Old thread has a lot of information, do visit it eventhough old.
Gerbil II

Gerbil information:
The gerbils I have are Mongolian Gerbils. They are pretty easy to care for and are generally more active and are friendlier than hamsters.

Gerbils make great pets for older children and adults. Tame and friendly, gerbils rarely bite or never bite at all. Once a while they do nip to test their surroundings or to give you a warning. Nipping is not painful.
Gerbils need to live in pairs, same sex pairs or mating pairs because they will become depressed and lonely. Aggressive and possive gerbils do occur and they should live solitarily once you find out they hate other gerbils but you as an owner need to give more attention to a single gerbil.

Why a pair? Well, gerbils are colony animals. They need to feel safe and secure in a family. Once they are alone, they become depress and will be destructive by chewing on everything they find, tend to dig at the tank's corners the whole day without stop, show nervousness and other unhealthy activities.

Gerbils do not have odours, the males have a bit but you will never notice it at all. They are clean, not smelly. They do not urinate much coz they are desert animals and do not consume much water. You still need to provide clean drinking water to them. If your gerbil doesn't like water, provide more leafy vegetables and fruits(non-citrius) for them to consume.

Gerbils are very hardy, they do not easily get sick. Gerbils can have allergy reactions to beddings. Always provide the best dustless beddings. Do go for some brands like Chipsi Classic/Super, Aspen shavings, corn cob... DO NOT USE CEDAR OR PINE!!!! These woods can cause serious health damage to all small animals.
The bedding needs to be changed once a week. The most is once every 2 weeks. The best bedding for gerbils is providing them with a mix. They and mix :

Hay(timothy or any bedding hay)
Wood shavings
Wood chips/corn cob
Paper(tissue or plain white shredded paper)

This mix will provide the best digging mix for a gerbil. You will need to fill up about 8cm of bedding cause gerbils are DIGGERS! They need to dig and make tunnels and burrows to satisfy their natural instinct.

How about breeding?
Please see the link below... breeding is not easy as it will cost money and time and space. So think carefully before breeding. Also, it takes a lot of studying of the genetics to get the best colour quality from a pair. Some gerbils can only produce black and agouti pups.... so that is why the genetics have to be studied. Breeding needs a goal, to be a breeder one must never think of money but the goal of getting new colours or promoting the pet. If any information needed on breeding, PM Nezumitaro, jaswwp or me(crazymouse_yyh)

You CANNOT pull their tails or it will come off. No, gerbils are not lizards, they come off coz their tails have very sensitive nerves and skin, pulling hard can detached the bone and tear the skin, resulting in the lost of a tail.


Important stuff to have before getting a gerbil:

1.5ft Aquarium with lid- you can get plastic or glass, plastic is easier to clean. The bigger, the better. (rm30 to rm40 for plastic) DO NOT CAGE THEM! Examples:



Hamster staple food- Any brand would do but best is Hagen to me. Gerbils prefer food mix with more grains and nuts than pellets.

Treats- Wooden chews, peanuts, dog biscuits and bread are great treats.

Water bottle- They need a bottle but if you don't want them to tear the bottle up, searh the internet for tips on making a bottle guard or cage. I feed my gerbils water using a bowl and watch them drink their fill and take away he bowl. Gerbils do not need much water if you feed them fruits and vege often.

Vege and fruits- Important to have in their diet. Give mustard greens(Sawi/Choy Sum), apples and carrots, french beans, lettuce. PUMPKIN makes an excellent treat!!! It deworms the intestines as well.

Toys- Gerbils love wooden stuff to chew, cardboard box to chew and glass cups and small clay flower pots to play in. Do not buy plastic toys coz they will chew them and you will waste your money.

Hide Box- Gerbils like to sleep in hide boxes. You can DIY one from an old coconut shell, buy a wooden one or plainly make one out from wooden ice cream sticks and PVA glue.

