# Gerbils?



## FallDeere

So... before I got rats, when my parents were willing to do almost anything to avoid having rats in the house, I looked into gerbils. I still wanted rats, but I admitted that gerbils were nearly as good if not as good (in different ways).

Fast forward a year and now I have rats... but something happened and my dad is considering getting gerbils. They would be the family's pets, but most of the responsibility would fall on me because it was basically my idea/fault.

So, the deal is that I know the basics of gerbils because I researched them a bit a year ago. I know an aquarium is best, they shouldn't be allowed to chew on plastic, females don't always get along, don't lift them by their tail, and they need to be able to dig. I don't know _specifics _though because, unlike rats, I haven't researched them thoroughly for years (I researched rats for five years before getting them).

My dad and I found a good aquarium at Petco. It's 20 gallons with a lot of floor space rather than being tall (I don't remember the dimensions). Would that be good for two female gerbils? What food is best? Is there a good food I could buy like Regal Rat for my rats? Is there a bedding that would be perfect for them? I was thinking about using a combo of Kaytee clean and cozy and Yesterday's News like I do for my rats. Would that be good? Are there types of sands they could use? I saw a Walnut Sand thing at Petco in the reptile department. Would that be good? I don't know if it's dusty, but I assume that, same as rats, anything dusty is a no no. Also, I have to make sure nothing is toxic since I saw a gerbil eating their Aspin bedding and I believe Gerbils don't have the ability rats to do avoid ingesting things they chew on (not 100% sure).

Also, could my rats' URIs transfer to a gerbil? Or the other way around?

The only place we have in the house to keep them is next to our TV. Would the noise bother them?Tha

Thanks for any help. I haven't decided to get them or not, but if I do, it will be within the next two days, so _fast _help would be appreciated. My family is sleeping on the idea tonight and we'll probably decide tomorrow.
~Fall


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## Korra

This is just my opinion only, but I would not go for gerbils. I call them "Little Crackheads" because they are crazy and never stop moving. 
I will say, to their credit, I have NEVER been bitten by a gerbil, but they are much much too crazy for me. A girl I babysat for got two gerbils before she got her two rats, and she loved them to death, but I couldn't understand why. They don't seek your affection the way rats do and they destroy EVERYTHING. She originally had a wheel for them, but they never ran on it, just knocked it over and chewed the metal bars all day. They chewed their water bottles and when she got a metal cover, they chewed on that for hours a day. She bought them a large saucer, and they tore the top piece off, chewed the little white insert, and chewed the base apart. I gave them a gerbil/hamster potty, and they chewed it into pieces within days. 
I have seen gerbils at the pet store that will sit and dig in the front glass corner of their tank for hours at a time(there is no bedding, they are just digging the glass). They never stop. Several of them attempt flips and don't stop (even though they are provided with a wheel and toys to play with). The girl I babysit has told me personally that she loves her two, but she will never get gerbils again after her two pass away. 
I also do not find their jerky sudden movements very cute or graceful at all.

But like I said, they do have good points. They are small and easy to keep(other than ruining toys, don't ever buy anything you don't want torn up). Their urine has a very very mild smell that is not very noticeable at all. They also are not prone to biting, although I have never seen one run up to its owner to be held.

If you are not set on a gerbil and want a family pet, I suggest a male mouse. If gotten young enough, they are very personable and will happily get into your hand for kisses. My JD does that and so does my best friend's male Jude.


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## FallDeere

You just described my female rats.  They destroy everything, and though they occasionally enjoy my company, they prefer to do their own thing.

I was just at petco and saw a male mouse in with like forty females... -shudder- Anyways, I saw mice just today and they were so stinkin' tiny. I could never have a pet that teeny. Plus, mice don't appeal to me one bit, aside from the endless variety of colors. My mom would never approve of a mouse, anyways. The reason she doesn't like rats is their tail and mice are no better. She's willing to tolerate a gerbil because they have furry tails. After seeing the male at petco, though, my dad and I talked about mice a bit... It just doesn't appeal to me... Though the male was a very handsome long haired black and white one..

