What made you want to get a gerbil over a different pet?

[rexcalibur]

I don't currently have any other pets other than my two gerbils but just curious; what made you guys decide on gerbils over a robo or dwarf hamster, Guinea pig, dog, cat, etc?  Or maybe you have more than just gerbils.

What is it specifically about gerbils that you like?

I'll post my reasons later.

[qtoffer]

We currently have four gerbils and one cat. The cat is very uncomfortable around the gerbils and goes out of her way to avoid the room where they live. LOL. I guess we're lucky in a way.
I used to have fancy mice for eight years, and while they were adorable, their cage required cleaning every other day and they still stank up the room. Gerbils beat mice hands down with regard to cage maintenance and smell (they don't).
I love rats and rabbits, but I'm badly allergic to both. There's also too much pee/poop, and frequent cage cleaning to deal with
I really never considered hamsters. My niece had several over the years - they were all nippy and cranky during the day, and annoyingly noisy at night. I think of them as gerbils' evil twin spirits.
I looked into Guinea pigs, degus, and sugar gliders, but realized that they require way more space than I can provide (we live in an apartment).

So, what is it specifically about gerbils that I like?
1) They're friendly, like to be picked up, and are (for the most part) quiet at night.
2) Very little urine and poops are dry = very little odor
3) I have no allergy to them
4) Reasonable space requirements (20 gallon tank + 20 gallon topper per pair)
5) Reasonable cage maintenance (clean poop/pee from topper every few days; replace 2/3 of bedding every 3 -4 weeks).
6) Relatively inexpensive - for two pairs of gerbils, $10 worth of food and treats lasts two months; $20 worth of bedding lasts three months; wooden and cardboard toys are free; vet bills for eight gerbils over the past six years totaled $250.

[Thelodar]

Well I got into gerbils when I was a little kid, 2nd grade I think. My parents said I could get a rodent for my first communion gift and that I could either get a hamster or gerbil. I had never heard of a gerbil before so I chose them lol, I wanted something that everybody else didn't have. Then I just stuck with them. When I had to take a break from them (college) I knew when I could I would get gerbils again. I liked that they are social (thus more entertaining to watch), don't require the large amount of space and time commitment that rats do (the only other rodent I'm interested in temperament wise), they are friendlier than hamsters in my experience, and more active too.

But they are not my only pet, they just fill my rodent niche. I also have a dog, two cats, a leopard gecko, two frogs, hermit crabs, and fish.

[woodsmoke]

I did alot of research into pets, wanted some rodents as I'm a fan of them. Gerbils are friendlier and far more interesting than hamsters. Theya re also far less involved than many other rodent pets (Degu diets for instance are a nightmare).

MY little boys are a joy coming to meet me when i come in beign inquisitive and super cute to watch dig about and destroy things!

[keldamouse]

I wanted a small animal because they are something that I don't have to pay the huge pet deposit for at my apt. complex. In addition they charge a monthly fee for having a cat or dog. I love dogs and would love to have a cat too, but financially I just didn't feel we were able to take on the responsibility with vet bills, pet insurance ect.

My husband has had experience with Hamsters and mice and found them so smelly. So I did a lot of research. I considered a rabbit and chinchilla and also guinney pigs. they are all so cute but they have to eat their nighttime poo for nutrition. That just grosses my husband out so any animal that does that was out. In addition we really don't have that large of an apartment so we wanted a pet that we could provide a large and comfortable habitat but still not have them take over our living room.

I researched about Gerbils and loved everything about them. I watched youtube videos and fell in love. I actually read and compared all the info available for about 3 months before I purchased my set up.

I am so happy that I am owned by gerbils. They are such wonderful pets!

[Downtown Gerbils!]

I have had ton of small pet but gerbils are the easiest friendly and don't take up to much room and almost scent free, and they are cheap to maintain and they return the love you give them <3

i had 2 chinchillas and they took up a lot of space ,sweet but not a easy pet.
i have a male mouse and he is my last and only mouse as he is stinking up my room no matter all the remedies we try.
i had a hamster all he did was sleep ,eat,poop, and stared at me
and a 13 yr old rabbit ,to much poop and space

[chakotay]

I have two gerbils and two guinea pigs. I like gerbils because they are pretty low maintenance. I feed, water, and tidy their tank topper up daily. I also give them cardboard daily. Once a month or so, I do a tank clean. I enjoy watching them run up and down their ramps, run on their wheel, and dig in their litter.

[wolfgirl]

I have Dusty and a cat named Mellow. I didn't set out to get a pet at all when I fell in love with Dusty. I was just wasting time at the pet store next to the laundry mat when I saw him. I found the forum and the American Gerbil Society, did my research and got him a few months later. He is my first experience with a small animal (other than a VERY memorable weekend with my 6th grade class hamster) and I fell in love with gerbils in general thanks to him.