Wood Shavings and Wood Chips- No pine or cedar, please use aspen shavings or chipsi wood shavings. Pine and Cedar will cause breathing problems and watery eyes. Wood Chips are a good substitute if you can't find proper wood shavings.

Timothy Hay- Gerbils love hay. They chew it, build nest with it and sleep in it.

Alfalfa Hay- High in protein and is still good for gerbils to nibble and chew and make their nest.

Sand Bath- When your gerbil's fur looks ruffled and dull, give them a sand bath. You can get this cleaning sand that is for hamsters, works well and will make a gerbil look all velvety and clean looking.

Bedding Hay/Straw- You can try Russel Hay or Sluis Comfort Hay. These hay are used to build nest... cheaper than Timothy and Alfalfa hay.... and smells nice too.

Updated!!!!!
Gerbil waiting list:

1. hamster9 - 1 DEH
2. heidityj - 1 pair
3. faerie - dove and sp lilac


I do not give out mating pairs. Strictly only single sex pairs.

I will only consider letting go breeding pairs if you can convince me you are a good keeper.

Those in the waiting list, if you are thinking twice about gerbils, do inform me. PM me for more info.

Thanks.

(Will be continued later)

This post has been edited by crazymouse_yyh: Dec 6 2006, 09:43 PM

Useful Websites:

http://www.sensi-media.com/gerbil/domestic.htm - thanks to Jaswwp

http://www.gerbils.co.uk/

http://www.abcgerbils.com/

http://www.agsgerbils.org/

http://www.petermaas.nl/gerbils/english.htm

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/e...bils/colors.htm

http://www.gerbilbreeding.com/gene.htm - thanks to Nezumitaro

http://home.wtal.de/ehr/gerbils/colors.htm

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Park/6961/index.html

This post has been edited by crazymouse_yyh: Nov 10 2006, 01:07 PM

- Gerbils like to have friends. So get them a playmate. A pair at least.

- Only have single sex gerbil clans unless you want to breed. You would need a lot of tanks to breed gerbils.

- Gerbils like wooden toys and hides to feel secure and healthy.

- Never mix gerbils with other small rodents like rats, mice or hamsters.... there may be casualties later on.

- Never give plastic to gerbils, they will chew it to bits and may ingest some which could cause a health problem.

- Gerbils are not nocturnal, there are awake throughout the day, with naps in between.

- Provide extra protein for gerbils with cooked egg, mealworms and crickets.

- Food such as lentils, wheat germ, rolled oats, rice, pasta, oat biscuits, dog and cat kibble, bird seeds are good food for gerbils.

- Millet makes gerbils feel high and can make them fat.

- Gerbils can be noisy at night coz they love to dig.

- Gerbils can jump as high a 1 meter, so provide a good and secure lid for the tank.

- Gerbils can escape but do not panic, they rarely go lost forever since they like to stick close to their family.

Gerbil Breeders:

nezumitaro
Jaswwp
lilac
crazymouse_yyh

Gerbil Keepers:

1. Suet
2. Smellyocheese
3. Emino
4. readix
5. hamster9
6. zoejehuty
7. Shinobi
8. Eyerule
9. Enigmatic
10. Reanne
11. Rena_Blue
12. NZX
13. raist86
14. euross

This post has been edited by crazymouse_yyh: Oct 26 2006, 11:40 PM

SEXING GERBIL:



WE HAVE GERBILS IN VARIOUS COLOURS AS BELOW:

Black Eyed, White Belly





Black Eyed, Solid Belly





Ruby Eyed, White Belly





Ruby Eyed, Solid Belly

Things your Gerbils will always LOVE!!

Aroma-Burner @ Food Bowl & Toy




Coconut @ Toy & House








Candy Jar @ Toy & House




Wooden House @ Toy & House




How to hang your water bottle out site the tank



This post has been edited by nezumitaro: Nov 14 2006, 09:00 AM

1. How to DIY a water bottle hanger

One of the popular problems faced by gerbil owners is the issue of how to provide a source of water for gerbils. Although a dish can be used, but most of the time the gerbil will bury the dish in shavings, making the bedding wet. It is important for a gerbil to have water especially if it is pregnant or nursing. Gerbils have been known to reabsorb fetuses or even eat a pup to get the water it needs if water is not provided.