I already have two gerbils picked out. One of them actually jumped into mine and my dad's hands. They were both very sweet and not skittish or aggressive. They never tried to hide, even though they had a perfect place to. They just alternated saying hi to us and running on their wheel. It was so stinkin' cute! It was like they would say "did you see me running on the wheel? No? I'll show you! Whee! Did you see that time? Let me do it again!"

Anyways, we still haven't decided, but these are the only two gerbils (or any small pet in addition to my rats) I would consider getting, so if we miss our chance for these or decide we don't want them, that's it. We just have to decide whether or not we need another pet. There are currently seven animals in the house and this would make it nine!

Thanks for the input.


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## Korra

Sounds like the gerbils have made the decision for you  Maybe you picked out two really good ones.


BTW were you looking at baby mice? My mouse and all of the females I have had were very close to the size of a gerbil when full grown.


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## FallDeere

I've been fond of gerbils for a long time. Rats just always appealed to me more which is why I chose them instead.

The mice were probably really young. About the size of my thumb. Maybe half the size of the two young female gerbils, if not less.

By the way, I brought up mice and my mom gave a resounding "no." Haha. She isn't apposed to gerbils because of their tails and the fact that they aren't associated with anything bad like mice and rats are... and don't bite like hamsters.

It's kinda looking like the gerbils aren't happening, actually. My dad is too much of a window shopper... I'm working on him, though. If I can get my sister on my side, we're probably golden. Luckily I took a picture of them so I can tempt her... hehe.

I still would like any info about the questions I asked, though. There are a lot of gerbil foods on the market and I'd like to know the pros and cons of them... Even if _we _don't get gerbils, I still might later on when I move out and I want a clear picture in my mind of what I would need. After all, I spent five years researching Rats. I have work to do to catch up with my gerbil knowledge.


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## LightningWolf

While they are rare now especially in the US, mice from a breeder are Much bigger. They're also known as show mice, they are selectively bred for larger sizes. Average show mouse is about 10 inches long, half the size of a rat. I think your pet shop mouse (pet mouse) is like 6 inches?

I know nothing of gerbils, Gerbils creep me out (it's their tail, I'm not kidding). So I'm not much help with gerbils.

Are you wanting another pet? or is this just something your parents want?


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## Awaiting_Abyss

I'm a registered gerbil breeder and there are many gerbils who seek attention. I have only had a few gerbils who didn't care if I gave them attention, but all of the others are always eager for me to bring them out of the tank.
Some gerbils will run on wheels and some won't. Its really a preference. Most of my gerbils enjoy wheels, but you must make sure you don't get the wheels with bars because it can harm their tails. I have actually had a gerbil who lost half of her tail due to the wheel with just single bars (this was back when I had just started having gerbils).

A 20 gallon tank would be perfect for two females. Most people prefer taller tanks rather than more floor space since gerbils require 6 to 8 inches of bedding to burrow in. I personally have the tanks with more floor space (since I breed, I have to keep the bedding around 4 inches for the pups).

I personally prefer kiln-dried pine bedding for gerbils because it is cheap and the kind from Petsmart that I buy is completely dust free. I have had a lot of bad experiences with aspen bedding (all of the brands that are available for me to buy are extremely dusty). The aspen bedding around here is in very large chips so my gerbils chew the pieces into tiny pieces and it makes their fur very oily and nasty despite the biweekly sand baths.
The bedding that you mentioned are fine to use with gerbils as long as you can afford using them and still supply the appropriate amount of bedding (6 to 8 inches deep) for them to tunnel in. 
I wouldn't recommend using sand as the only substrate because it gets quite messy and it doesn't allow them to dig proper tunnels. Also, it makes the tank VERY heavy.

Two females will get along fine, especially if they're littermates. Females are the dominant gender with gerbils and so they are more likely to declan, but declannings are very rare so I wouldn't worry about it too much. I would recommend to never fully clean out the tank, but instead just remove some of the soiled bedding and then add some new bedding. That way the bedding still has their clan scent in it.

Gerbils do require sand baths. I wouldn't recommend leaving it in their tank at all times since it will get messy, but I just put some in a dish that's big enough for them to roll in and I put it in the tank two or three times a week. Many people recommend to only use Chinchilla SAND for them to bathe in, but I have used Gerbil/Hamster bath powder since sand isn't available to me. I haven't had an issue with the powder, but I wouldn't let them have access to it full time since it is powder.

