can get to


----------



## Marcia (Mar 10, 2009)

You can just go to B&Q, Homebase, Focus etc and get a piece of wire mesh cut to fit your tank 
Just make sure you leave enough to go over the sides of the tank if you know what i mean


----------



## Tigerneko (Jan 2, 2009)

Marcia said:


> You can just go to B&Q, Homebase, Focus etc and get a piece of wire mesh cut to fit your tank
> Just make sure you leave enough to go over the sides of the tank if you know what i mean


Okay  will I need to fix it down with anything? don't want them to push the mesh away  I doubt the tank will be full enough for them to get to the top anyway but rodents are crafty little buggers when they want to be 

My mum works in B&Q so she'll get me a discount off some mesh, and I think I know which to use - I was looking at it when I was gonna get a hamster off my friend (I haven't heard from her since she said I could have him ) and I was gonna get a big Duna guinea pig size cage and I was gonna put mesh over the top for a bit of extra security, but it doesn't look like i'm getting the hammy now  I think my mum is more likely to agree with gerbils anyway, because they tend to smell less than hamsters


----------



## Marcia (Mar 10, 2009)

Nope, it doesn't need fixing down with anything 

And you're totally right, rodents are crafty little buggers. They always find some way of escaping lol


----------



## Tigerneko (Jan 2, 2009)

Marcia said:


> Nope, it doesn't need fixing down with anything
> 
> And you're totally right, rodents are crafty little buggers. They always find some way of escaping lol


okay  the mesh i was looking at is quite thick, heavy stuff so they should be fine with it 

i think my mum found the leaflet thingy LOL it had definately moved from where i put it! havent had chance to see her yet though cos im staying at a friends tonight so i'll have to wait till tomorrow 

im such a wuss, it'd be far easier to just ask her hehe


----------



## bexy1989 (May 10, 2009)

good luck on asking for them =) 


id recommend a glass thank rather than a gerbilarium, we have one of those and its a pain! We are now looking at changing to a glass tank so our gerbils can do more tunneling =)


----------



## Tigerneko (Jan 2, 2009)

bexy1989 said:


> good luck on asking for them =)
> 
> id recommend a glass thank rather than a gerbilarium, we have one of those and its a pain! We are now looking at changing to a glass tank so our gerbils can do more tunneling =)


I've looked into getting a gerbilarium, but all the [email protected] ones have plastic bases and I wouldn't trust plastic with gerbils. There's a Ferplast gerbilarium called the Gabry that's glass underneath and it has a solid floor on the 'cage' area, but it's £75 and it's far too small to keep two gerbils in 

I looked in [email protected] and I found a glass tank for like £30 which I think would be perfect for two, then I noticed that the gerbilarium cage topper that they sell fitted the aquarium perfectly, but it was £60 for the cage topper, I couldn't believe it!!! £60 for what's effectively half a hamster cage, I was gobsmacked. Surely it must've been wrong 

Once i've asked (I still haven't got around to it ) and my parents have hopefully said yes, i'm gonna try putting an ad on our local Freecycle, see if I can get one off there cos people sometimes have old fishtanks lying around in their attics or sheds, and it's spring clean time    so hopefully i'll come up with something! If not, I can get a brand new decent sized tank for £30 so it's hardly breaking the bank :001_smile:


----------



## bexy1989 (May 10, 2009)

Portia Elizabeth said:


> I've looked into getting a gerbilarium, but all the [email protected] ones have plastic bases and I wouldn't trust plastic with gerbils. There's a Ferplast gerbilarium called the Gabry that's glass underneath and it has a solid floor on the 'cage' area, but it's £75 and it's far too small to keep two gerbils in
> 
> I looked in [email protected] and I found a glass tank for like £30 which I think would be perfect for two, then I noticed that the gerbilarium cage topper that they sell fitted the aquarium perfectly, but it was £60 for the cage topper, I couldn't believe it!!! £60 for what's effectively half a hamster cage, I was gobsmacked. Surely it must've been wrong
> 
> Once i've asked (I still haven't got around to it ) and my parents have hopefully said yes, i'm gonna try putting an ad on our local Freecycle, see if I can get one off there cos people sometimes have old fishtanks lying around in their attics or sheds, and it's spring clean time    so hopefully i'll come up with something! If not, I can get a brand new decent sized tank for £30 so it's hardly breaking the bank :001_smile:


oh my days we had a look at the £75 ones earlier i was gob smacked! we have the gerbilarium and its not to bad, but i tend to be kept up at night with them digging the plastic.

we are in the process of looking for an old fish tank or something along those lines to keep all ours in now as i prefer them, it gives them more chance to dig AND you don't get sawdust everywhere...im forever hovering up all the sawdust that gets kicked out haha

x


----------



## Tigerneko (Jan 2, 2009)

bexy1989 said:


> oh my days we had a look at the £75 ones earlier i was gob smacked! we have the gerbilarium and its not to bad, but i tend to be kept up at night with them digging the plastic.
> 
> we are in the process of looking for an old fish tank or something along those lines to keep all ours in now as i prefer them, it gives them more chance to dig AND you don't get sawdust everywhere...im forever hovering up all the sawdust that gets kicked out haha
> 
> x


Have you got a Freecycle for your area? Try joining up to that and putting a 'wanted' advert on it for a fishtank, some of my mates have got some brilliant stuff from there 

hehe I did wonder about the amount of stray sawdust there'd be, I want to get quite a deep tank so that I can fill it high for them and not have to worry too much about it being spilled out.... i've got it all planned out and I probably wont even be allowed them..... 19 years old (Or i will be in a couple of weeks ) and i'm still having to ask mum and dad for pets  I feel more like i'm 9 :glare:


----------



## Marcia (Mar 10, 2009)

I hate [email protected] gerbilariums, i've had nothing but problems with them and i have had 4 gerbils break their legs on the bars!!! 

