new gerbil

[aliciajoelle]

Hi everyone! I just got my first gerbil yesterday and i was wondering if you had any tips for me?

[qtoffer]

Congrats!
1) I hope you got a same sex pair. Gerbils are social creatures and live longer happier lives in pairs. They play together, sleep together, groom each other, and keep each other warm. You probably won't see most typical gerbil behaviors if you only have one lonely, bored gerbil.

2) Glass aquariums with lids make better gerbil homes than wire cages. 10 gallon MINIMUM for a pair of gerbils, but do yourself and your gerbils a favor and splurge for a 15 or 20 gallon. Gerbils love to dig and climb and a bigger tank gives them more opportunity to do so. A large amount of deep bedding makes them feel safe and greatly reduces the frequency of cleaning.

3) Consider getting a wire cage topper to sit on top of the glass aquarium. It doesn't have to be fancy, but larger ones with multiple shelves will give the gerbils more room to climb. A topper is the ideal place to hang the water bottle and place the food bowl. This arrangement allows you to provide deeper bedding.

4) Get a glass water bottle or at least a plastic one with a metal guard. Gerbils like to chew through plastic water bottles if they can get at them. Floods are a pain to clean up.

5) Most gerbils will use a smooth flat surface such as a glass jar or ceramic plate as a potty. This makes cage cleaning much easier.

6) Your gerbil WILL be skittish for several weeks and WILL dive for cover at your approach. Be patient. It can take weeks to hand tame a gerbil, but they can be bribed with treats like sunflower seeds, Cheerios, and almond slices. Eventually, they will come up to beg for treats when they hear you approach.

7) Avoid plastic toys - especially soft plastics like those plastic igloos. Gerbils will shred them. Wooden and cardboard toys are better. Make sure your gerbils always have plenty of toilet paper rolls, paper towel tubes, and small cardboard boxes (anything that food came in) to chew on and keep their always-growing teeth healthy.
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Eowyn (F) 11/12/2011 - 20 gallon with 20 gallon topper
Goldberry (F) 11/12/2011 - 20 gallon with 20 gallon topper
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RIP
Maire 11/6/2008 - 4/6/2011; Eithne 11/6/2008 - 10/10/2011
Lori 5/2/2011 - 7/24/2013; Mo 5/2/2011 - 1/14/2014; Carly 5/2/2011 - 5/21/2014
Arwen 11/12/2011 - 2/8/2015

[the_gerbilpetsworld]

Congrats Gerbils Make Perfect Pets!

I have a gerbil group that might be useful as we all share advice tips and pictures come join

Facebook Gerbil Link:

www.facebook.com/groups/808192105914876/