Males and females in the same room?

[Nothing Special]

I've read MANY books on gerbils. I never said they COULDN'T live together, but introducing new gerbils to some that have lived alone don't tend to take to new comers. And sometimes a little family won't either. If they grow up together, which is the best way, the gerbils won't be aggresve to each other, or not as much. Gerbil babies can be called pups or cubs, there isn't a big difference unless you are talking about wolves and bears.

[ohmylokix]

I introduced 2 adult females{the dominant sex} that were alone. I've helped introduce adult males that have been alone.

Believe me, hon. A LOT of your info is wrong. You can't trust everything you read in books. Check out the NGS and the AGS websites!

[Nothing Special]

I had a gerbil and he lived in solitude/alone all his life. He was perfectly happy, running around. He never showed signs of of lagging because of sadness.

There are always exceptions to things. Of coarse some veggies are poisonous, like a sprouting potato can be harmful.

Here is a picture of an albino gerbil:
petoftheday.com/archive/2004/November/13.jpg
I would know, I did a WHOLE lot of reasearch on Albinism and it's causes, defects, and signs. A albino animal has hardly any pigment. Their eyes can be pink, red, lightblue/gray. They have very light fur, white or faded yellow. Their skin can be very pale too. you may have know this, or maybe it's new. There can be an albino of ANY creature. That doesn't mean there have been, but there are still many. It's rare because both parents have to carry the gene though.

My gerbil lived in a plastic cage, and never chewed on it, though some do. My friend who owns a brother/sister to my dead one owns a gerbil that chew his plastic food dish, and it lived longer than Everest. But wood is better. But then again, if it was bad for a gerbil, why would someone sell those cages. They might get sued.

[ohmylokix]

Honey, REW gerbils aren't truly albino. There is no albino mutation in gerbils as of yet. They DO still have some pigment. Albino means that they have NO pigment.

Plastic can be accidentally swallowed, and can cause severe cuts of the mouth and intestinal tract. They sell the plastic because it looks good. That's the only reason. They probably have been sued, but settled.

[Nothing Special]

You may not be able to trust everything in books, but I read a lot of books saying similar things. It may not be impossible to introduce new members and they survive, but why risk the chances when you've never done it before? Listen, I'm young, The website hasn't been updated for a long time, I read books so many times, and have owned only a gerbil rodent.

[Nothing Special]

Everything has some pigment. Pigment is needed for color, and albino's never have pure white eyes. There are some out there, but right now i have to eat, i'll come back later.

[ohmylokix]

Most books were written in the 60's, 70's and 80's, when gerbils first because pets. They have repeating information because those were the beliefs back in the day.

And I'm not exactly old myself. I'm 14.

www.gerbils.co.uk/
www.agsgerbils.org/
Those are the best sources.

[Nothing Special]

Consider me the same age. That means gon't call me HON. I'm not your child, nor you my mother's age, so don't call me like I am.

The books I read where updated and new.

You said you can't trust a book. What makes you think a website is any better?

[ohmylokix]

I call lots of people hon. Old habit.

I don't want this stemming into a fight, so I'm not going to say much. You can believe your stuff is true, and I can believe mine is true.

Those websites are maintained by very knowledgeable people-- the AGS and the NGS. Many book authors just want to make money.

[Nothing Special]

I wish there was a lughing smiley. You think authors make a lot of money? *lol* I hear they make only about 50 cents from each copy sold. Not really worth the trouble eh? I have accurate info on some general cases. There have been albino gerbils, it's just people think that since so MANy have red eyes there are no true albino gerbils. It's just a little misunderstanding. I don't like fighting, well... ok I get some pleasure out of it, but it's not to great. I get into MANY fights with online people, because many people are stuck on what they believe. I know exceptions happen, and there is nothing to d about it. But sometimes what people say is wrong and they think they're right. That gets me steaming (is that what you meant be stemming?).

Oh, and something I forgot to reply to:
I knew they weren't going to be in the same cage, BUT wanted to warn people about what happens.

[ohmylokix]

I'm sure Sandy or Shootingstar can elaborate on the albino business.

Not ALL of the stuff on your website is wrong, but a good chunk of it made me grimace. I've read books by AGS members, such as Donna Anastasi, and they didn't have /any/ info like that.

And no, you cannot just plop a gerbil in with another. You have to split cage them. Spit cages have a very high success rate, even in females.

[Nothing Special]

Yes, i've read about the split cage thing. But like people, some gerbils like to be alone. Plus I couldn't get another gerbil and even if I did, Everest would have not been a gentleman. I can't split-cage them anywho. i'm planning on getting some hamsters and a gerbil and putting them all in my Critter trail 3, after they get used to each other first though.

Well, nobodies always right, and all the info I got was from many different books. You may think some of it;s wrong, when it could be right. Some people have too much faith in one thing, like god for instance. There isn't that much on my site that's wrong.

Well, you would have to have a blood test if you wanted to be absolutly sure a gerbil isn't albino. And that would involve a lot of work people don't tend to like to do.

[Nothing Special]

ahem, I know a lot about albinism, it's not too hard to tell if one animal is albino or not, unless there are a lot of that species with albino looking colors.

[ohmylokix]

Gerbils and hamsters CANNOT EVER go together!! They /will/ kill each other, even if raised together. It's not wise to house separate species. Gerbils are territorial, and only, like, two species of hamsters can be housed together.

[Nothing Special]

Well basically I was planning on getting different species of hamsters and keeping them together. Then when they passed on I'd get a pair of gerbils or something.

I don't know about them killing each other in all cases. Sometimes they might stick together. Then again, I'm not planning on getting a gerbil soon.