- Thanks to Hao

The old thread is here
Gerbils Hut V4, I wont bite you, I wont stink either!

General Information of Mongolian Gerbils:

The Mongolian Gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus) is widely kept as pets. They come in a variety of colours, which makes them stand out from their close cousin, the common brown rat. Gerbils are very friendly, sociable, intelligent, entertaining, lively, and curious animals. They rarely bite and are almost odourless. Mongolian gerbils make excellent pets for they are diurnal, meaning they are active during the day, taking short naps and snoozes in between play.

One important fact to know,
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.

Origin


Gerbils in captivity make great beginner pets. They rarely bite at all, have little to no odour and are economical to keep in the long run. Once a while, gerbils can get curious so they do tend to nip and test their surroundings. Nipping is normally not painful, only bites are painful and sometimes bloody but there is no need to be scared of gerbils for they rarely bite.

Single or a Pair?
By nature, gerbils are social creatures, meaning the should never be kept as single animals. Gerbils that live alone have nothing to do, no aim in life and they will just go on eating and sleeping, becoming overweight and depressed, and will be destructive by chewing on everything they find, dig at the tank's corners the whole day without stop, show nervousness and other unhealthy activities. This is why WE RECOMMEND to get gerbils in pairs. Gerbils are colony animals. They need to feel safe and secure in a family. It is delightful to see gerbils in a pair or a small clan. They will groom each other, play wrestling, sleep together and eat together. When in a bigger group say more than 2 gerbils, they will set their own Hierarchy, having a dominant gerbil doing most of the activities first, then followed by the rest. The dominant gerbil will then put everyone in place and make sure that every gerbil knows his or her place in the clan.

Gerbil Behaviour:


How to keep gerbils?
There are many caresheets available on the Internet for research, so do read up as this is just a basic guide.

Gerbils do not do well in cages; therefore the best housing for gerbils is an aquarium or tank. The housing needs are quite different from hamsters and other rodent pets.

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- A good basic staple would be Habitrail Staple, but the best in the market that gives very good results would be Prestige and Harry Hamster. Only these 2 brands will give the best nutrition and variety to a gerbil's diet.

Treats- Wooden chews, peanuts, dog biscuits and dried stale 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. Gerbils do not need much water if you feed them fruits and vege often but it is still very important to attach a bottle with fresh water for the gerbils.

Vege and fruits- Important to have in their diet. Give mustard greens(Sawi/Choy Sum), apple, carrots, pear, 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. Plastic can also be dangerous when eaten.

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. Clay or glass Aroma burners work very well but make sure you buy 1 that can fit a gerbil inside.

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. Recommended brands are Sluis, Delikate Snowy bathing sand, Charlie Chinchilla bathing sand.

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.

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)

Important TIPS

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: Oct 4 2007, 09:40 PM

Again, Foo is poisoning us with pictures haahahah...

You did a new toy for them? Normally you use normal cement? Or some special clay?

Clay? Wah, nice lay wor hahah.... I only got paper clay and plaster of paris at home....

What clay is that? Where to get? Rm3 a kg is a great buy. I wanna do clay models LOL.

Hahah... clay is not out of topic heheheh.... coz we can use it to make gerbils toys!!! Wahahaha.

Coz i have been looking for clay that can dry without baking.... but dunno where to get. I saw Terracotta clay, 1 small pack, not even 1kg is like RM15.... and that is at the art shop. Paper clay 1 pack is RM7.... so.... hahaha... sounds expensive to me.

The seller at the Ikano Clay Expressions I think.... maybe I can offer her some gerbils hahahah.... Actually I do not mind giving petshops a pair of single sexed gerbils as long as they are not for sale but meant for display and promoting the pet. Too bad not many petshops wanna do this.

Wah, not bad... damn nice cave hahah...

Foo, how you dry it? Under the sun? Bake in oven?

I want clay I want clay.... I wanna make many things with clay for all my pets hahahaha.

LOL.... later we don't see BlueHeng with clay, see him play with Playdough pulak hahahah. Aiyah, Foo and I still young at heart mah hehehehe.... Anyway, I still dabble with paper clay and plaster of paris heheheh.

Hahah... both of you are right. I may end up getting it in containers. Let me see, gerbils need, reptiles also need, maybe my scorpions and Ts also need... LOL.... just more fun for me.

Foo
How long did it take you to dry it under the sun? I always thought clay needs to be baked in fire... but if can dry in sun, more fun hahah.

Aiyah, every gerbil is different mah heheheh.... so happen Teh Boy got quiet temprement heheheh....

Hahaha.... tank chewing is normal lah. All my tank covers almost chewed till cannot save liao hahahah.

That's the best part of gerbils. They really do not mind if handicap. I got 1 with half a tail, he still is active and playful. Half the tail was chewed off by his own brother, pity. I once had a 3 legged hamster too. The whole front left paw was gone until the shoulder.... but it acted normal, of course the lost of that paw happened when it was a pup so the stress wasn't so bad for it.

Oh, RIP to Daryl..

Strange of you and your mom to dream about pets dying.... must be a sign after all.

If you suspect the wire, I guess you may have to find some alternatives.... but I think it's gonna be hard since gerbils are chewers.

Straw can cause that? What brand you use? So far, lose leg happen to my hamsters and its with the hay....

Ohh... maybe just luck....

Anyway, my 4 gerbils that were fostered by my rat have been separated and I have introduced them to 2 adult gerbils.... they felt weird and unsure, kept stoning but later all is well.

Wah... the sp Nutmeg really nice but it does look similar to sp Agouti hahaha.... nice nice.

Chokee is now retired. Nescafe is now pregnant with her last litter as well. Hope something nice pops out hahahaha.

Proclaimer,
Firstly, did you know it was pregnant? Breeding takes reading and also time. The lost of a pup or 2 is normal if the female is weak or the pups are unhealthy. This is normally seen with inbreeding lah.... Inbreeding is ok if you have done research, know what you want to breed and that both animals are healthy and in perfect condition.... if both unhealthy, breed also no use lah, makes the animal suffer only.
You better separate whatever adult gerbils you have into a male tank and female tank....

Hahah... sound like Chelsea.... but if put the gerbil on the floor, Taro will chase the gerbil or not? Chelsea will chase but once she catch it under her, she will lick till wet wet... she do that to my hamster and sugar glider as well....

Nopes, my cat won't do anything. He will touch the gerbil or rat or hamster with his paw, then he will walk away.

Yah... he is useless... only knows how to catch lipas only LOL. I placed one of my rats into his cage. He just smell smell, touch touch then later go and sleep.... so funny.

today no money to buy clay.... so didn't buy any sob sob.... bought RM90 worth of pet stuff at Ikano... siow siow lah....

Baking is well, it last longer.... but of course the heat has to be high. Sunning is a way too. Last time people used to make bricks for houses by cutting the clay into blocks and sunning it for days.

27kg? Wah... Taro heavier than Tammy loh hahahah.... Tammy is about 25kg... or I think she slimmer liao. Chelsea is only 6kg.... light girl.

Cover with grass in a hole? Then leave how long? No need to bake?