# Gerbil advice - potential new owner! where to start!? help



## Guest (Mar 20, 2009)

Hi Guys and Gals.

I have been considering for sometime about getting a pair/trio of gerbils. They will be primarily my daughters first own pet, however naturally i take full responsibility for them. We do have cats, so I would prefer them to be housed in either my or my daughters bedroom, as the cats dont venture there. They would of course be coming out for lots of playtime, and i will ensure the cats are shut out of the way...

I kept gerbils (and bred them) as a child but that was many years ago now, and i'm sure things have changed in that time!

So where to start...

I would prefer a tank, with a lid, rather than a cage or tank topper. I dont fancy being kept awake by the little fellas chewing bars! What size would i need, and where would i find the lid? - as a kid they were handmade, but i am not at all good in the DIY department.

Substrate - what to use.. Is the packs of woodshavings still the thing to use, or is there something better now?

Toys - what do they like?, mine had dark jam jars in and toilet roll tubes, i'm sure there is more variety now?

Food - do you still feed hamster food or is there something specific?

Bedding - i remember there being bags of fluff stuff, is this still ok?

Chews - we used apple logs???

OK - finally how do i find some nice pretty well handled babies? is there a breeder website or anything?

Any other advice would be highly appreciated! I want to do the right thing!

If people can reccomend good websites for the shopping list i will need then please let me know!


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## u-look-like-a-hamster (Aug 17, 2008)

Substrate- Shavings & lots of it , you'll know they like to dig!

Toys- Jams jars, cardbord tunnels, wooden tunnels , Grass nest, Loofaa balls , Cotton reels, Wheels (silent spinner no noise) 

Food- You can buy Gerbil food but it is similar to hamster food but gerbil food is more suited to them.

Bedding- Avoid that fluff stuff, shredded toiletpaper is great you can buy it ready shredded or you can do it yourself

Chews- Bark blocks , cardbord tunnels, pinecones,Veg stiks.

They like to dig Alot so lot of woodshavings

StolenKissGerbils Posted a really good way of making a wire mesh lid for tanks, i'll message her to see if she can post it.

Mabey 2 foot by 1 foot tank mabey bigger i dont know im rubbish with dimensions ^^ lol 
Xx


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## Guest (Mar 20, 2009)

Thanks so much!

Yes i was planning on filling tank about 2/3 with woodshavings. 
Will look into the toys and foods etc. If you could find that post about the lid would be great, or if anyone knows where i can buy one (even better lol)


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## Marcia (Mar 10, 2009)

billyboysmammy said:


> Hi Guys and Gals.
> 
> I have been considering for sometime about getting a pair/trio of gerbils. They will be primarily my daughters first own pet, however naturally i take full responsibility for them. We do have cats, so I would prefer them to be housed in either my or my daughters bedroom, as the cats dont venture there. They would of course be coming out for lots of playtime, and i will ensure the cats are shut out of the way...
> 
> ...


If you plan on getting 2 gerbils, you need at least a 15 gallon tank. The rule is, you need 10 gallons for one gerbils, then you must add another 5 gallons for every other gerbil  So if you did decide to have 3, you would need roughly 20 gallons.

Myself and stolenkiss gerbils breed gerbils, it depends on where you're located  I currently have a few babies who will be ready in April.


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## StolenkissGerbils (Aug 8, 2008)

Hehe, I've been messing around with my website so the diagram on tank lids is now on there, in my gerbil housing article. Feel free to save it to your computer if you like because I may end up changing the URL at some stage - the site is being re-written in html.

http://www.geocities.com/stolenkiss.gerbils/gerbilhousing.html

The article is written from the point of view of an Irish person, so the websites linked are Irish, but there are UK equivalents.

Cheapest place to find stuff for your gerbils is your local pound shop or kitchen supply shop. Wooden clothes pegs with the spring removed make really cheap chew blocks. Glass jars, flower pots, tea caddies, wooden boxes, ceramic pots etc, all these are just as suitable as stuff bought in a pet shop for hammies and gerbies etc but a fraction of the price.

Here as well is my recipe for gerbil food mix, if you're keeping a large number it's more economical to make up your own mix rather than buy commercial ready-made mixes, but if you only have one or two it mightn't make much difference:
http://www.geocities.com/stolenkiss.gerbils/gerbildiet.html


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## Guest (Mar 20, 2009)

Thanks so much everyone. I have ordered a 30 x 12 x 18 in tank so that should give enough room for 2 or 3? I worked it out to be 23.3 gallons.