Gerbils are just like rats in the fact that they can't have dusty bedding or anything dusty. 

I'm pretty sure gerbils aren't able to pick up URIs from rats and vice versa. I keep all of my critters in the same room and I've never had any issues.

As far as food, Ecotrition is a good brand. I use Wild Harvest 8 in 1 food from Walmart. Non-breeding adult gerbils require 12% protein in their food. Basically when shopping for a food, make sure that corn isn't one of the first few ingredients, but don't remove any corn or sunflower seeds from the food because that ruins the nutrition guide and will mess up the protein and fat content percentage. 

The TV most likely won't bother the gerbils at all. Usually gerbils are excited by things like the TV and people moving around, though that does depend on the gerbil's personality. So you'll have to watch the gerbils and see if they appear bothered by the noise. They may be at first, but they will get used to it.


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## FallDeere

Lightning,

I want these _specific gerbils_. It's not about anyone wanting another pet. These particular gerbils stole mine and my dad's hearts.

~*~

AwaitingAbyss,

Thanks SO much for all that info! That is extremely helpful and reassuring. It is good to hear first hand from someone with experience with gerbils. Words cannot express how grateful I am. 

My dad and I were looking at a forty gallon tank that was pretty tall AND had lots of floor space, so I really want to go with that instead of the 20 gallon so we can fill it with all sorts of fun stuff. 

But, alas, every second it looks less likely that we will get them... I must change my tactics...

Thanks again, everyone.  Even if I don't get gerbils now, I would love to eventually have them so this is very helpful either way!
~Fall


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## pipsqueak

Gerbils can be fun, have ALOT of energy and love to play.
When I worked at petsmart, i enjoyed petting them and socializing them in the mornings.
though rats were my favorite to play with at work, haha.

I had one when I was younger (12), but she got a tumor and ended up dying.
She was really nice though, and was a good pet. 

I say if you guys wanna get em, go for it. They may not be at the store for long.
I personally wouldnt keep them by the TV, but thats just my opinion.


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## FallDeere

These have red eyes (an albino and, from what my research has yielded, a lilac) and the guy at Petsmart, who has been in charge of the small animal department for a while, said they probably wouldn't ever sell because of it... Them and a beautiful red eyed guinea pig there.

If they can't go by the TV, we have no place to put them unfortunately. My family wants them in the family room so we can watch them during the day. The TV isn't on much, and we rarely watch loud movies. If we get them, I'll watch to see if the TV stresses them out at all.

However, I recognize the look in my dad's eyes... He's having a lot of second thoughts. Since he's footing the bill for this, it's his decision. It's mostly the possible future vet bills giving him pause. My rats have cost a few hundred dollars with vet bills and it baffles him that $10 rats would cost $60 for a simple vet visit and than $30 for the meds. I told him I'd pay for vet bills, but my parents now think I can't afford my rats vet bills simply because, as a Christmas gift, my mom paid for my last vet visit... -sigh- If I'd known it would cause all this fuss, I would've refused the gift... I only accepted because I didn't have enough cash and I hate using my card.

Anyways, wish me luck guys. I do have everyone convinced that they would be a blast to have, but I have to convince them that the gerbils are worth the extra work/money/possible vet trips.


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## Awaiting_Abyss

Just a fun fact: There actually isn't a such thing as an albino gerbil, so that is either a ruby eyed white or a pink eyed white. Genetics really only tell the difference between a PEW and a REW. 
Lilacs are actually a desired color by many. Its rare in some areas. Though it is true that many people don't like ruby eyes for some reason. 

I've personally never had to take a gerbil to the vet. I've never run into any health issues with any adult gerbil I've had. I may have been lucky.

Good luck with your gerbils if you get them. They should be fine by the TV. I've kept my non-breeding gerbils in rooms with more noise than that. I actually have one breeding pair in the laundry room (I had originally moved them there to get them away from my other gerbil tanks, but just never moved them back in the room) and they are fine with the noise of the washer and dryer whenever its on.


