Gerbils as pets?

Question

I have been considering getting a gerbil for a pet, but I'd love to hear from gerbil owners and the basic care of them. I've done some research online, but I know there's plenty more for me to learn. Here's a little background information on my home:

I'm a teenager, so I do go to school. My mom leaves for work at 10 and I get home from school around 2:30, so the gerbil would get plenty of attention and be able to run around in an exercise ball and be handled every day. I have a sister, and she can also help care for them.

I have been thinking about getting a pair of gerbils to keep each other company. From what I've read, they do best in pairs.

What brand of food that I can find a petco or petsmart do you recommend? What toys do you recommend putting in the aquarium? Do you recommend letting them run around in an exercise ball? How is your gerbil's home set up? What is the health care of gerbils like? Do they easily get sick or have other health problems (tumors, etc.)

Thank you.

Answer 1

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Sure, go ahead and keep 2 Gerbils in 1 cage but don't let them BOTH BE BOYS.
Put in pieces of wood and wood chips etc.
Don't handle your Gerbil TOO much on the first week it is at your house. Your Gerbil has to get used to its house BEFORE it get's used to you.
They don't get sick easily. If it does, feed it fresh food (Lettuce, Carrots etc.) and NO seeds and dry stuff. If the sickness continues for more than a week feed it ONLY milk for 3 days and then take it to the vet.

Have a nice day!

Answer 2

Ok, yes an aquarium is the best house for them and pairs of girls are better but I don't know if it really matters. I have been breeding gerbils for a few years now and they all get along. Do not buy the pine bedding, they have allergic reactions to it. Buy the brownish soft stuff or it come in white also. They love those Mc Donalds drink carriers to chew on or use as a hide out and toilette paper rolls or paper towel rolls , anything like that as long as it has no ink of any sort on it. They need wood to chew on but no colored wood. Don't put anything plastic in their home to chew on, it just isn't good for them but to play in a plastic ball is fine. If you give them fresh veggies or fruit do not give them a lot in a day or they will get diahhrea. If they get sick....usually an upper respiratory infection....I give mine Ferret Rx, it is an Upper Respiratory Infection treatment in liquid form. You drop about 3 to 4 drops in their bedding and I sometimes rub just a tiny tiny bit under their noses every other day. It works miracles. That is the only sickness I have ever had to deal with. As for food, I get mine at Walmart for $1.87 I think it is and they love it. It is a variety of things they love to eat. And then I get some treats and a wooden house for them to crawl on and in and chew up......well I hope that was helpful. Good luck and email me if you have a questions, I would love to help if I can.

Answer 3

An aquarium is a good place to put them. They cannot dig the shavings out and escaping is harder if you have a good lid.
Sex doesn't matter in a pair. I have pairs or males and pairs of females. But make sure you but them together.
Rodent blocks are a good choice for food. They wear down the teeth and the gerbil gets all the nutrition they need and cannot be picky.
An exercise ball can be good but you need to watch them so they don't go down stairs.
My gerbils like paper towel tubes and cardboard boxes.

Answer 4

Well, i've got two gerbils. they do pretty fine b themselves, but they do enjoy coming out and playing with me and stuff. our favorite thng to do is just me sitting on my recliner, and they run around on the chair. just make sure they don't chew on fabric, cuz they tried to dig a hole in my chair once, and i lost a couple shirts to them, too. they love hiding spots, mostly. they don't really have 'toys'. what toys do gerbils like, anyway?
anyway, we give them two wheels so they can both run at the same time.
About gettin them in pairs, that is a really good idea, but i also heard that if they are not related (siblings) they will not get along well. and trust me, you want to make sure they get along!
we got them these cool little plastic tubes that they can runn around and hide in, they love it.
they love treats, like nuts and raisins and stuff. their favorite is oatmeal, but i don't know how good that is for them, but they've been fine so far! :D
As for health problems, i don't know. just make sure you get the right bedding, i guess and make sure their cage is always clean, and their food is clean, too, and there won't be much to worry about.

i hope this helps! p.s- they love those cardboard toilet paper rolls! ( and they don't eat them, they just chew them)

Answer 5

gerbils pets