I will start to get everything else over the next couple of months until i have a veritable gerbil paradise. I'm in wiltshire, dont know if either of you are anywhere near me? I'm not in a rush, as I am going on holiday in June, and think it would be better if the lil ones arrived after that. 

Do you guys reccomend the silent wheels? - are they really silent?, is a wheel essential (if they are noisy), if they have lots of other enrichments?

Do you reccomend the excercise balls? 

What about veggie treats - what should they have?


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

billyboysmammy said:


> Thanks so much everyone. I have ordered a 30 x 12 x 18 in tank so that should give enough room for 2 or 3? I worked it out to be 23.3 gallons.
> 
> I will start to get everything else over the next couple of months until i have a veritable gerbil paradise. I'm in wiltshire, dont know if either of you are anywhere near me? I'm not in a rush, as I am going on holiday in June, and think it would be better if the lil ones arrived after that.
> 
> ...


I have a silent wheel for both my Syrian hamsters and two for my mice, they are excellent and unless you really listen out for a noise you can barely hear them. My hamsters and mice lives would definately be less fun without them.


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## StolenkissGerbils (Aug 8, 2008)

Lol well I don't think you'll be coming to see my gerbil pups - I'm in Dublin!

That tank will be great for 2-3 gerbils, they'll have a great time digging all kinds of tunnels etc in there.

Personally I don't use exercise balls. I used one once with gerbils I had as a kid - they were just terrified. They sat stock still, shaking in fear, peeing and pooping. Exercise wheels, some gerbils like them, some don't. They aren't essential so don't worry if they just end up getting buried. But if you do use a wheel get either a silent spinner (almost silent but it does smack off the glass sometimes!) or a metal wheel (squeaky but greasing it with vegetable oil helps - non-toxic) with a mesh tread, NOT one with bars, and make sure there's nowhere for their tails or feet to get stuck. Some people tape corrugated cardboard to the running surface of the wheel if it's a mesh tread for extra safety. It will get eaten but it's easily replaced. You'll be going through hundreds of cereal boxes, toilet roll tubes and other cardboard items once you have gerbils anyway!

Edit: Veggie treats, just a chunk the size of your fingernail once or twice a week is plenty for them. Some of them don't like it - mine were never hot for the fresh food, they prefer seedy/cerealy treats. No reason not to try them. Don't use kidney beans though (toxic), and citrus is also out (gives them the trots).


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## Guest (Mar 20, 2009)

thedogsmother said:


> I have a silent wheel for both my Syrian hamsters and two for my mice, they are excellent and unless you really listen out for a noise you can barely hear them. My hamsters and mice lives would definately be less fun without them.


WOOO HOOO! Glad to hear technology has moved on! I still remember being kept up at nights with that insistant "squeek, squeek, rattle squeek squeek" of the wheel going round! YAY!!

LOL i have a feeling dublin might just be a little far for a trip! 

Thanks so much everyone. I think I have decided on 3, and would love them all to be different colours. I have no intention of breeding - so what do i go for, boys or girls?

What are your favourite gerbil colours? - there seems to be hundreds now!


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## StolenkissGerbils (Aug 8, 2008)

Go with boys if you're going to have 3. Girls are a little more dominant and temperamental, they do better in pairs than groups. They get a bit hormonal sometimes and a group can fracture due to bullying or vying for dominance. Male gerbils are much more easygoing and much easier to introduce to a new pal as well.

I have so many favourite colours! I love my mottled blacks, and argente golden is a favourite too. But I also love dark-eyed honey and Burmese, though I don't have those colours.

I love the ones with ruby eyes. They have the most expression in them I find. But they're all lovely of course


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## Marcia (Mar 10, 2009)

my favourite colours are siamese, burmese, doves, argentes and pink eyed whites


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## u-look-like-a-hamster (Aug 17, 2008)

i like motteld blacks i think im not sure if thats even a real name!! lol ^^ 

Xx


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## StolenkissGerbils (Aug 8, 2008)

No it is, mottled black is right  I have 2


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## Guest (Mar 21, 2009)

thanks so much everyone!

