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Post by Markpd on Dec 31, 2020 5:42:19 GMT -8
This is a nascent list which I've only just started collating prior to posting this thread, it currently only has a few names but I hope we can build this up quickly!  Also some information is missing atm, which I hope to build up over time.
There are 2 separate lists in this thread, 1 for known good breeders, having been reported by people who bought gerbils from them and/or well regarded by other breeders or experienced owners here, and any outside sources. Please note these are just personal reports and experiences, they are not cast iron guarantees!
The 2nd list for each country/zone is for breeders we have yet to have any reported feedback on, this doesn't mean they are good or bad.
I also think if people find a pet store which does treat it's animals well and gets its gerbils from a breeder, that we should list them too. So let us know about the rare good pet stores!
Also if people could report their experience here of any breeders they've used (listed or unlisted), that would be useful, thanks .
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UK Gerbil breeders
Known good breeders, location, additional info
Clare, Ash Vale, Surrey (west). Breeder since 1995, recommended by:-
Known breeders Anthony Hall, Wolverhampton, West Midlands. Breeder since 1990 (aka Ant's Pets petshop). Possibly sells gerbils with the sls gene. Teylu pets (FB) [Edit, link dead atm 28-1-23], Redruth, Cornwall, England. FB page started 2/12/20, says she's been breeding for 'a number of years' (I did ask directly how long, but she only gave that vague answer  ). G Darton, Whitby, North Yorks.
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USA and Canada, Gerbil breeders Known good breeders, location, additional info, reported by. Moonstone gerbils, Milford, Massachusetts. Breeder since 2009 [edit 2022, no longer breeding I hear], dormant member here, recommended by :-
Known breeders
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Europe
Known good breeders, location, reported by, additional info
Known breeders
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Post by tj23 on Jan 3, 2021 20:31:41 GMT -8
The breeder I got my girls from seems to have stopped breeding and her website is gone. But if Cantrell Gerbils in North Texas ever starts breeding again she was excellent and my girls were well tamed and very healthy.
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Thea
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Post by Thea on Jan 4, 2021 2:33:15 GMT -8
I remember LilyandDaisy saying that Ant's Pets (Anthony Hall) used the same breeding pairs over and over again, and were rehoming ex-breeders, and I think you said you would not include them on the list, did you forget or was there something found out meaning they could be included? Just interested! I was thinking about getting gerbils from them in future as they were very recommended on a 'gerbil breeders' page on FB, but I did realise after looking in a bit more that I agreed with what LilyandDaisy said. |
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Post by betty on Jan 4, 2021 4:50:48 GMT -8
Precious Gerbils in Ontario, Canada come highly recommended for sure from me. Double high in fact.
I have been hearing more and more about Ant's Pets online recently - hadn't heard of them before. Must look into that.
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Post by Markpd on Jan 4, 2021 12:59:22 GMT -8
Thanks betty for the recommendation, I'll add that one and tidy the list too Btw, do you ever sell gerbils to people? Or is your gerbil breeding only for your own keeping?
Thea Thanks for bringing that up, I didn't realise that Anthony Hall was Ant's pets that lily mentioned!  , all I remembered was that it was a petshop she referenced. ( related post, in case anyone's curious).
tj23 Thanks the recommendation, well if they ever come back again I'll add them to the list with your post linked. |
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Thea
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Post by Thea on Jan 5, 2021 0:46:02 GMT -8
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Post by betty on Jan 5, 2021 8:08:57 GMT -8
No, I don't breed 'normal' gerbils right now - just fat-tailed gerbils...
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Thea
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Post by Thea on Jan 5, 2021 8:09:39 GMT -8
oooh but doops are lovely |
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Post by Markpd on Jan 5, 2021 12:36:14 GMT -8
Yea I saw that, I still can't decide whether to de-list him or not..... I need to look into the sls thing.
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Thea
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Post by Thea on Jan 5, 2021 12:50:00 GMT -8
Yeah, I understand. He was very highly recommended on FB by I said, many of the people who said he was good were people who seemed to be really good with their knowledge about gerbils. I think we need to do some more research!
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Post by Markpd on Jan 5, 2021 14:33:36 GMT -8
I had a quick scan through the (just 11) Google reviews of him and they were all positive too.
But if he's letting sls out into the wild (figuratively), then that's not good. It's a genetic defect if I remember rightly, if you get 2 sls genes then the pups die soon after weaning, I think, I need to read up on it again....
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Thea
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Post by Thea on Jan 6, 2021 1:57:49 GMT -8
Yeah, he might have good reviews, but the most likely thing to happen would be that these people buying from him haven't looked into him loads. When I looked I found a lot of people were talking about getting them for their kids, like 'my daughter will be delighted' etc., and it's fine to get pets for your kids but the chances are that some of those people won't have had gerbils before and would have just bought from him because they've heard that's what's good.
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Post by betty on Jan 6, 2021 10:47:33 GMT -8
As for your comments of Sls being a defect you think shouldn't be 'released' - then you need to run that rule for ANY breeders who breed, show or sell extreme spotted or extreme white gerbils. If the gene is in your stock because you are breeding or showing those colour patterns, then you MUST be releasing it in all your gerbils whether they are extreme spotted or not.
I am not commenting either way on your own opinion on that - as I think it should be down to the fancy to decide. I wonder what the NGS think of the gene and its related health issues etc - and their differeing thoughts on breeding it for experimentation and breeding for sale? Many countries seem to have strict 'no breed' clauses on certain 'pets' they sell and other fancies have an active culling process to keep genes out of public hands. Each fancy really decides on such things independantly, it is hard to keep up with what is right over all here for the animals.
I recently saw a thread on a degu group on FB that the fancy in many european countries have effectively 'banned' the rex coated gene in Degus for example due to the health and social issues associated with it, however in other countries they are just fine with it.
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Post by Markpd on Jan 6, 2021 12:03:08 GMT -8
Re sls, as I said I don't remember clearly what it's about and I need to read up about that again. I stumbled across this thread discussing it, but really I could do with something more concise! Any suggestions? Also my pondering whether to de-list him started with lilyanddaisys comment here (as I linked here on the 4th). If it's easy to end up accidentally breeding and getting slssls gerbils who die young though, then yes this gene shouldn't be released.
And as for watching what colours various breeders release, I'm not even sure how that would be possible?
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Jan 6, 2021 12:35:55 GMT -8
My opinion is that when breeding, improving the species should always be high up in the list of priorities (certainly before attractive colours), and the more gerbils somebody is producing, the more strictly that standard should apply. This seller is advertising new litters (in the plural) about once a week, so that's a minimum of 100 litters a year and at least 300-600 gerbils being added the gene pool per year. This means that if I were to buy from them, I would want to see some actual clear and specific goals for improving the species that don't just involve making more gerbils, that I wouldn't necessarily need to see so much if I were buying from someone just breeding a couple of litters a year.
I don't think propagating sls improves the species in any way. The health effects don't always occur, but I don't see the point in making it more widespread when it's not a gene that actually serves a purpose in the sense of producing new varieties. It can produce nice white mottling, but that also be achieved with just dominant spotting and modifiers, it just takes much longer and much more effort.
In the freeads listing they say they don't breed for profit but I'm not sure I find that credible when they are breeding multiple popular pet species (gerbils, mice, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, finches and doves) in such large quantities, and have a very commercialised setup (courier delivery as standard, New Years special offers etc).
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).
), late 70s
, all I remembered was that it was a petshop she referenced. (