[crittercrazy]

I've always been obsessed with animals, and do have a dog, a cat, a bird, and have had some other animals on top of gerbils. About three years ago my family was introduced to sugar gliders, and we just loved them. We were highly considering getting some, but eventually decided not to because they were nocturnal and required such a big cage and all.
So after that my parents told me I could get some sort of a rodent/other small pet that would be easier to take care of. At first I thought about rats, as researching showed me that they were really smart and made great pets. My mom didn't like that plan much though, so I briefly went over mice (she didn't like those either though) and guinea pigs and hamsters. Then I found gerbils. I spent a few months researching them and making sure that's what I wanted, and then one day we went and got Peanut. Ever since I've just absolutely loved them, and even my parents who aren't overly wild about pets have enjoyed them.
I've never had any other rodent, but I'm still pretty positive that gerbils would be my favorite if I were able to compare them to hamsters/etc. I always heard about hamsters constantly nipping, and rodents being really smelly and all, and no body in my family was overly excited about some critters making a ton of noise in the middle of the night. So basically, all the way around gerbils have been awesome pets in my opinion.

[Awaiting Abyss]

Originally? I have no idea why I chose gerbils. It was so long ago that I don't remember... I just remember the pet store had a TON of different colored gerbil pups, so I just picked out two.

I have ferrets, cats, a dog, gerbils, rats, mice, Syrian hamsters, and snakes. Aside from ferrets, I like all other pets equally.

What I specifically like about gerbils is:
-They don't smell... Hardly ever.
-They don't get icky bedding if it goes too long without a cleaning like mice, rats and hamsters (and if it does, then it isn't no where near the time it takes for the other rodents lol)
-They are fun to watch.
-They have huge eyes and tiny ears... Opposite from mice and rats (Though that's what I love about mice.. tiny eyes and huge ears.. so cute)
-They have cute furry tails with a tuft on the end.
-They often get round when they get older so they look like furballs with tiny feet sticking out.
-They recycle cardboard... Never will you have that annoying stuff taking up space in your trashcan.
-They make really amazing tunnels.
-They are much healthier than mice and rats... I have personally only had one gerbil to ever have a medical problem.

[Demonic Hope]

I had bred Syrian hamsters for years and loved it. But I was struggling to eliminate cancer in my lines. When in the space of a week my three favorites died including the female who had started my line I was devastated and really just needed a break from hamsters but I wanted another small pet.

One day at a pet shop picking up supplies for my remaining hamsters when I noticed the gerbils and played with them for a bit. I went home and started researching. Two months later Luke and Nico came home.


I love how easy they are to care for. I'm busy a lot and at times its nice to come home to an animal that I don't have to worry about taking for a ride, mucking stalls, going for a run. I can just take them out, cuddle for a bit, then refill food and water and go to sleep. Vs my dog that I have to take on a three mile run before bed or else he won't let me sleep!

[rhianna]

I was 13 and my friend had a little roborovski hamster. She was the cutest little thing but she had the worst attitude. I'd never owned my own pet rodents (my mom always had rats, but I'd never had a critter of my own) and when I got home from the friend's house I asked my mom for a hamster. She said she'd think about it, which then turned into "yes". Luckily I've always been one to do research, so I was able to hold off on adopting the hamster long enough to learn how to actually care for it.

Well during my research, I happened upon information on gerbils. I had actually never really paid attention to gerbils, but the website I found interested me. I read that gerbils are usually more friendly and social than hamsters, and that they're not nocturnal. After a bit of research and comparing, I decided that I wanted gerbils instead. I was going to name them Milo and Otis (I love corresponding names). I bought a 10 gallon aquarium from a thrift store and my mom brought me to the pet store to buy some gerbils.

The shop we went to actually didn't have any gerbils and I almost just decided to get a hamster instead. But then we went out to check the Petsmart nearby, and they had one cage of gerbils left. I saw a little burmese boy and his black pied brother running on the wheel. But then the girl lifted the house to reveal a third; a cute little pink eyed white. I made puppy dog eyes at my mom, which worked, and that's how I ended up with three. (The named Milo and Otis that I'd picked out earlier were then changed to Alvin Simon and Theodore, as you know).

I'm really glad that I decided on gerbils rather than a hamster. It really sparked something and I realized what a passion I have for gerbils. I've learned so, so, so much about them and I hope to have more than just one tank of them sometime in the future. Of course I do have a hamster now, too, but gerbils will always be special to me. Sorry this was so long, I just sort of got wrapped up in memories

[rexcalibur]

I actually have been thinking of owning dwarf robo hamsters in the future, but I'd want a pair if I did. Though I don't know for sure, because other than liking the way they look, I don't really see any reason to get them over gerbils.

[karagain]

Gerbils are actually my first Rodent pets! I was never allowed pets of my own until I was 16 where I got my first pair of Leopard geckos and my parents have always kept 1 or 2 cats... Now I have two cats (ragdoll and bengal cross), 7 leopard geckos, 5 crested geckos (used to have a day gecko and viper gecko...RIP) and now have 4 gerbils and recently my 5th was PTS.

I have always liked animals, which is why I went on to do Animal management at college and university but the rodents there, especially the Syrian hamsters used to ALWAYS bite me. So I was very nervous around all rodents. However, getting a job in a pet shop, I had to get over my fear of being bitten quite quickly, I was even nervous about gerbils (god knows why!). It was actually my friend who made me love gerbils, she had 4 and they were absolutely lovely and great temperaments.

My Gerbils are great to handle, provide me with alot of joy and entertainment, relatively easy care BUT they are noisy as hell at night!