There are many types of bottles available on the market. If you are able to find a bottle with those suckers or those that stick to the tank wall then it is good, however sometimes the gerbils will chew the suckers or the water bottle itself.
If you have the type of bottle that points downwards, you can hang it from the tank cover, however if you have the normal type of bottle, the kind without a small hole at the top for you to hang wire through..you might have to make a bottle holder yourself.

Example:

Water bottle with no hole at the top provided.


Water bottle with hole provided at the top



2. How to make a split cage

Why need a split cage? Note that gerbils have very short memories and can forget their friends in 3 days or even less. If you have to seperate your gerbils because of breeding but wish to reintroduce them at a later date, you should use a split cage so that they can still see and smell each other. New gerbils can also be introduced in this way for a few days, so that there is less chance of fighting when you finally put them together. Remember that gerbils can fight to the death, dont think that they look so loving and tame to their friends, once they see an unknown gerbil they can fight viciously and cause very serious wounds. I'm speaking from experience here.



This is the simplest split cage you can make for a plastic tank. The sides are rubber hose split into half, the purpose is so that you can wedge the whole thing into the tank, and it wont move or slip. Remember that plastic tanks are wider at the top than at the bottom, so you have to take that into account when cutting and bending the wire mesh. Try to use metal wire mesh with small holes, with big holes the gerbils will keep on chewing at it, and hurt their noses. Make sure it is tall enough, gerbils can climb up the split and crawl through any small spaces at the top.


3. Alternative to tanks

Gerbils given birth and you want to seperate the dad from the mum? Or perhaps your gerbil has fallen sick and you want to seperate it from the other healthy ones temporarily. If you can't get a tank at short notice, you can use a storage box



This is just to give a general idea. Note that the top should be securely fastened, else the gerbil will escape. Usually I put the storage box lid on top covering half the wire, and something heavy on top, but more pegs should do the trick as well.

Basic Cost:

Plastic Tank: 1.5ft - $28; 2ft -$38
Bedding (recommend Chipsi Classic/Super or Corn Cob): $18 - $25
Hay (Alfafa or Thimoty): $12 - $20
Food: Hamster food. $8 - $20+ depand on brand. (Nezumitaro's Gerbil love Prestige Hamster Nature $17+.)

Water Bottle: $7 - $20 depand on brand.
Toy: Paper Box, Cardboard, Manila Cardboard, toilet roll / kitchen towel tube.


Home Sweet Home:



This post has been edited by nezumitaro: Dec 1 2006, 10:24 AM

-- reserved --

Photos from lilac

Photos from Readix


This post has been edited by crazymouse_yyh: Oct 26 2006, 11:12 PM

Random pics from over the months


This post has been edited by jaswwp: Oct 26 2006, 11:30 PM

Photos from Nezumitaro


This post has been edited by nezumitaro: Oct 26 2006, 11:25 PM

Photos from Nezumitaro


This post has been edited by nezumitaro: Oct 26 2006, 11:25 PM

My gerbils photo gallery:


Yay... new version!!!!

Btw, Hun, sorry for Stormy's death

This post has been edited by hao: Nov 26 2006, 12:19 PM

Yah... Stormy's death was really sudden... it's ok... as long her pups in good health then good.

OK everyone! GERBIL THREAD OPEN FOR POSTINGS!!!!

More photos from jaswwp

WELCOME BACK to members!!!
BIG WELCOME to new members who join the Gerbil's Family...
ENJOY UR STAY to the visitors..

i pray more n more members here

This post has been edited by nezumitaro: Oct 26 2006, 11:59 PM

me member or visitor???

i think i will leave something over the 1st page, but then now havent think off anything yet, can be reserved rite ?