Ask The Gerbils

Dear Herman,

I do not have a gerbil, but I want one. Is it the right pet for me? Are they pretty easy to take care of? Do they bite hard and/or often?

From,

Laura

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Dear Laura,

Gerbils make great pets, but you do need to promise to take care of them for the rest of their lives before you adopt gerbils.

You will need to clean their tank by scooping out their old bedding and pouring new bedding into their tank. Most people clean their gerbils’ tanks once every two weeks.

You will also need to give them a small handful of food each day and check their water bottle every day. You should also give them a toilet paper tube or other cardboard to chew every day. Gerbils love to shred cardboard into tiny pieces!

You should also plan to spend some time playing with your gerbils every day. You might do this by putting your hand in their tank and letting them crawl on it, or by giving them hand-fed treats (sunflower seeds, Puffed Kashi cereal, plain Cheerios, etc.), or by taking them out of the tank to play in a bathtub or other safe area.

Most gerbils do not sit still in your hands. Instead, they will want to crawl from one hand to the other. Gerbils are very busy and very curious, and they don’t sit still for long. :)

Most gerbils do not bite. Especially if you handle them the right way.

I hope that helps! Thank you for writing to me!

From your buddy,

Herman

Hi Hallie,

My gerbil, Daffodil, is a sapphire and her nose is starting to look red. It is not runny, and she is happy and playful. I wondered if she might be allergic to the aspen bedding, or if this is her coloring as she is getting older. She is almost 2 months old. Her sister, Petal, is a burmese and is not having any problems with her nose.

Thanks for your help!

From,

Claire


P.S. Do you have any tips for taking pictures of my gerbils?

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Hi Claire!

It sounds like Daffodil may be allergic to her bedding. You might try putting Daffodil and Petal on a different type of bedding, such as corncob (found in the bird aisle of the pet store). You could also try putting them on plain, shredded paper towels (you will need a lot), but you will need to clean their tank more often if you use paper towels instead of bedding.

Try putting them on a different type of bedding, and see if Daffodil’s nose improves.

Most of the time, if a gerbil’s nose gets red, switching to a different type of bedding will fix the problem. :)

If it doesn’t, you may need to take Daffodil to the vet. One of the other gerbils at Twin Squeaks, Marco had a red nose when he first came to live here. His problem was not an allergy. It was an infection. The vet gave him some antibiotics, and his nose cleared up. It worked great, and his nose hasn’s been red since!

You also asked how to take better gerbil photos. We have a set of tips for taking better gerbil photos. I hope the tips help!

Please say hi to Daffodil and Petal from both Herman and me. We hope that Daffodil’s nose is better soon!

From your friend,

Hallie

Hi Herman and Hallie!

I’m thinking about getting a gerbil. There is this cage at Petsmart that I would like to get, but I don’t know if it would be okay for two male gerbils.

The cage is in a pack called the Deluxe Gerbil and Hamster Cage kit. It is a wire cage and comes with a bag of gerbil/hamster feed and some toys.

Would a glass fish tank be better. If so, how big?

Also, is Carefresh Colors Confetti Odor Control pet bedding okay for gerbils?

From,

- H.

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Hi H.!


Thank you for your letter. You have so many great questions!

Although gerbils can live in either a cage or a glass tank, I prefer a glass tank.

You can give your gerbils a deeper layer of bedding if they live in a tank. (In a cage, the bedding will fall out through the bars if you fill it too high.)

Also, gerbils love to dig and tunnel under the bedding. In a cage, they will kick the bedding out through the bars.

Also, it’s harder for gerbils to escape from a glass tank with a secure lid, so they can stay safer in a glass tank.

You can also give your gerbils lots of fun toys if they live in a glass tank. In the picture to the left, you can see my sister Liza rearranging the bedding in our tank around cardboard boxes to make fun hiding places and tunnels.

In addition to a wheel, you can give your gerbils lots of cardboard boxes to chew (without worrying that they’ll kick little bits of shredded cardboard out onto your floor), and you can give them lots and lots of bedding so they can have fun digging in it!

If you get a fish tank for your gerbils, it should be no smaller than 10 gallons. We really need at least that much space. If you can get a larger tank, your gerbils will enjoy the extra space. :)

Finally, the Carefresh bedding should be okay. Just like people, though, gerbils have different allergies to different things, so if your gerbils get runny noses or have any other problems, you can try a different type of safe bedding, such as aspen or corncob, too.

From your friend,

Hallie

Dear Herman,

My gerbil Jessica is very nervous. She stands in the corner of her tank and spends half the day trying to jump out.

I know I’ve only had her for a week, but she worries me. She gets along fine with her tankmate Belle (the little sweetheart), so that isn’t a problem. She darts to her house at the slightest noise. She’s almost been hurt when I try to hold her.

Can you help me? Am I just over-reacting because these are my first gerbils and Belle is the calmest gerbil I know?

From,

-G.


P.S. Tell Hallie I said hi!

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Dear G.,

Thank you for writing!

Gerbils are like people: Each one has a different personality. So Belle might always be calmer and tamer than Jessica.