The way i've always looked at it is, would i like to constantly walk on cold, metal bars? No i wouldn't


----------



## bexy1989 (May 10, 2009)

Portia Elizabeth said:


> Have you got a Freecycle for your area? Try joining up to that and putting a 'wanted' advert on it for a fishtank, some of my mates have got some brilliant stuff from there
> 
> hehe I did wonder about the amount of stray sawdust there'd be, I want to get quite a deep tank so that I can fill it high for them and not have to worry too much about it being spilled out.... i've got it all planned out and I probably wont even be allowed them..... 19 years old (Or i will be in a couple of weeks ) and i'm still having to ask mum and dad for pets  I feel more like i'm 9 :glare:


im not to sure if we have a freecycle...we have admag and you can get loads of different stuff from it...think my mate picked up a brand new saddle for her horse for next to nothing.

the stray sawdust is terrible! its gets amazingly annoying after a time lol, its one of the main reasons i want to get a tank...and the bars in it aswell. If they say no you should ask why...and shove in the point of being nearly 19 so shouldn't have to ask =p 
my mum had a fit when we said we were getting lizards...we took her in to see them and she fell in love with them =p

x


----------



## Akai-Chan (Feb 21, 2009)

Freecycle Nottingham 

Peace
Akai-Chan


----------



## bexy1989 (May 10, 2009)

thankk youu =D 


got a tank today off ebay with a stand it was £15 =D

x


----------



## Marcia (Mar 10, 2009)

That's a good price 
I bet your gerbils will be really happy with their new home


----------



## Tigerneko (Jan 2, 2009)

hehe phase one of operation gerbil is under way!

We were in the vets earlier taking the dog for his annual booster vaccinations, and I saw a Gerbil Care book in the waiting room  I picked it up and I was looking through it until my mum spotted me and she was like "no, you're not having one" and I was like "But gerbils aren't like hamsters, they don't smell half as much, cos they're desert animals so they don't drink as much which means they don't pee as much " (she's mostly bothered about the smell, which is why i'm bribing her with that one lol) and she was like "Oh are they gerbils? They live in tanks and make burrows don't they?" 

 it's not much, but it's a start! 

So, in one conversation i've got across that:
1. they dont stink (thats most important to her)
2. They live in tanks - not as much sawdust everywhere
3. They make burrows - interesting to watch



She didn't say no afterwards and usually if she's hell bent on saying no, she'll let me know about it LOL

I'm getting a bit exctied now    its only a small start, but at least the idea is out there now :ihih:


----------



## bexy1989 (May 10, 2009)

wooooo =D 

haha thats great news =D soooo happy for you =D at least you can deffo start looking at everything now =p 

wooo =D


----------



## Tigerneko (Jan 2, 2009)

bexy1989 said:


> wooooo =D
> 
> haha thats great news =D soooo happy for you =D at least you can deffo start looking at everything now =p
> 
> wooo =D


hehe it's still not definate, just that at least she knows im interested in them... she might even have forgotten about it by tomorrow LOL but at least I can start dropping bigger and bigger hints to her 

We're going to look at a dog in a rescue tomorrow and if that doesn't work out (we dont know if her and my dog will get along) then I might ask her if I can have a couple of gerbils instead. The dog we're looking at was attacked by a badger which makes it sound as if she was a working dog, so I doubt my mum will let me have gerbils if we've got an ex-working terrier in the house  but i'll have to see how it all goes!


----------



## bexy1989 (May 10, 2009)

yeaa, when you go to a pet shop you should go to the gerbil part and be like oooo look how cute they are! 

never know it might all work out in the end =D


----------



## Marcia (Mar 10, 2009)

Fingers crossed for you :thumbup1:


----------



## bexy1989 (May 10, 2009)

how's everything going on the gerbil front?

x


----------



## Tigerneko (Jan 2, 2009)

Welllll we're picking up a new dog tomorrow and she's an ex-working terrier (used for badger baiting, she was attacked by one and she's been left very badly scarred by it ) so im gonna see what she's like with the parrot and my other birds first before I go getting any Gerbils..... I also think a dog is enough for my parents to take in for now LOL

So I think i'll give it a rest for a little bit, but the hints will still be dropped  watch this space    (well... don't really watch it, it'll be quite boring ) I reckon give it a couple of weeks till she's settled in and we're used to the extra dog, then operation gerbil will be up and running once again!!


----------



## bexy1989 (May 10, 2009)

aww good luck with the new doggy  

keep us updated on the gerbillss =D


----------