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## Korra

I guess I am the minority here  I will have to get gerbils of my own one day so I can learn for myself. 
I tend to be slightly bitter toward all the other pet rodents because people get them instead of rats for their children and rats are clearly the best 
But when I am running my small animal rescue in a few years I will rescue gerbils and see for myself.


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## cagedbirdsinging

Gerbils are great! I smuggled a pair into my dorm room back when I was in college and didn't know anything about anything! As luck would have it, I ended up with a male and a female because I didn't know how to tell them apart as babies at the time.

Raising the babies was really what got me into rodents. They were ill and needed round-the-clock care from me. I kept and housed them all in same-sex trios until I got married and was moving across the country. There was no room for even one tank in our little Ford Ranger and I had to find homes for them all. Most of the new owners kept in touch to let me know how they were doing. It was an excellent experience.

My husband and I got a pair of rats once we were settled in on the other side of the country and the rest is history.

I guess I should place something relevant here other than my own story. One thing that I learned is that a tank with a topper is the greatest for gerbils! I filled almost the entire tank up with bedding and placed all of their toys and accessories in the topper. They had tons of room to burrow in the tank and came up for fresh air to run on their wheels and grab a snack.

Ugh, I miss them!


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## FallDeere

Awaiting_Abyss said:


> Just a fun fact: There actually isn't a such thing as an albino gerbil, so that is either a ruby eyed white or a pink eyed white. Genetics really only tell the difference between a PEW and a REW.
> Lilacs are actually a desired color by many. Its rare in some areas. Though it is true that many people don't like ruby eyes for some reason.
> 
> I've personally never had to take a gerbil to the vet. I've never run into any health issues with any adult gerbil I've had. I may have been lucky.
> 
> Good luck with your gerbils if you get them. They should be fine by the TV. I've kept my non-breeding gerbils in rooms with more noise than that. I actually have one breeding pair in the laundry room (I had originally moved them there to get them away from my other gerbil tanks, but just never moved them back in the room) and they are fine with the noise of the washer and dryer whenever its on.


I'll tell my dad about the vet thing... maybe with luck, that'll convince him...

I think I knew about the albino thing, but forgot, haha. In fact, now I remember reading a whole thing on this forum about it! XD My horrible memory... Anyways, it was definitely a PEW. It's eyes were such a bright pink... And I'm not 100% sure the other was Lilac, but when I googled it, that seemed the closest color.

Cagedbirdsinging,
That's a cool story! =D

I was looking at getting a topper. It would be fun, but it will depend on which tank we get. Though I did see someone on a gerbil forum that had a huge tank and a smaller topper, so that would be cool if we get the 40 gallon one (which I am rooting for).

Korra, I can understand the bitterness. Poor rats get left behind because of the other pocket pets. I dislike hamsters because of that and the fact that one bit me when I was younger and wanting a robo hamster. Despite the fact it didn't even break skin and a rat bite has left me with a scar... Childhood grudges don't go away easily, I guess. Good luck with your rescue, Korra!

I dreamt that my dad and I went to petsmart and got the two gerbils.  Such a good dream... We'll see how to day goes, I guess. I haven't talked to my dad yet this morning, so I don't know what he's thinking...

Anyways, I thought I'd share the picture of the girls.









The white one was SO active! That's what caught our eye. I swear, she saw us coming and then jumped on the wheel to show off! The "lilac" one was sorta taking a nap at first, but perked up when the guy opened the cage and even jumped on my hand!

Okay, I'm going to go tell my dad this new information. I think if I tell him Lilac is a desired color, and somewhat rare, it might help... He wanted to get some blue rex rats because I told him they were desired, so _maybe_...


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## Awaiting_Abyss

Yep she is definitely a lilac. 

I totally agree with the hamster thing, though I have two (a Syrian and a dwarf winter white). They are great pets, but I really don't understand why people prefer them over gerbils, rats or mice. Rats, mice and gerbils are equally loved in my eyes because they are all so amazing in their own way. 

I'm personally not a fan of toppers because they're messy, but I think a small topper on a 40 gallon would be better than what I had (a 10 gallon topper for a 10 gallon tank.. when the gerbils urinated in the topper it would go down the tank and on the wall and floor). 

