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Post by daisy on Mar 2, 2015 15:08:44 GMT -8
Here something I thought would be fun. Anyone who wants could say how they became a gerbil lover. How did your come to get your first gerbil and why did you continue in the gerbil world? What drew you to gerbils?
For me - my nine year old son really wanted a pet and we don't have the room for a dog and I'm allergic to cats. As a child, I had hamsters so I thought about them. But then I did some research and found out how wonderful gerbils are - social, friendly, diurnal. So, I got a book on gerbil care and my son and I read it together. Then we got the supplies. When everything was ready, we got two beautiful jet black brothers with only little patches of white on their chins and front paws. My son named them nick and brad. I supervise all care and do quite a bit by myself I feel very strongly about giving them the best possible life we can. My son is gentle with them and considerate of their feelings. My story actually isn't that exciting but we do love our gerbies, as we call them.
Daisy
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Post by crittercrazy on Mar 2, 2015 15:21:06 GMT -8
I have a somewhat similar story to yours, only that I was the kid.  At eleven, I really wanted a pet (one of my own, that is, as we did already have some family pets) and my parents didn't want the bigger responsibility of another dog or cat, and other than those, my next choice was a rodent. So I did a ton of research, and finally decided gerbils would be the best small pet. (We had never had any other type of rodent before) So Peanut, my first gerbil, was an early birthday present. And of course, a couple of months later I read that gerbils should have a friend, so we ended up with Pebbles. Pebbles died after awhile, so then we got Puddles. . . and when Puddles died, Pixel and Minty. . . till eventually, Peanut died. At that point, I actually did not stop getting more gerbils -even though I didn't need more since I still had a pair- as I was quite sold on them by that point and after getting two more gerbils, I convinced my parents to let me breed gerbils. That's how I ended up with the current eleven gerbils. I just really love gerbils for their unique personalities, curious natures, and their convenient size. And the fact that they're friendly and social, unlike many of the hamsters I've been around. |
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Post by qtoffer on Mar 2, 2015 16:36:05 GMT -8
I became acquainted with gerbils by accident. At the time, I was living in a no dog/cat apartment and had been keeping fancy mice for almost 10 years. My niece got two gerbils - one of them was incorrectly sexed, so there was a surprise litter of TEN. I happily agreed to take two of the pups (named Maire and Eithne after the Irish musicians). I really prefer gerbils to mice because of the lack of odor. I was cleaning the mouse cage every other day, but my room and clothes still smelled like mouse pee. Gerbils also live about twice as long as mice.
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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
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Post by Thelodar on Mar 4, 2015 10:58:59 GMT -8
I was 8 years old when I got my first gerbil. My parents told me that for my first communion gift they were going to get me a hamster or gerbil or something like that. They asked which I would prefer. I had never even heard of gerbils but knew everyone had hamsters so decided I wanted something "different" and picked gerbils. I loved my first gerbils and quickly learned that I was glad I didn't choose hamsters. I liked that gerbils were more alert and active, that they were less sleepy during the day, and that they seemed more social. I also prefer the thin athletic build more than the chubby hamster. So I continued with them up until college (well a few years before college, I didn't want to risk having any when it was time for me to leave) and then started right back again after I graduated. They are perfect for me.
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Post by katiecat on Mar 5, 2015 20:04:55 GMT -8
well my friend had 2 gerbils and when i went to her house and saw them i fell for the little guys so after some convincing (mostly my mom my dad is fine with animals my mom isn't as keen some how we have convinced her into a cat a rabbit the gerbils but we always had dogs)and a very long presentation about why there great she finally said yes so long as i pay for every thing so i saved up and thats how i got sky and dewy
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Post by leafwhisp on Mar 6, 2015 11:43:26 GMT -8
I was 7 and wanted a pet besides beta fish. I wanted a pet I could play with. My parents agreed with some conditions.
1. I research pets and what they need myself
2. I would be the one doing the work, not them.
So 7yr old me decided to get a gerbil and we got my first for my bday. Ginger and Misty. Soon however ginger died and so we tried to split cage with a new gerbil, Alice. It didn't work out, but both lived long lives by themselves. 4-41/2 years. Now I have 3 male gerbils in my signature. It is 5 years since my first gerbils.
No I'm not 13 yet but this is moms account not mine!
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Post by mcats on Mar 7, 2015 13:30:15 GMT -8
Here something I thought would be fun. Anyone who wants could say how they became a gerbil lover. How did your come to get your first gerbil and why did you continue in the gerbil world? What drew you to gerbils? My first small mammal pets were of course hamsters. I'm not sure what age I was when I discovered gerbils but I'm guessing I was around 8 years old. I bought Tabitha, an adorable black pup, but she was either the last in her litter or the last female. I recall stressing the importance of finding a friend for her ASAP to my mom. We found an older agouti female at another pet store and, fortunately, they immediately hit it off(no split-cage intro). They were Tabby & Abby. I'm not sure how much time passed before I bought a lone agouti adult male(Dewey) who had been on his own for quite awhile at a feed store. I never paired him with another gerbil; I'm not sure why. After they passed, I believe I was more into fish, reptiles, and amphibians. I don't know how long it was before I bought two female pups, a pied black&white and a black one. These poor girls might have had to share my room with a ball python.. MANY years passed, most of them spent living where I could not have gerbils(but had rats at some point, & my cats), before I moved across the country & pondered setting up a large aquarium with a group of males. This didn't happen. I wasn't able to have gerbils until I talked my SO into letting me adopt a trio of elderly white males at our local shelter. I had seen them on their website for months and finally met them in person after we brought in a stray cat(it's a no-kill shelter & he found a home after neutering/vet care). They were estimated to be around 3 years of age and I had them for under a year(I believe) before they died(2 within a week of each other). I was left with one remaining brother and began the search for a pair of pups. It didn't happen. I adopted my Burmese(very grateful to his breeder for helping me out), my remaining white male passed during the intro process, and then I had the same situation on my hands. I refused to buy from a pet store(we boycott our local one & PetSmart only sells females) and was out of options locally, but looking at a shelter option & a craigslist option(both around 3 hrs away) when we needed to take a trip over 7 hours away. I called a locally owned pet store, on a whim, and they had 2 month old males. It wasn't ideal(I'm not a fan of pet stores) but I bought my lilac(possibly sapphire) boy and picked his brother out, who had a deformed tail. Why gerbils? They're interesting & intelligent, without needing a huge level of attention/housing needs/financial demands/etc, as a rat would(for example). I think they're a perfect animal to have along with my cats, who are very demanding of my time/attention/finances/require special care/are my children. They have no fear of the cats; only curiosity. One of my rambunctious boys adores watching them & it's(gerbil watching) a good indoor-activity(he needs a lot of stimulation, & was a former indoor/outdoor cat) for him. |
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At eleven, I really wanted a pet (one of my own, that is, as we did already have some family pets) and my parents didn't want the bigger responsibility of another dog or cat, and other than those, my next choice was a rodent. So I did a ton of research, and finally decided gerbils would be the best small pet. (We had never had any other type of rodent before)