I have to admit I'm rather drawn to the mottleds (or pied) patterns. I also like the doves, creams, blacks and i think the pointed patters are beautiful. It would be nice to have 3 of different colours and pattern to make it even more intersting to watch.

Will defo go for boys. Looks like its going to be a petshop visit though as i cant find breeders near me.


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## Marcia (Mar 10, 2009)

I don't own any mottleds but i do have spotteds which are beautiful


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## Guest (Mar 21, 2009)

where is lincolnshire in comparison to wiltshire?


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## Marcia (Mar 10, 2009)

billyboysmammy said:


> where is lincolnshire in comparison to wiltshire?


Lincolnshire is located next to notts and sheffield, all the way up north


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## Guest (Mar 22, 2009)

bugger n damnation


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## Marcia (Mar 10, 2009)

From what i've heard, most gerbil breeders seem to be up north


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## Guest (Mar 22, 2009)

ahh well its always better up north! Am a barnsley lass myself originally


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## StolenkissGerbils (Aug 8, 2008)

Lol maybe you're closer to me after all


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## Marcia (Mar 10, 2009)

StolenkissGerbils said:


> Lol maybe you're closer to me after all


I'm closer to you  watch your gerbils, i may have stolen your mottleds lol


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## StolenkissGerbils (Aug 8, 2008)

I'll have to hire a security guard so


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

StolenkissGerbils said:


> I'll have to hire a security guard so


You could always train them to be attack gerbils.


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## Marcia (Mar 10, 2009)

thedogsmother said:


> You could always train them to be attack gerbils.


Now that would be funny lol


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## StolenkissGerbils (Aug 8, 2008)

Ohh yes, they'd be so scary sitting in the palm of the attacker's hand and purring away viciously 

Maybe I could try to convince the intruder that it was growling, not purring


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## Guest (Mar 26, 2009)

Tank arrived today  i decided to go bigger so we have 48L x 18w x 24h plenty big enough for 3 i think 

I have just ordered an aluminium and metal mesh vivarium lid (should be chew proof)- was told by a hamster breeder locally that this should be good - does it sound ok?

How do i put a water bottle in? as it seems to be a quite fine mesh (small holes)

It looks like the gerbils will have to come from the local petshop - Is there any rules about introducing them together? - as i'm unlikely to find the right colours (or right sexes) from the same litter...

I have a little terracotta plant pot, and I also have a large fake stone snake hide. its got large burrows inside it - all accessible to me, the smallest bit of the burrows is 3.5in wide so should be fine for gerbils to get down?? and sleeping chambers inside. It will take up a prominent spot in the tank but i think they will enjoy it? - its suitable for them to climb all over too.

Any other hints or tips?

Should they each have a water bottle and food bowl? 

I would like to make the tank as natural as possible for them - any hints on doing this?


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## Marcia (Mar 10, 2009)

Introducing is the hardest part about keeping gerbils. It is best to buy them from the same litter. Females are the hardest, they can be right cows :lol: The split tank method is the most common methos of introducing gerbils together, but that can take weeks even months, and some gerbils simply won't tolerate the other gerbil.
I don't use food bowls in my tanks, i scatter their food around the tank, it brings out their natural forageing behaviour 
And i have 1 water bottle per tank.
That snake stone hide thing sounds great


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## Maiisiku (Feb 20, 2009)

I have these aweful rotastak bottles on a stand in my robos tanks at the moment but you can use crittertrail bottles as they have a part you can attatch to wire mesh and stuff. I have 2 on order at the moment. I used to pop a regular water bottle though the lid of my tank for my gerbils but their tank is a lot smaller then yours as they have a tank topper. My next big endevor is to get a big home for them. But I would deffinatly recomend crittertrail bottles or the habitrail waterfountain but I haven't got that yet I ordered it for one of my robos who is living on his own so I'll let you know on that one.


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## StolenkissGerbils (Aug 8, 2008)

Here's a link that shows you how to splitcage intro gerbils:
Adopting A Gerbil - AGS Gerbil Care Handbook

Go for baby males and it shouldn't be hard to intro them. I introduced 3 baby males, 2 on one side, one on the other, in 24 hours once.

Females are much harder to intro so if you end up with girlie gerbs you'd be better to go with littermates.


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