I got a gerbil from Petsmart once because he showed off for me every time I walked up. I still have him to this day and he's always had that same show off personality.  
I believe that animals can pick their people as much as we pick them.


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## FallDeere

Good to know what color she is.  Thanks Awaiting Abyss!

Good and bad news...

Bad news: The PEW was gone today, leaving the lilac alone. 

Good news: We brought home the lilac to a 40 gallon tank!

Bad news: She had the whole tank to herself. 

Good news: I called around and found several female gerbils at various pet stores that were also separated from their clans.

Bad news: I got bit by two gerbils.

Good news: We found a sweet lilac at a different Petsmart that was all alone. She was shy with me, but when my mom stuck her hand in, she came right up and climbed into her hand! Instantly, my mom said "we're taking her!" _My _mom.. rodent hater... fell in love with a gerbil... wow.

REALLY GOOD NEWS: Both gerbils are in the 40 gallon tank with a separator my dad made between them. The 2nd one, now dubbed by my mom Pretty Girl, is really shy, but sweet and curious. The 1st one, as of yet unnamed, is so playful and curious and is obsessed with her wheel!

We all had our heart set on the PEW, but honestly the lilac was the social one when we met them yesterday. She was the one that jumped into mine and my dad's hand, and nibbled my finger to see if it was food or flesh (decided quickly it was flesh and hadn't used her teeth since) while the PEW would run on the wheel, ignoring us for the most part.

I can't even express how angry I am about the PEW being sold on her own, though... and leaving the lilac by herself! Grr!

However, I love our two girls. They are great and sweet. I'll post pictures once I'm on my other computer. They look a lot alike, but Pretty Girl seems a bit younger than the 1st one and a bit darker colored.

We're going to work on introducing them. I've read all about the Split cage method (and my mom even looked it up!) so I feel like we know what we're doing, sort of. They're really young so we hope they'll accept each other fairly easily.

Thanks for all the help! I think you helped convince my dad.


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## FallDeere

Here are our two girls in their 40 gallon tank!

This one is Pretty Girl, my mom's gerbil. She is very shy, but too curious to hide all the time. You can see her being very alert in this picture, ready to run into her home if we made a move towards her. She was the second one we got and she chose my mom. She was all alone at Petsmart.  But we were looking for one that was all alone since we didn't want to split up a clan.










This is CoCo. She was the first one and the entire reason for this whole fiasco, haha. We met her yesterday and she was so stinkin' sweet... She knows no fear. Our dogs barking, us sticking our hands in front of her, and even me accidently "hitting" her nose" (she actually was moving to fast and ran into my hand several times, rather hard).









(Yes, I know the wheel is bad, but Petsmart didn't have any other type. I'm working on replacing it, but every other wheel has something else wrong with it... Plus, this was the type she was using at the store so I did want to make sure she had something she knew she could use. She loves it sooooooo much!)

So far my entire family loves our new gerbils! They haven't bitten us at all and though Pretty Girl is shy, Mom and I saw her come alive at the petstore, so we know once she gets used to us and her amazing new home she'll be wonderful!

Sorry I don't have a picture of the full setup... They have lots of bedding to dig in as well as corncob and sand. They each have a wooden house buried beneath the Kaytee Clean and Cozy as well as a wheel (though Pretty Girl's isn't working well because of all the bedding). Speaking of the bedding, this Kaytee stuff rules! It's really holding its shape as they tunnel through.

My family and I have little to no doubt that Pretty Girl and CoCo will get along easily as we continue with the Split Cage Method. They have complete opposite personalities that I believe will go well together. Neither have been aggressive towards us or each other through the separator at all. In fact, they've been ignoring each other for the most part. I see them look at each other occasionally, but CoCo has a short attention span unless it's her wheel and Pretty Girl is too shy to approach anyone. Plus, I assume they're both used to animals being next to them in a different enclosure.

I do have one concern, though, but it's probably me being paranoid again. CoCo MIGHT be a male. I can't get a good look at either of their private parts, though. I'll work on that today.

Anyways, I just wanted to show off the family's new pets. Everyone is excited about this, but surprisingly my mom is really, REALLY into it (she might even be more excited than me!). Especially after meeting Pretty Girl.


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