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Post by XLostX on Nov 15, 2014 8:46:17 GMT -8
Hi there! So I'm hopefully going to be getting gerbils after Christmas (As a sort of late Christmas present) although I was wondering, should I get 2 or 3? I've seen people say that 3 will get along fine, others say that they won't? I'm looking to get all female ones, and since there's a pets at home that's about half an hour away from me, I'm getting them from there. The problem is however that they show them in groups of two. My worries are that if I pick two that have been together, and then one from a completely different tank, they won't get along? I'm going to be putting them in a tank. I'm not entirely sure on how big it is, my dad has an old aquarium I may use, although I'm not sure how big it is. I have a few ideas of what I'm going to do with it, but we'll see how it goes. ^_^ So, would I be better getting 2 or 3 gerbils? I've not had any experience with gerbils or any rodents in the past, although I have made sure to do my research on how to care for them.
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Post by crittercrazy on Nov 15, 2014 9:18:08 GMT -8
Well congratulations on the prospect of future gerbils. If you're getting females, a pair would probably be better. Trios often work fine, but they might declan so you'd probably be better off with two- not to mention that you can't introduce a pair to a loner, so in a way your only option is two. You're going to want to figure out how big the tank is. If you get the measurements of it, you can easily use an online calculator to determine how many gallons it is. Here's a link to one: www.firsttankguide.net/calculator.phpYou'll want ten gallons per gerbil, so for a pair 20 gallons.
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Post by XLostX on Nov 15, 2014 10:15:45 GMT -8
Crittercrazy: Thank you! I was thinking that'd be the case, since they sell them in pairs at pets at home I guess it wouldn't be fair to split one of the pairs up. I've not seen the tank yet as it's buried somewhere in our attic, I don't even know if it will be suitable yet. Thank you for your help!
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Post by XLostX on Nov 15, 2014 11:41:19 GMT -8
Just asked how big it was and overall it's about 26 gallons ^_^
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Post by crittercrazy on Nov 15, 2014 11:51:55 GMT -8
Okay- 26 gallons would be great for a pair.
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lizb
Member
Posts: 140
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Post by lizb on Nov 15, 2014 12:48:32 GMT -8
I agree with crittercrazy on the pair. May I suggest looking at pictures of males and females before buying at pet store, just to be on the safe side?
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Post by XLostX on Nov 15, 2014 14:30:47 GMT -8
lizb: Will do ^_^
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Post by pyrotarukia on Nov 16, 2014 3:48:16 GMT -8
I agree with crittercrazy and lizb 2 is best especially when it comes to P@H I actually bought my first few gerbils from there and I just couldn't bring myself to get a pair when I saw other people had gone in and just purchased the 1 gerbil or perhaps 3 like you were thinking and left 1 on it's own so 2 times I ended up just picking the lone gerbils worrying no one else would take them.
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lizb
Member
Posts: 140
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Post by lizb on Nov 16, 2014 4:12:34 GMT -8
I actually had the opposite situation from as you when I got my boys. I planned on a pair, budgeted for a pair, and got housing for a pair. But when I got to PetSmart there was a trio, sleeping in a pile... and several cages of single gerbils who all looked so sad. I took all three (and am expanding their tank on black Friday)
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Post by pyrotarukia on Nov 16, 2014 5:09:58 GMT -8
Lol aww yeah I wouldn't have been able to leave one behind if they were already together ;A; With my 2 boys at the moment (Gerbils don't seem to be so popular in Norway so had a hard time actually finding petshops that had any in) I had to order the tank and all the accessories in one store, spent about $400 on everything little did I know a month later I'd go out and spend another $1000(ish) on a much larger aquarium and more stuff for it like substrate and more toys etc... I then spent 3 weeks searching for the pair that I wanted a couple of petshops only had girls and I was set on getting boys 1 petshop had 3 boys 2 together (I wasn't too keen on as they were white with red eyes) and 1 lone (yellow fox I think) and I fell in love with the lone gerbil again! (of course I did sad lone gerbils pull my heartstrings XD) but something told me to go away and think about it for a couple of days because I really was set on having 2 this time well the next day I got a call from one of the shops we'd rang asking saying they received a shipment of gerbils in all males but they are in quarantine so we could go and see them at the end of the week. When I got there they had 1 much older male on his own and 6 young ones all in a huuuuge tank together I was mega impressed with the set up they had in store and the fact that they actually got all the animals out everyday and put them in runs and things where you could watch them play I was really happy to buy from them so much nicer then pet stores in the UK. So after this experience I've decided sometimes even though I feel bad for certain animals being left alone and stuff it's probably best to wait it out and get what you really want.
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Post by XLostX on Nov 16, 2014 6:30:50 GMT -8
We're either getting them from Pets at Home or Petsmart, Probably Petsmart though since P@H don't seem to have very good reviews when it comes to small animals (We bought a couple of rabbits from there, they were sisters and neither lived too the age of 2, one didn't even live 4 months. We have another one from there though and she's currently 2 years 6 months old and she's fine.)
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Post by simonxx on Jun 26, 2021 8:00:25 GMT -8
We are planning to get three males and loads of people say 2 is better. We would have to leave one on his own, is that cruel and should i stick with three.
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Post by simonxx on Jun 26, 2021 8:01:45 GMT -8
We also have a 70 gallon tank is that to big?
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Post by yeti218 on Jun 26, 2021 15:53:36 GMT -8
70 gallons is a great size. Your gerbils will be happy with that. Someone else posted on here recently with a similar question, although that poster was worried she didn’t have a big enough tank for 3, which is not the case for you. 70 gallons is definitely enough space. Someone replied to the other poster and said they could ask the shop what’s going to happen to the lone gerbil if you don’t take him. If the shop is going to make sure he goes to a home with another gerbil or they’ll bond him safely to another gerbil when they get more, then it didn’t seem so cruel to just take 2. If leaving him by himself means they’ll likely sell him as a single gerbil, it would be much kinder for you to take all 3. I’ve attached the link to that thread if you are interested. gerbilforum.proboards.com/thread/34973/kinder-bring-gerbils-given-gallon
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Post by Markpd on Jul 4, 2021 8:03:45 GMT -8
70 gallons is a good size Btw this thread is nearly 7yrs old (watch out for the date of threads ), also the recommendation by crittercrayz earlier of 10gall per gerbil was a minimum even back then (although no one mentioned that), and really we should have a higher minimum now, but that's an entire discussion in itself .
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