The good news is that, even if Jessica is always a little bit nervous, you can do some things to help her feel safer. Also, some of Belle’s calm personality may rub off on Jessica over time.

To help Jessica feel safe, don’t chase her around the tank to pick her up. Since she gets scared easily, it might help to pick her up using a cup. Let her crawl into the cup, and then “spill” her out into your hand. As soon as she starts to act nervous, have her crawl into your other hand and then gently lower her back into her tank. This will help her learn to trust you and know that when she wants to go home, you will take her home, where it is safe.

You can learn more about the cup trick here:

http://homepage.mac.com/kyleekay/tip-of-the-week/tip032603.html

I hope that helps! Just remember to be patient with Jessica. She’s still getting used to her new home. :)

Your pal,

Herman

Dear Hallie,

My gerbil buster wont take a sand bath. He just digs it all out.

From,
Archie

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Dear Archie,

It usually takes a gerbil a while to figure out how to take a sandbath.

Don’t be surprised if Buster wants to dig in the sand and even nibble on the sand (it won’t hurt him) instead of roll in it.

You might be able to help Buster figure it out by sprinkling a little bit of sand on his back while he&@8217;s standing in his sand bowl. When he shakes the sand out of the fur on his back, he might start rolling in the sand bath.

A few gerbils never will take sand baths. We have had lots of gerbils here at Twin Squeaks but only one who didn't learn to take sand baths. (His name was Buster, too!)

Most gerbils do like to roll in the sand, though. It just takes them a while to figure it out. Give Buster some time, and he’ll probably figure out what to do. :)

Your friend,
Hallie

Hi Hallie!

I’m Karmin. I am about to adopt a pair of gerbils, and I’m wondering:

1. How do you know how old your gerbils are?


2. Can we visit any vet? How often should our gerbils visit the vet?


3. How can you tell if a gerbil is allergic to it’s bedding or any other object?


4. What do I do if a gerbil gets pests?

Please help me! The people at the pet shop can’t answer any of my questions!

From,
Karmin

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Hi Karmin!

Thank you for your letter!

I’ll try to answer some of your questions.

1. 
   If the place you get your gerbils from can’t tell you how old your gerbils are, it can be very hard to know exactly how old they are. Young gerbils are smaller than adult gerbils, but some adult gerbils get very big, and others stay pretty small, so it’s hard to know age based only on size.
   
   Older gerbils have lighter fur, as their coat fades with age. But this, too, is hard to use to tell exactly how old your gerbils are.
   
   Most gerbils are adopted pretty young, so they are probably less than a year old. In fact, most gerbils are about 2-4 months old when they are adopted from pet stores.
   
   If the people you get your gerbils from can’t tell you how old they are, they also probably can’t tell the difference between boy and girl gerbils. You want to be careful to get either two males or two females.
   
   Look here for help telling which gerbils are boys and girls.



2. You should look for a vet who has treated small animals like gerbils, hamsters, or rats.
   
   You shouldn’t need to take your gerbils to the vet very often. Gerbils don’t need any special shots or anything like that, so you only need to take them to the vet if they are sick or need help.



3. If a gerbil is allergic to something, you’ll probably see signs. The most common sign is a red, runny, sore nose. If it looks like a gerbil’s nose is bloody, it may be allergic to the bedding.



4. If you keep your gerbils inside and are careful with any toys, food, and bedding that you give them, they probably won’t get any pests. If they do, you’ll want to call your vet for help treating your gerbils and getting rid of the pests.

You might also want to read some of the pages in the Gerbil Care Guide. It has some tips for choosing the right gerbils, setting up your gerbils’ new home, and more.

Good luck finding and adopting your first gerbils!

Your good friend,
Hallie

Hi Herman,

I’m getting a gerbil soon. I want to know how I pick the right gerbil for me. Do I ask if I can hold the gerbils to see which one likes me the most?

Which ways can I pick up my new gerbil?

I also wanted to know if I had to do the split-cage method if I got 2 gerbils at the same time.

From,
Jonah

P.S. I think You guys are really cute!!!

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Hi Jonah,

Instead of asking to hold the gerbils, I would ask to put your hand in their tank. See which gerbils are the most curious and interested in your hand. Do any gerbils crawl into your hand when it’s in their tank? Do any try to crawl up your arm? If so, these are friendly gerbils, and they’ll probably win your heart over. :)

You’ll also be able to tell if one of the gerbils in the tank likes to nip your fingers. Try to pick a gerbil who is curious and comes to see or crawl on your hand but who doesn’t nip your fingers.

You should also read How To Select The Right Gerbils in the Gerbil Care Guide. The second half of the article is about how to tell if a gerbil is healthy. Make sure you read that part so you can adopt healthy gerbils. There is also a link at the end of the article to how to tell if a gerbil is a boy or a girl.

You can read How To Pick Up A Gerbil to learn how to safely pick up your gerbils.

You won’t need to use the split-cage method to introduce your gerbils if you get them from the same tank at the same time. As long as your gerbils already know each other and come home with you at the same time, they should get along.

I hope that helps! Good luck!

Your friend,
Herman